Paris does something to me that no other city quite manages. The city move me every time I arrive (and I have been here 30 times). The smells, the tower, the croissants, the hot chocolate, the coffee, the Seine, the packed brasseries, the art galleries, the markets, the parks. All beautiful. That’s the thing about the best cities. Paris has been perfecting itself for centuries.
1 The Architecture: Those magnificent organised avenues: the tree-lined boulevards that glow at night. Throw in the consistent height limits that keep the city human and, the hidden courtyards behind heavy wooden doors. I love the mix of historical (Notre-Dame) and the utterly modern (the Arc de Défense and the Pompidou Centre)
Go up when you can. The rooftops and elevated views of Paris from Sacré-Cœur’s steps, up the Arc de Triomphe, and the towers of Notre-Dame and Montparnasse reveal the city in an entirely different way. It is worth the climb.
02 The Art & Museums: I’ll be honest: the Louvre overwhelms me inside. So much so that I tend to skip the interior and simply enjoy the outside: the pyramid, the gorgeous buildings, the incredible space it occupies. As an experience, the Louvre exterior alone is worth the visit.
My real favourites are the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée de l’Orangerie, the Rodin Museum, and the Musée Marmottan Monet: a beautiful old hunting lodge near the Bois de Boulogne that holds the largest Monet collection in the world. Intimate, unhurried, and extraordinary.
And don’t only look inside. Sometimes you can encounter genuinely extraordinary street performers and buskers in Paris on the street and in the Métro. Enjoy them. But stay alert: pickpockets are well aware that a captivated crowd is a distracted one.
3. The Eiffel Tower: I fell in love with this tower at 7. I have been up it many times, including walking up, eating at the top, and admiring it from every angle and street possible.
4. One of the most historically layered cities on earth: The Marais still follows its medieval street plan. Sainte-Chapelle’s stained glass has been glowing since the 13th century. Père Lachaise holds more famous dead than almost anywhere. The Catacombs put six million souls beneath your feet. You cannot walk a block in this city without standing somewhere that matters.
5. The Île de la Cité: The heart of the heart of Paris, and the birthplace of the city itself. A 22.5-hectare island sitting in the Seine, connected to the city by 9 bridges, including favourites: Pont Neuf, Pont Saint-Michel, and Pont au Change. It was here that the Parisii first settled. Roman governors followed, then the Kings of France. Centuries of history packed into a space you can walk across in minutes. All distances in France are measured from its centre.
You will find Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was held before her execution), the Flower Market, the Palais de Justice, and the Square du Vert-Galant — a tiny garden at the tip of the island with sweeping views of the Seine. And for the best ice cream in Paris, find Berthillon.
6. The Romance of The Seine and Canal Saint-Martin: On every visit to Paris, I have at least one stroll along the Seine and Canal Saint-Martin in the day and one in the evening. Bridges, bookstalls, bouquinistes, young Parisians, harried-looking tourists, cyclists.This is where the romance of Paris lives. Painters came here for a reason. Everything looks like a painting here.
7. Cafés, Patisseries & Bakeries: As a child, I discovered the particular delight of dunking a croissant into a steaming cup of hot chocolate. I was hooked immediately — and I have never found anywhere that equals Paris for the vast number and quality of its patisseries and bakeries.
Yes, there are some disappointing ones. But a quick check of Google reviews from local Parisians soon tells you which to avoid and which to seek out. My faves: a chocolate éclair or coffee éclair, and the religieuse . I have yet to work out how best to eat these two choux pastry balls filled with cream and glazed in coffee or chocolate, stacked one atop the other in the shape of a nun! There is no dignified method!
And then there is the ritual of the French café. Sitting, chatting, or watching the world go by is not killing time. It is the point.
8. The Food: The single best piece of advice anyone can give you about eating in Paris: follow the locals. Ignore the tourist fixed-price menus outside the big attractions and find where Parisians are having their own fixed-price lunches. They will enjoy lower quantity, higher quality, and usually better value prices.
