For us visiting Paris was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, and was certainly number 1 on our bucket list. I guess the first question to be answered when visiting Paris is, "Is a week enough time?". The short answer is no. It is almost impossible to visit all of the attractions in Paris in this short time, even if your visit is confined to the major attractions. So our first objective was to plan our itinerary very carefully and to group attractions by area. A successful and rewarding visit to Paris requires careful planning. This was then divided into seven days to fit in with our planned time in Paris

Of course we did all the touristy bits like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower and my wife insisted we take a trip to Euro Disney or Disneyland Paris whichever you prefer. What was surprising was those unheralded little gems we found like the Grevin Wax Museum and the Porte Doree aquarium. Another of the lesser known attractions is the Montparnasse Tower. The views of Paris from the top of the tower are stunning and you get to see a panoramic view of Paris including the Eiffel Tower. Great photo opportunity. If you have not been to Paris plan for a trip.

Although many of our trips have involved a rental car, which gives you a flexible way of getting around, we have steered away from this in the major cities due to the volume of traffic, city taxes and the nightmare of parking. Quite frankly there is no need to have a rental car in Paris because of its amazing public transport infrastructure. At no time did we feel restricted due to not having a car, even for the longer distances to Versailles and Disneyland Paris. We did not even need to consider the hop-on hop-off bus option because all of the attractions were covered by the metro. The options include:

civitatis Paris - Getting around Paris

Big Bus Paris - Paris Bus Tours

Seine River Cruises - Book Seine River Cruise Tickets & Tours 2022

🦔 Took the Metro to Charles de Gaulle - Etoile from our apartment in Montmartre. Our day started with a visit to the Arc de Triomphe with its amazing elevated view of the Pl Charles de Gaulle with its many feeder roads including the Champs Elysees. Watching the traffic in this amazing intersection is an experience in itself. After a stroll down the Champs Elysees we took the metro to Trocadéro for visits to the Trocadéro Square and the Palais de Chaillot. The Palais de Chaillot houses a number of attractions including the Aquarium de Paris, the National Marine Museum and the Homme Museum. We took a break for a snack in the beautiful gardens of the Trocadéro with its many fountains and great views of the Eiffel Tower. A short walk across the Seine via the Pont d'Iéna took us to the Eiffel Tower where we chose the lift option up to the first level. Great views across the city and particularly of the Seine, Trocadéro and the Champ de Mars. Certainly on the "must do" list when visiting Paris even with the queues'. After leaving the "Iron Lady" we took a stroll through the gardens of Champ de Mars to École Militaire and took the metro to Gare Montparnasse for the tower.

🦔 Our second day in Paris was spent in the 7th and 8th arrondissements starting at the Champs-Élysées - Clemenceau métro station with a short walk to the Grand Palais which also houses the Palais de la Découverte, a very interesting science and technology museum. Of particular interest to us were the animatronic dinosaurs on display. The gardens around the palace are beautiful and worth a visit. A short walk across the road brought us to the Petit Palais which houses the fine art museum. We then crossed the Seine over probably the most famous bridge in Paris, Pont Alexandre III which leads into the Esplanade des Invalides, a large grassed area which is popular with Parisiennes who want a bit of sunshine and a picnic. The highlights of our visit to des Invalides were the The Army Museum, with its wonderful medieval suits of armour, and the Tomb of Napoleon that is housed in a spectacular domed church often referred to as The Church of the Dome. The Rodin Museum is a short walk away from the church. Closest metro station from here is Varenne.

