Paris | Travel Tips

 

I know I am not the only one that gets brain overload when planning a major trip. So today I’m going to share some information on traveling to Paris…because the preparation for this trip especially exploded my brain. Hopefully it will help you for a trip to Paris or some other amazing destination.

 

Cheap Flights

If you are patient, you can find great prices for travel. There are services out there that are free or you pay $2-$3 a month to keep apprised of cheap airfare. My daughters use Pomelo and Scott’s Cheap Flights. There’s also an Instagram account to fly out of Utah called FlightsFromHome. One of the first two shared a small few-hour window to where we could get tickets to New Zealand for $380!!! I asked Dan if he wanted to take advantage, but it was too spontaneous of a decision. Paris we’d been talking about for months, NZ was not on the agenda at the moment. But that was a dang good price!

And then there is Google Flights. I love this tool! You can plug in your travel wishes and it will come up with a calendar with the lowest prices on whatever airline. A little warning. One time as I was plugging in info and trying to find flights, I’d refreshed or searched the same travel info a few times and the prices went up. What? On a whim, I closed the window, opened a new one and searched again. The prices went back to where they were. So be careful of that.

Our tickets were about $480 round trip on American Airlines, which is an awesome price. And we bought them only six weeks before our trip too. We’d seen cheaper tickets last fall (around $400), but didn’t take advantage of it. Wished we had. Still. We got a great price.

 

Lodging

After much research, including suggestions from so many of you, we opted to stay in the Saint Germain area at the Hotel Michelet Odeon. It’s a block away from  the northeast corner of Luxembourg Gardens and maybe a ten minute walk to Notre-Dame. It was a lovely area to stay. Lots of great restaurants nearby as well as a 3-5 minute walk to two different metros.

We’d actually looked at staying in an Airbnb near Rue Cler and the Eiffel Tower, but the place we’d found for our conditions wanted half our money in the event of cancellation. Having cancelled a trip to Charleston/Savannah once due to a possibility of Dan working on a Marvel Comics movie, we canceled. And then, the movie got put on hold. Don’t know if it’s even being made. Directors. Politics. Egos. All that. So you never know what might come up and that’s a chunk of money to throw away for an emergent situation.

Anyway, it was lovely hotel. The staff was amazing. So happy and friendly. I would recommend it for sure. I felt it was reasonably priced for Paris at about $140 a night. Cheaper than the Airbnb’s we were looking at.

 

Planning

Oh boy. This is the proverbial Pandora’s Box. There is so much information available on the internet and Instagram and friends that have been and books to read…it just goes on and on!

Not having been at all familiar with what’s in Paris–besides the biggies–I didn’t even know where to begin. Where should we stay? What would be ideal? Where are some good places to eat? The logistics of everything in trying to make sure I planned well enough was overwhelming.

I don’t like having an itinerary, but rather, plan one or two big things for the day and then do whatever for the rest. You also need to be flexible for your days as well. For example, one day we’d planned on seeing Saint-Chapelle, but it was closed. We’d talked of doing a day trip to Rouen, but there was a strike one day. And then on the next day–long story short–we opted not to go, so we went to Sacre Coeur instead. One day it was raining and so we did the Hop On Hop Off bus. I think being flexible and ready to roll with the wind is key to having a pleasant journey.

When it came down to it, I made a list of things I wanted to see or do and we went from there. And all those suggestions for places to eat? Um…ya. Generally you end up needing to eat where you are. As much as I would have liked to try out every cafe I’d heard about? Logistically it just coudln’t happen. ;)

 

Makin’ Copiiieeess…

I would recommend making copies of your passport and credit/debit card (both sides) and leave it with someone at home. We also like taking two different credit cards, with each one of us holding on to one so that in the event that something gets taken–like your handbag or your husband’s wallet– then you still have another card. I also use debit cards at the ATMs and credit cards for purchases.

 

Transportation

The Navigo Decouverte Metro card was the best thing ever! It worked for us because we were there the entire week of the card’s usage–Monday through Sunday. You can purchase the plastic unit from a ticket (Billet) agent at the airport for around 21 euros, I believe for zones 1-5. The metro ticket into Paris is 10 euros alone. The people in both the information and Billet booth were so helpful and friendly too.

