17 things to do in Paris

Paris is a magical city. Two summers ago Matt & I decided to put excuses aside and take a 3 week trip to Europe (Paris & Rome) just for fun. What we experienced was beyond just fun and I thought I would share a little bit about our experience because I think everyone should see Paris atleast once in their lifetime.
My favorite things to do in the City of Love (in no particular order)

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1. Stay as long as you can. We originally planned this 3 week trip to include Paris, Venice, Tuscany, Rome, & the Amalfi Coast of Italy with Paris for just a few days. We ended up loving it so much that we scratched our plans and spent 2 weeks in Paris and 5 days in Rome. We never ran out of things to do and loved touring Paris leisurely in the Parisian lifestyle. 2. See Notre Dame & spend a day on Ile de la Cite (the island...of the city?...my French sucks). This little island in the middle of Paris is ridiculously gorgeous. It's connected to the rest of Paris by lots of beautiful bridges over the Seine River and this is where the image of old world Paris comes to life. There are antique booksellers lining the Seine, old flower markets, a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower, yummy gelato shops...just spend a day wandering. And if you have legs, climb the Notre Dame bell tower. The climb sucks but the view is awesome and you can feel like the real hunchback :)
3. Spend the day in Champs de Mars (the huge park under the Eiffel Tower). There is an awesome little market street near here called Rue Cler where we bought our picnic lunch (baguette sandwiches, fresh raspberries, chocolate crepes, & wine)...this was my favorite day in Paris, just relaxing, watching the Parisians go about their day, eating delicious food, looking at the Eiffel Tower...this is the epitomy of a day in Paris & if I ever get back this is first on my list of things to do. I loved this day so much that I'm trying to figure out how to put "Cler" in my first daughter's name :)

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Now here is where I have to note our funniest experience while in Paris. It's no secret that Paris is known as the City of Love and that people are not afraid of PDA in this city. Usually a little make-out session in the street or at a cafe seems pretty normal. On our day at Champs de Mars the PDA took on a whole new level right in front of a group of Asians having a nice afternoon family picnic...

4. Go to Versailles. It's about a 1.5 hour train ride from the city but it's worth it. You can't even imagine the magnitude of this place until you see it. It's a nice escape from the city for the day and really a beautiful place in all it's excess.

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5. If you want a relaxing spot but don't want to venture out to Versailles, Luxembourg Gardens was a favorite park of ours. Little kids play with wooden sailboats in the fountains, people read poetry to each other, people kiss of course...it's a picturesque Parisian park.
6. Of course, go to the Louvre. We hit pretty much all of the art museums because I was an art major so obviously you can't get any better than Paris. Because we knew this ahead of time we bought the Paris Museum Pass. You can buy these for 2, 3, 4, or 5 days I believe and in the days you buy them allows you unlimited access to as many of the places on the list as you want as many times as you want. While it includes most of the museums it also includes things like the walk up to the Notre Dame bell tower, etc. So if you're planning on seeing some of the touristy spots it's definitely worth it. And just try to schedule so you hit those things in a few days in a row to get the most use out of it.
On mentioning the museums, most of our trip was guided by our handy dandy Rick Steves Guide to Paris. Rick Steves is the best travel writer/guide out there and the majority of the things we did were enriched by his self-guided tours, suggestions for places to eat off the beaten path, Paris neighborhood walks, etc...just don't go to Europe without him.
7. Get engaged under the Eiffel Tower at night when it sparkles on the hour. It's even more romantic than you think :)
8. Eat at Cafe du Marche on rue Cler (the same street mentioned above near the Eiffel Tower). This restaurant was recommended to us by some friends from Canda who spent their honeymoon in Paris and this one did not disappoint. It's an awesome Parisian eatery (I had lamb and one of the best desserts I've ever had)...Matt loved their espresso and smoked his cigar here. It's affordable by Parisian standards and the atmosphere was great.
9. Climb to the top of everything you can...the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower...and see the view of the city from up here. We did all these and loved every one of them. While you're at the Arc de Triomphe you can see Champs Elysees the famous street in Paris where Louis Vutton is, etc...shopping is not really my thing so I didn't find it that great but it is a famous part of Paris so if you're there, why not.

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10. While I did say I'm not a big shopper, Hediards was the exception. This place is gourmet food to the max and we did our one stop shop here for gifts to bring back home...fresh fruit jam, authentic Parisian tea, nice bottles of wine, exotic coffee, chocolates...there are a few around the city and it was our favorite place to bring home something fun for friends and family.

11. Eat in as many outdoor cafes as you can. And plan on sitting there all night. Dinner in Paris is atleast a 3 hour ordeal. Instead of being an impatient American try to enjoy it, this is the way they live. Another great place we ate, and definitely the most authentic (they didn't speak English): The Pallidor on rue Monsieur Le-Prince. This was a pretty cool experience as they only spoke French and the menu was all in French with a majority of it not being in our French-English dictionary so we just pointed and hoped for the best. Let's just say Matt ended up with marinated thinly sliced uncooked meat and while I told the waitress "No, that's watermelon...not ours" he ended up eating it and loving it. Apparently it's fine for you to eat...regardless, I had the COOKED veal :) For a real French meal, go here.

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Speaking of food, you can't leave Paris without eating a chocolate croissant. They are a true sinner's breakfast from the local bakery. Sigh. 12. Stop by Musee d'Orsay for all the Monets and art I love from the 19th century.

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Also wanted to mention that if you're in Paris for more than just a couple days it's a good idea to buy a Carte Orange (metro pass). You buy them for a certain amount of days and allows for unlimited metro rides. Paris has an AMAZING metro system (best I've ever seen) and having this allows you to go all over the city whenever and however you want and not worry about the cost.

13. Stop by Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. It's near Notre Dame on the other side of the Seine and it is an awesome bookstore run by Brits who live upstairs and really love their reading. I love bookstores like this so we went a few times just to hang out :)

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14. While you're on that side of town you can stop at a place we ate at several times...the cheapest food we found the entire time and really yummy...Bistrot Gyros. There is a little Greek alley (rue de la Huchette) in the Latin Quarter in St. Michel and these gyros are stuffed to the gills with french fries for only 4 euros. Yum :) 15. Climb up to Sacre Coure and hang around the Montmarte neighborhood. This is the heart of the Parisian Art Deco movement and it's an awesome artsy neighborhood with outdoor cafes, galleries, and lots of local artists doing their work outside.

16. Go to the Paris Art Market in Montparnasse. I decided that I wanted a piece of art to take home with me from a Parisian artist. I knew this wasn't going to be a cheap endeavor but I decided not to get myself any other souvenirs and held out for my piece of Paris. I ended up buying a painting from a Parisian man at this little outdoor art market for 230 euros. To me, it was a small price to pay for my lovely Parisian burlesque lady hanging in our living room :)

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17. Smile. Paris is an amazing experience.

Kristyn Hogan is a wedding and lifestyle photographer based out of Murfreesboro, TN and Cedar Falls, IA serving the Nashville area including Murfreesboro, Franklin, Brentwood and Smyrna as well as Iowa and worldwide. www.kristynhogan.com