17 Things to do in Paris
I visited Paris for the first time almost 9 years ago, and completely fell in love (not as much as I am with Venice, but still a lot). So this year, I finally got the chance to go back! Here’s a list of my Top 17 things to do in Paris 🙂
1. Palace of Versailles
I have wanted to visit the Palace of Versailles for so long now. I finally got the chance to see it and it is so much more impressive than I thought it would be – the gardens even have their own bus service, they’re so huge! I’m going to have a whole post dedicated to it, as I have so many photos to share.
2. Disneyland Paris
I love Disney so much. Disneyland is always great (even though I’ve only visited Disneyworld once – and it was ten years ago – and visited Disneyland Paris once before – and that was nine years ago!). Like Versailles, I have so many photos that I am going to have a post dedicated to Disneyland. But I will say, the new floats for their 25th anniversary are amazing!
3. Shakespeare and Company
Admittedly, not as impressive as the Libreria Acqua Alta in Venice (and I didn’t see any cats!), but Shakespeare and Company is still very cute. I’m a huge bookworm, so anywhere with books makes me happy.
4. Notre Dame
Notre Dame is gorgeous. Definitely see the back of it – it’s so much more impressive than the front.
5. Galeries Lafayette ceiling, and the view from the roof
The ceiling in this place is gorgeous – so much better than the ones in Aberdeen’s department stores. And the view from the roof is incredible – and free!
6. Sacre-Coeur
The view from the church is so worth all the stairs and hills that you’ll climb to get to it. Be aware of men trying to put string on your wrists – this happened to my friend and I so many times! They were really charming, but as soon as they realised we weren’t interested, they turned really aggresive. Just be firm with them!
7. Eiffel Tower
Be there for 9pm – it sparkles! But only for 5 minutes, then you have to wait another hour…
8. Defender of Time
This clock is amazing. It wasn’t working when I saw it – or maybe it was, but it was showing the wrong time?
9. The Louvre
A trip to Paris is not complete without a trip to the Louvre. It’s home to my favourite statue – the Winged Victory of Samothrace (picture above 🙂 )
10. Musee D’Orsay
If you are a huge fan of Van Gogh (like me!), then this is a must – plus the inside is so pretty!
11. Palais Royal
I’m not really sure what the inside is like, as I haven’t seen it. But the outside is really pretty. (And, totally unrelated, my friend and I saw this old man acting strangely and dipping a huge stick into the fountain. Then, fully dressed in a suit, he climbed into the fountain, sat down, and peed! We didn’t know what to do. It was very strange…)
12. Arc de Triomphe
This is a nice easy climb (I say that, but it’s still a couple hundred stairs or so), and it has a nice view (although, I’d still recommend Galeries Lafayette because it’s free, and is nowhere near as busy).
13. Sainte-Chapelle
As you can probably tell from the abundance of photos. the Sainte-Chapelle was definitely a highlight of mine. I love stained glass windows, so I was in heaven.
14. The Conciergerie
I’ve always found prisons fascinating, and this is the one where Marie Antoinette was held, so I would definitely recommend.
15. St Etienne du Mont
This church is adorable and so worth a look.
16. The Catacombs
(Sorry the photo is blurry, I couldn’t really get my camera to focus, as it was really dark). I have a morbid fascination with anything to do with skeletons. I think this was one of my favourite things to do in Paris. The walk through the tunnels to the Catacombs was creepier than the actual Catacombs, as there was no one but my friend and me, and it was so quiet. Once we reached the skeletons, we found more people, so it was a bit less creepy. Over 6 million people are buried (or, rather, stacked) down here!
17. Pere Lachaise Cemetery
Get here before 5pm, as it closes at 6pm!! My friend and I made the mistake of showing up aroudn 5.40 and we had to leave before we got a chance to see anyone famous – it gives me an excuse to go back to Paris, so that I can see the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Chopin (not that I need an excuse to go back to Paris!)