🦔 Day three of our stay in Paris was jam packed and those who want to spend more time in the art museums, other than the Louvre, will have to make an adjustment to their schedule. A good place to start is the Place de la Concorde via the Concorde metro station. We found a food barrow serving pastries and had the most amazing chocolate croissant ever. Worth looking out for. Art lovers, and particularly followers of Monet, will enjoy visiting the Musée de l'Orangerie home to his water lily murals. As non aficionados of art we decided to pass on the Musée de l'Orangerie and Musée d'Orsay and focus our time on the Louvre Museum later in the day. On the way to the Palais Royal we passed the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel which is one of the smaller triumphal arches commissioned by Napoleon. The Palais-Royal is a very interesting attraction with a variety of offbeat art pieces especially in the Courtyard of Honour which includes "Columns" by Daniel Buren and "the spheres of the Palais-Royal fountain". The gardens of the palace are outstanding and include typical French displays of tree lined avenues, "The Alley of Colette", and an old style barrows. Look out for the "ball of newspaper" made from stainless steel. Our next stop was the Louvre Museum via the famous glass pyramid. As visitors not schooled in the arts we decided to go for the "Famous Highlights" audio tour guide which was quite adequate for our purposes. This certainly will not do for the art aficionados. We got to see The Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, The Venus de Milo, The Lacemaker by Vermeer and the Great Sphinx of Tanis. We then crossed over the Seine again via The Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge across the river, to the Île de la Cité and our final destination for the day, Sainte-Chapelle. This was a pleasant surprise. Although the outside of the church is nothing to write home about the inside is nothing less than spectacular, especially the Lower Chapel with its amazing ceilings, arches, gilded flying buttresses and Fleur-de-Lys'. The closest metro station for the trip home is Cité.

🦔 The first attraction of day four of our stay in Paris was Palais Garnier, also referred to as Opera Garnier, by way of the metro station Opéra. This was followed by a visit to a perfume "factory" where we witnessed some of the techniques used to design a new perfume. My wife jumped at the opportunity to buy some real French perfume in Paris. Fragonard also have gift packs to take back home for friends and family (not too expensive considering). The Grevin Wax Museum was another pleasant surprise. Not the usual Madame Tussauds offering but rather a more unique presentation with a distinct French flavour. Worth a visit even if its only to see Asterix and Obelix. Another pleasant surprise was the Musée des Arts et Métiers a science and technology museum with an amazing collection of historical artifacts with a definite emphasis on photographic and sound equipment. For those interested in science and technology this is a must. The Centre Pompidou has a high tech design style, which makes it interesting from an architectural point of view, and is also home to the largest modern art museum in Europe as well as the public information library. Our next stop was another science museum, the largest in Europe, the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie which is huge and because of the space it houses some of the larger exhibitions like a submarine and a section devoted to robotics. Many of the exhibits are interactive and designed for children. With all of the hype around this attraction it was a bit of a disappointment.

🦔 On day 5 we decided to take one of the boat cruises on the Seine which start next to the Eiffel Tower. The glass canopy of the boat made viewing of the passing sights quite pleasant. The Batobus is like a hop-on hop-off bus with various stops along the Seine where you can get off for viewing of attractions. It definitely gives a different perspective on many of the famous attractions along the bank of the river. Our first stop was at the Notre-Dame cathedral which was subsequently damaged by fire. Check to see when the cathedral will be reopening. The Pantheon is modelled on the Pantheon in Rome and is a mausoleum for the remains of distinguished French citizens. The beautiful Luxembourg Gardens are worth a visit especially during the summer months when everything is fresh and colourful. For those with an interest in science a visit to the Curie Museum will be of interest. Located in the former laboratory of this very famous scientist. I guess a visit to Paris would not be complete without at least one fashion attraction thrown into the mix. The City of Fashion and Design is worth considering. The final attraction of the day is the historical Place de Bastille with its memories of the days of the revolution.

🦔 Day 6 was our trip to Versailles by train. It's not often that an attraction that has been built up by media actually exceeds your expectations, and in all honesty the Palace of Versailles certainly did that. It is simply spectacular and although there was some work on the outside in progress this did not detract from the spectacle at all. The one area that really stands out is the Hall of Mirrors which is breathtaking. The gardens are also outstanding and although our timing was not quite right for the best flower shows the designs, hedges, grass and trees made up for this. The closest we have come to this kind of splendour was at Peterhof in St Petersburg, Russia but it trails Versailles by some way. There is enough to fill a day, and more, when visiting Versailles. Do not miss a visit to Versailles when in Paris.

Find the closest metro station that is served by the RER C. Take the train that goes directly to Versailles, i.e. Versailles château – Rive gauche. The journey will take between one to one and a half hours depending on your departure point in Paris.

