Three Days in Paris

PARIS - THE DREAM CITY

Paris is a dream destination for many. The capital of France, it is a tourist hotspot all round the year. Paris has so much to offer that it is tough to explore the city completely, however long you stay. For students like me, time was obviously a restriction, but so was budget. I had my Winter break so I decided to visit Paris then. Obviously the travel to Paris was a little expensive than expected as this is tourist season, so I booked a flight from Milan to Paris (as trains were about the same price, if not more) right after New Year's Eve.

TRANSPORTATION

I travelled to Paris on 2nd January with an evening flight. I flew to Paris in a Vueling flight, and it took around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach. I landed at Paris Orly airport, which is fortunately the nearest one to the city so I was saved from a longer travel. My trip was planned for 3 days and 4 nights, and I had booked a flight to come back on the 6th of January in the morning. The flight back to Milan was definitely way cheaper, and in total my travel costed a little less than 200 euros for a round trip.

The days I visited Paris were affected by various union strikes, including the transport union's as well (the strikes are presently still occuring without any idea of possible ending, so if you are planning a trip, do it after thorough research of transport around your accommodation). Fortunately for me, out of the two Metro Lines (Lines 1 and 14) that are automated and hence unaffected by the strikes, Line 1 was near my accommodation. Also, a lot of the main areas like Louvre, Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, etc. fall on this line so it is easy to travel to some of the city highlights through their efficient metro without suffering from the side effects of the strikes.

Transportation is comparatively more expensive in Paris than Milan, so I played around with a variety of options, the main one being walking as much as possible (which is a good option since you can explore so much of a new city!). The other options were a mix of metro, cab (one time late night only!) and line scooters, which were extremely fun.

A one way metro trip will cost you 1.9 euros (cheaper if you buy a bunch of 10), and the cost increases if you buy a day or a three day pass. The line scooter cost me 1 euro for activation, and about 15-20 cents per minute. 

ACCOMMODATION / NIGHT ONE

I reached Paris at night, around 22.00 hours. I was staying at a friend's place, so unfortunately I cannot share my accommodation experience. However, I will recommend the website of Hostel World (https://www.hostelworld.com/) which shows good hostel recommendations and deals/discounts (I have used it before so I do suggest this).

If you want a better experience and wish to stay in a hotel, I will recommend booking any of the hotels under the Accor group (like Novotel, Ibis, etc.) as the company is based in Paris, so the renowned hotels are cheaper as compared to other city prices. (https://all.accor.com/gb/city/hotels-paris-v2996.shtml)

So the night one was pretty uneventful as I reached my friend's place in the area of Neuilly-Sur-Seine, settled in and had dinner, went out for a walk till the nearest metro station (Les Sablons on Line 1) and then went to bed.

DAY ONE

So my day started with a very French breakfast, a fresh coffee and croissant from the nearest boulangerie. The aim was to cover as many main highlights of the city in three days, while also ensuring that I did not overtire myself, and also taking out time to discover a bit about Paris's nightlife (very easy goals!). 

Before leaving for the city, I stopped to eat from O'Tacos (I had heard a lot about them from my friend). One single meat taco cost about 6-7 euros, and it was heavenly for someone (me!) who abolutely loves cheese and chicken. A big burrito wrap, square in shape, enclosed hot melted cheese, perfectly fried chicken strips and boiled, half baked potato fries.

The first stop on my itinerary was Place de la Concorde and Rue de Rivoli (one of the famous streets of Paris, hosting the most luxurious brands in clothing, jewellery, watches, etcetera). Concorde is a beautiful open plaza like area, situated between the Musee du Louvre and the Champs Elysees. On one side you have the House of Parliament, and on the other there is Rue de Rivoli. There are various tower like sculptures fixed on the plaza, that are located such that they point towards the main cities of France. There is a beautiful obelisk in the middle, called the Luxor Obelisk, which was given to France by Egypt. Earlier, it used to stand at the entrance of the Luxor temple in Egypt.

I started walking down the Rue de Rivoli next. The streets were quite crowded, and there was a palpable excitement in the air as one can feel only in desirable cities like Paris. The architecture of each building is unique and similar at the same time! Walking around led me to the Paris Opera House, or the Palais Garnier (named after the architect Charles Garnier). It is a magnificent building, designed with such opulence and elegance that you can see the city's rich and famous joining together whenever the Opera is in session.

From here, I started walking towards Montmartre. It is a large hill in the city, at the tip of which is a famous church called Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur. Walking uphill was a task made worth it by the neighbourhood. Lively shops and restaurants, inviting cafes and a general warm atmosphere was enough for me to keep going! In between I stopped to visit the Wall of Love, a long blue colored wall of personal love thoughts and feelings, expressed in different languages. 

The walking was also worthwhile as I realized when I reached the summit. The view of the city of Paris is unmatchable (perhaps maybe by the top of the Eiffel Tower, but I had not found that out yet). The gentle breeze, with a backdrop of the white domed and magnificent Basilica on one side, and the entire city of Paris laid out in front of me on the other, was a welcoming sight and experience.

I watched the sunset up at Montmartre, and then started my descent. There is a small train that you can purchase tickets for but because of the strikes it was not working. From here on I walked towards Palais de Chaillot, which is the best place to view the Eiffel Tower from! It has two museums on either side, and a central open plaza that looks on to the Eiffel tower in all its majesty. You can walk down to the garden to sit and enjoy the view of the lit up Tower, which lights up with flickering bulbs every hour for fifteen minutes, after 18.00 hours. 