We had to buy one ticket to return to the airport since our flight left on Monday, which is the start of the new week. I think there are other payment options, like maybe two week and month, but I can’t remember for sure. We bought that one-way ticket to the airport from the metro near our hotel the night before so we wouldn’t be stressed trying to purchase it in the morning rush. Come to find out, there’s no morning rush at 6 a.m. But hey, we were prepared. :)

You do need a passport size photo, which you can take+print at home before you go. I ran out of time and figured we’d just use the photo booth at the airport. Not the best option. It didn’t take our chip card (sometimes happens in France) and so we had to get money, which then had to cash for smaller bills…it was quite the ordeal. Take a photo with you before you go. haha

It’s nice because it’s not a ticket or card. It’s plastic, easy to keep track of, and will work even at the funicular at Sacre Coeur. It’s also good for ten years, so don’t throw it away. You can refill it if you ever go back.

We either walked or used the metro. Sometimes we weighed the options of walking to the metro and all the stairs vs. a few minutes extra walk to our hotel. ;) We took a taxi once from the Musee d’Orsay to our hotel (by Luxembourg Gardens) because the stop we needed on the line available to us was closed. It was well worth the 8 euro. :)

FYI, you can also take a taxi or a shuttle to/from the airport. Seems like the info I saw on taxis was 50-70 euros, depending on time of day. Shuttles would run around 25 euros.

 

Getting Attraction Passes

This was a brain fart for me. There is this Museum Pass you can get, either ahead of time or while you’re there. It covers many main attractions, but does not include the Eiffel Tower. I thought we needed to purchase tickets to go into Notre-Dame, but it’a only if you want to climb the stairs to the top.

You also buy it in 2, 4 and 6-day options, which have to be used consecutively. Make sure you start in the morning with using your pass to get the most of it. I won’t go into more detail. You can read it using the link above. A 2-day pass is 41 euros.

Another option is The Paris Pass. Also a good option. As well as the museums, it includes Hop On Hop Off, river boat, metro, etc. It comes in options like a 3-day pass, but you can only use the museum pass for its 2, 4 and 6 day consecutive options. So weird. For the 2-day pass it’s 131 euros per person. This definitely was not the option for us. The two museums that we saw equaled 22 euros per person, plus the HOHO bus, was about 30 euros. I’m wondering it it hadn’t been cold and drizzly that day if we would have done the HOHO. It is an nice option to take you from site to site, plus they provide ear plugs so you can hear the history of the city and sites.

Getting a ticket or pass before hand is the way to go, I’m told. With that advanced purchase, rather than standing in a ticket line, you get to go to the front and bypass the long ticket lines. I had totally planned to get a museum pass–even though we technically wouldn’t have gotten our money’s worth–and was told the best place to get one is at the airport. The only thing is, you have to get it before you exit the secured area. What? Why? Anyway, we missed that, but it all worked out for us anyway.

Long lines ended up not even being an issue for us in the two places we needed to get tickets. We went to Notre-Dame thinking we needed to pay, but it was free to just walk in. Going up costs. Sacre Coeur and Sainte-Sulpice are also free…and these churches are worth seeing.

What we needed to pay for were Sainte-Chapelle and Musee d’Orsay. With Saint-Chapelle (stained glass), we were there at 9 a.m. on a Saturday and walked right up. No line at all. This was March though, so summer would probably be different. And with the d’Orsay, same thing. Walked right up even though it was afternoon. Had to wait a few minutes for some reason, but then got tickets and went right in. It was a sunny day and many people were opting for outdoor adventures.

So all in all, not getting the museum pass worked best for us.

The one ticket we did get ahead of time was for the Eiffel Tower. Once we got there, there weren’t necessarily ‘long’ lines, but it was worth it to know that we were assured a ticket up and that we had a scheduled time.

 

Using Your SmartPhone

I don’t know how it is for all carriers, but T-Mobile works in Europe (not sure on all the countries). You can use your data just like here, but it is slower. You can also find hotspots for wi-fi, like McDonalds. The only thing that ‘cost’ were phone calls at .20 a minute. We just never answered the phone. And if we wanted to talk to a family member, we used FaceTime–or you could use Skype.

 

Phone Apps

Paris Metro | I downloaded this app and it was wonderful! Not only does it provide a map of the stations, but you can search for a stop rather than look through all the words on the map. It’ll highlight it. You can also enter in where you want to go and it will give you the route. Sometimes I don’t know that it always provides the most direct, so be sure to look at the alternate routes. And it may be that we put in the beginning at one station, but putting in another nearby station as the starting point would have given us a more direct route.

Google Maps | Don’t leave home without this. haha In fact, you don’t have to use any data to use Google Maps. You can download an area–like Paris–to your phone and use it offline.  Sweet!