🦔 Day 7 was for the young at heart and not so young in body, with a visit to Disneyland Paris and Walt Disney Studios. A non-negotiable on my wife's bucket list for our visit to Paris. On the return journey I got a bit of relief (just kidding) with a visit to the aquarium at Porte Doree, next to the zoological gardens. Although small this aquarium has a lot to offer with a wide selection of aquatic specimens.

The options include train, bus, taxi or driving. The best option from a cost and timing point of view is the train which leaves from Châtelet les Halles. The journey takes approximately 40 minutes.

Due to the sheer volume of attractions and things to do in Paris it is almost impossible to see everything, certainly in a single trip. The attractions listed below are those that we did not get to see but would probably be on the must do list of other travellers depending on personal preferences.

Often there are attractions that do not form part of the mainstream tourist agenda but are well worth a visit. Although these may be a bit quirky potential visitors need to keep an open mind, which is always a good thing when travelling.

In many cases these lesser known attractions form part of one of the mainstream attractions but go unnoticed. 🦔

Our accommodation in Paris, booked through Booking.com, had some advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantage was the location in the heart of Montmartre which is a great area to stay in when in Paris. The area also has many metro stations so getting to public transport is easy and there are many smaller shops like bakeries and supermarkets where you can get real French food and not the usual tourist fare. There are also a lot of restaurants and pubs that are frequented by locals rather than tourists. You really get the feeling that you are in Paris. We can recommend staying in Montmartre. The disadvantages include the size of the apartments, the fact that many of the buildings are old and do not have lifts and make sure that you do not get a host who has serious attitude. Getting up a narrow flight of stairs with suitcases in the dark, (lights only come on when you are on a landing), without any help from your host, is quite a trying experience.

Our selections for accommodation in Paris are made on booking.com which we have found to be the best service, based on our experiences using the following selection criteria:

How do you recommend what food and drink to enjoy when you are in the food capital of the world. There are just so many choices wherever you look. With this in mind we have selected a number of out of the ordinary places that might be enjoyed while in Paris. We have also provided a list of meals or drinks that are worth trying during your stay.

Not sure? Try this Paris Food Guide

The tours that we choose are normally of the budget variety and involve some form of organised way of getting to the major attractions. On occasion we will choose a organised shopping tour or an attraction where there are long queues and a tour can fastrack your visit.

In all of our travels around the world we have found Viator.com to be the most reliable and affordable vendor for organised tours. 🦔

Viator - Big Bus Paris Hop-On Hop-Off Tour

Viator - Paris Eiffel Tower Guided Tour with Access Via Lift

Viator - Paris Seine River Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Cruise

Viator - Louvre Museum Timed Entrance Access with Cruise Ticket

Viator - Seine River Paris by Night Sightseeing Sparkling Cruise with Champagne

Viator - Big Bus Paris Night Tour

Viator - Paris Sightseeing Guided Bike Tour

Viator - Off the Beaten Track Guided Bike Tour

Although Paris is not on the coast and does not have direct access to cruise ships, the option is to board or disembark in Le Havre which is approximately two and a half hours away by train or car. This really puts day visits from the port out of the question due to the almost five hours travelling time there and back. For this reason the only practical way to cruise from Paris is if Le Havre is the starting or finishing point of the cruise, unless of course the itinerary includes multiple days in port. Cruises leaving from Le Havre include:

We are a retired, married couple from Johannesburg, South Africa with a passion for travel. Our travels have taken us to more than 40 countries and well over 300 cities, towns and locations around the world. These guides are intended to share some of our experience and knowledge of the places we have visited, as well as some of the places we still intend to visit.

Our guides are based on our own travel philosophy with a focus on getting the most out of the experiences and attractions in any place we visit without breaking the bank. As South Africans we need to be frugal because of the foreign exchange situation where most travel costs are either in US dollars or Euros. We try to keep our costs down on accommodation, food and transport without any major compromises in quality and quantity. "Budget travel with some luxuries on the side" Safe and happy travels.🦔