I walked towards the Tower as well, crossing the Seine river and staying a while enjoying the view of the ferries and the river, and the cold winds that were blowing past by. To go back home, I took a bus from the bridge itself, validating one of one way travel ticket in the process.

DAY TWO

Day two of Paris started with a breakfast of home made paranthas (an Indian burrito-like dish). I first went to the Eiffel Tower, with hopes of making it to the top level, ready to battle Saturday tourist lines and what not, after a quick stop for a nutella waffle. Unfortunately by the time I reached the top tier was closed off, and would be kept closed from the 6th of January to 7th of February in 2020 (renovation and too many tourists being the reason). Anyway, I stood in line for about forty minutes, paid 8,10 euros for access to second floor via lift (being 24 years of age gave me a discounted rate - the adult rate is 16 euros).

The lift up was a beautiful sight in itself, and the view from the second tier was breathtaking. I roamed around, taking in the views offered from every side. There is a small enclosure in the middle which had souvenir shops, a cafe, etcetera. I walked down to the first level via the stairs, which even had a transparent dome like structure housing a small restaurant, and another enclosure with a small film room that showed the history of Eiffel and Paris on loop. A recommendation : If possible, try visiting the Eiffel top during sunset time. The view is breathtaking!

From thereon, I travelled to Hotel de Ville (near the Notre Dame cathedral). After roaming around a bit, I went and picked up dinner (a heavy shawarma roll and an egg ham and cheese crepe), and walked towards the Cathedral. After the unfortunate fire in 2019, the Notre Dame is still closed for renovations so I was able to look at it only from the outside - which still gives a majestic view. Along with friends, I walked down under a bridge where there is a walkway along the Seine river, and you can see the Notre Dame from a lower point of view. We had dinner along the shore of the Seine. 

After dinner, we travelled to Bastille, for a quick drink at a cafe (the area has a lot of good looking, cheap cafes favoured by both students and adults). We were not in the mood for clubbing, so we went back to the area around Hotel de Ville where there are many late night cafes and bars. There are a few open till the early hours of morning, and they were extremely crowded! Even at 04.00 hours (when we left for home), the area was so lively and energetic that it made you feel like staying. 

DAY THREE

On my last day, I planned to visit the Musee du Louvre, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. The Louvre museum is one unforgettable experience. The Glass Pyramid is one beautiful engineering sight to behold, and the main museum in itself is so huge, housing so many great artworks, that you could regularly for a month, and you will still not be able to finish viewing the displays! On weekends, the museum closes at 18.00 hours. The entry was free for me as I am a student and 24 years of age, though if I wished to visit the current temporary Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, I still had to purchase a ticket (I did not have time for it so I did not check the prices). 

There are not really many words to explain the art displayed at Musee du Louvre. There are exhibits from the medieval period, from the empires of Egypt, Ottoman and Roman; it is vast and almost endless. I did visit the famed Mona Lisa room, and to view the small sized real painting you had to wait in line! The experience was memorable and wonderful. 

Exiting the Louvre, I started walking through the gardens in front, which have beautiful trees, sculptures, statues and fountains in them. The gardens led me to Concorde, crossing which the road of Champs Elysees starts. Trees lining the street on either side were decked up with beautiful red lights, and either side hosted all kinds of showrooms, restaurants and cafes. Walking along the Champs Elysees is an experience in itself; you just take in everything the city of Paris has to offer. I did visit the Abercrombie & Fitch showroom, which is like a museum in itself. Made in a refurbished French-style four floor apartment building, it is a beautiful showroom, for both visiting and shopping! Similary the showrooms for Dior (which has a beautiful facade) and Louis Vitton (which is the biggest one in the city).

I reached the Arc de Triomphe at 19.40 hours, and was just in time! The monument was going to be closed at 19.45 hours, and also they were offering free entry that day. (Tip: You can check on their website for tickets in advance). Both the pillars have spiral staircases that lead to the top, and one is for going up while the other is for coming back down. They have a small museum at the top as well, underneath the terrace, which displays the history and offers souvenirs. The terrace offers good views of the Champs Elysees and the roads surrounding the Arc de Triomphe.

Dinner that night was slightly subdued as I had an early flight to catch; we opted for Indian food home delivery (Paris has a lot of good options for Indian food in terms of restaurants, both North Indian and South Indian food). We went back to Champs Elysees for dessert at Pierre Herme, which shares an outlet with L'Occitane. The pastries were delicious, though little expensive (each was about 7-8 euros).

PARIS TO MILAN

My flight was from Paris Beauvais Airport, landing at Milan Bergamo Airport, through a Ryan Air. I had to get up awfully early as the Beauvais airport is around 60-75 minutes away from the city, and I had to catch a bus timely. The bus was available at Porte Maillot near my accommodation, and the one way trip cost around 7 euros. The bus was comfortable, and there were many leaving one after the other. The airport is quite small (used for domestic flights), and after an hour and fifteen minutes, I was back in Milan.

All in all, the best way of saving money in a trip to Paris is to walk around as much as possible, because you not only save money but also get to soak in one of the greatest cities in the world!

There are still many other highlights I missed, with which you can add/subtract within your trip:

• the Palace of Versailles (approximately 90 minutes away, to be reached by a local train)

• the ferry ride on Seine river (approximately 7-10 euros for a ride without champage and dinner)

• Le Pompidou centre

• Fondation Louis Vitton and Cartier

• Chocolate museum

• and many, many more