From pho in the 13th to a slow-cooked tagine, the city rewards the curious eater who is willing to wander off the obvious path with world-class modern and traditional French, Vietnamese, Chinese, Turkish, Ethiopian and more.
9: Shops & Markets Amazing specialty shops, fascinating department stores, cool bookshops, and the best food markets in the world. Take your time to enjoy. You don’t have to buy.
10. The Parklands. Few visitors talk about this, and fewer still actually explore it. Yes, the Tuileries and the Luxembourg Gardens are lovely but they are also busy, manicured, and well on every tourist map. The real revelation is the extensive woodland parks on the edges of the city: the Bois de Boulogne to the west, and the Bois de Vincennes to the east.
The experience of walking alone through genuine forest woodland, mere metres from a tram or train station, is extraordinary. These are not decorative parks. They are vast, wild-feeling, and largely left to Parisians. They offer rejuvenation, recreation, and entertainment in equal measure. Get out and see them
11. The Métro: People have mixed reactions to it, but where else do you find such an extraordinary network? Sixteen lines running through every corner of the city, day and night, meaning you never need a car. You can find yourself across Paris in minutes. Add the buses and the trams, and you have one of the most remarkable urban transport systems in the world.
12. Walking, Watching & Wandering the Arrondissements: Paris is one of the great walking cities, and purposeless wandering here always turns into something: a discovery, a meal, a view. Each neighbourhood has its own character: Le Marais (medieval streets, galleries and alternate life), Montmartre (the famous hilltop village), Oberkampf (lively neighbourhood, with independent restaurants and cool street art). And then there is the people watching as you go. From those dressed in impeccable fashion, the courting couples, older adults, jaded and starry-eyed tourists, harried tourists, and even the pickpockets, walking and watching, sitting and watching, riding and watching, gives you an infinite number of fascinating tableaus every single day. You can see why filmmakers keep coming back.
In conclusion
Paris does something to me that no other city quite manages. it hits me every single time I arrive. The smells, the tower, the croissants, the hot chocolate, the coffee, the Seine, the packed brasseries, the art galleries, the markets, the parks. Long lunches. Two-hour dinners. No one is rushing. Paris taught the world that slowing down is a form of sophistication. Simply, it is beautiful. That’s the thing about the best cities. Paris has been perfecting itself for centuries.
Practical tips
1 Avoid June to August: Paris in summer is crowded, expensive, and hot. September, October, March, and April are infinitely more pleasant, and the city is still fully alive. Even the depths of winter has its magic.
2. Book ahead for almost everything: The days of simply walking into a museum are largely gone. Book online in advance whenever possible. Flexibility is wonderful, but a two-hour queue is not.
3. Consider the Museum Pass: It can be an excellent value, but only if you are genuinely going to use it. Do the maths before you buy. For heavy museum days, it can pay for itself quickly.
4. Get your tickets via the Navigo app. I still look at the Paris Visite cards, but these days I usually download the Navigo app (available on the App Store and Google Play) and buy a weekly ticket. Simple, great value, and covers the entire network.
5. Don’t obsess over staying central: At the end of the day, a hotel room is a hotel room. Choose the hotel you like and accept that the Métro will get you anywhere you need to be. Staying a few arrondissements out often means a better hotel at a fraction of the price — and the journey in is half the fun.
6 Please, please, please use some French
It is not hard. Bonjour (hello). Bonsoir (good evening). Merci (thank you). S’il vous plaît (please). Où sont les toilettes? (Where is the toilet?). A handful of words and phrases is a start. Crucially, use them. Parisians expect you to greet them politely when you enter a shop, have a meal, or leave a room. Watch what the locals do.
7
Travel light — forego the large luggage
The Métro has no escalators in many stations, the streets are cobbled, and Parisian hotels are often in old buildings with narrow staircases and no lifts. A large suitcase will make your life miserable. Pack less than you think you need. You will thank yourself on every staircase.
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