Google Translate | This app is amazing! Not only can you type in words for translation, but it can use your camera’s phone to look at text and translate it on the screen for you. Say what??? It’s not perfect, but it gets you in the vicinity of knowing what those French words are. We used it on a few menus. ;)

Rick Steeves Audio Guide | I thought it would be cool to use this and ended up not doing it. You can follow along with him on a walking tour of Paris (or other destinations). I actually thought it was pretty cool idea. The app is free. Check it out.

Yelp | Okay, so I don’t have the app on my phone, but I did use it online. This is how we found most places to eat…and we always had a great meal. You can also filter it to look for how much you want to spend and how close it is to you. My girls use this whenever we are away and we’ve eaten at some great places!

 

Day One App for Documenting

I decided to start using the Day One several weeks ago in anticipation of our trip. I love this app! Not only for everyday documenting, but for the trip as well!

This was so much easier than hauling bits of scrapbooking supplies and writing in a travel journal.  Loved documenting my trip this way!

For more about this app, see this post.

 

Use Your Phone’s GPS To Remember

I don’t normally have this on because it takes battery life. But ever since I started using the Day One app, and knowing that I was going to Paris, I turned it on. What an amazing world we live in for our phone to know where the photo was taken! I would often just snap a photo of a place just so I could remember where it was later.

 

Electronics

I did a bit of research on power sources even though I’d been to Europe a few times already, the last being ten years ago. With the technological advances between then and now, I wanted to make sure my phone and iPad were safe and sound when charging.

There are two types of plugs for traveling. One is an adapter, which can come as an all-in-one with different plug ends (we bought this one). The other is a power converter, which converts the voltage of an appliance (hair dryer, straightener, etc.) to the voltage of where you are.

After talking to the KBS peeps, some suggested just using the hotel hair dryer. Some suggested buying a hair dryer or straightener there. Many said that even with a converter, your appliance might still get fried. I opted to not take my dryer and use the hotels. Ugh. It really sucked. It wasn’t even like your standard hair dryer. Oh well. It was what it was. Maybe next time I might buy a hair dryer…. ;)

Something else to consider is a portable battery. We bought this one a couple years ago. Love it. Actually bought two. I would charge it up at night and carry it with me. Or, because your phone battery can take a toll when it’s using stuff like Metro and Google Maps, not only would I charge on the fly, but when we’d come back to the hotel, Dan and I would just both plug into it and charge while resting a bit. No need to be near the one wall outlet. ;) It holds a quite a bit of power.

 

Eating and Shopping

Be prepared to not find places to eat between 3 and 7 pm. Many places close then to prepare for dinner…or take a nap? ;) We did eat somewhere that said it was closed, but they were still open. Also, no need to tip, it’s already included.

We found that many stores were closed on Sunday, so be prepared for that. I also heard that many businesses close in August for their holiday. Since we weren’t there in August it wasn’t a concern, but it may be for you.

 

Walking Around

Make sure you have comfortable shoes. I swear I had comfortable shoes, but there were many places with stone streets and it wears on ya even faster with those. What floored me was seeing women is these high heeled shoes walking on those cobblestone streets in touristy areas. I’m sorry. Fashion is not that important to me. ;)

Always be aware of your surroundings. I wear a crossbody bag with zippered pockets to keep things more secure. If we were ever on a crowded subway, I just kept my hand on my bag right in front of me. Pickpockets are ever present there.

Additionally, there are a couple scams where someone tries to tie a string/bracelet around your wrist. Once on, they want you to pay for it. Someone attempted to do this to Dan, but he already knew of the scam and walked away.

Another one is someone picking up ‘something found’ in front of you and asking if it’s yours. This is usually a distraction as someone else will pickpocket you. This happened to us–but we’d heard of it before hand as well. A man ‘picked up’ a gold ring in front of us. I watched him reach down to nothing and then have the ring in his hand. He asked if it was ours. ‘Oooh. Gold. Yours?’ Even though we said no and started to continue walking, he kept trying to engage Dan in conversation. I had taken two or three steps ahead and turned around grabbed Dan’s hand and told the man, ‘No. No. No.’

 

Finding Awesome Paris Inspiration Online

So much of what I wanted to do or see in Paris came from searching the web and Instagram. Here were some of my favorites:

Local Milk on instagram | website
Lily__Paris on Instagram
MissCoolPics on Instagram
OneLuckyDay Blog (Paula Cheney)
Paige Evans Blog travels (look for Paris France)

 

Are you still with me?

Whew! That was a long post. But hopefully it’ll have some good tips for your trip to Paris or any place, really.