My sister and I spent Sept 25-30 in Paris. We decided to make this trip sort of last minute (for me) since I typically plan 12-18 months out. But I needed to go somewhere, and Paris seemed easy. Six days, one location. It had been 30 years since my last visit to Paris and my sister had never been. We bought plane tickets in August and created a shared Google map which we quickly filled with pins.
I won’t bore you with details of the attractions everyone sees in Paris, but will share our experience with technology/apps, and tips that were useful many of which I learned on this forum Our trip was richer thanks to all of you who contribute. I’ll also list some highlights and interesting places I don’t often see mentioned here.
Timeshifter app—I’ve used this twice for jet lag and it helped both times. We were able to hit the ground running on arrival day and stayed up until 9pm
Reserved the hotel for the night before—first time to do this and so glad I did. We were at our hotel by 7:30am, showered and ready to go by 9am on Day 1
Metro tickets—although I had the IDF Mobilites and RATP apps, I ended up buying metro tickets within the Apple wallet. Very easy. Twice I had trouble trying to enter the metro. Finally gave up and bought a paper ticket from the kiosk. We did have to show proof of tickets before we could exit one station, somewhere near Champs Elysee, I think.
Apple Pay—or whatever device pay you have—a game changer. Used it everywhere, never pulled a physical credit card out of my purse. Never needed cash.
Toilets—always used toilets in eating establishments and museums, never had to hunt for a toilet. We did use a self-cleaning toilet in Jardin des Plantes. Interesting.
G7 app—used this to book our return taxi to CDG. So easy, booked the night before, arrived right on time.
Airalo e-SIM—bought 3GB data for $10, we used 2GB. Easy to install, good coverage. My sister used Verizon's daily travel pass, her coverage was spotty.
Clothing—rain was predicted every day so at the last minute we bought silicone shoe covers. They worked well to keep our feet dry but they didn’t always grip wet pavement well. https://a.co/d/739GnaE
Hotel—Grand Hotel Dechampaigne—located in the 1st, two blocks from Rue de Rivoli, two blocks from Pont Neuf. One block from a Chatelet metro stop. It was a perfect location. Building is old (1600’s), rooms are small and a little shabby but we didn’t care. Has an elevator and friendly staff
Highlights, places of interest
- Cooking lesson in a private apartment—booked through Meeting the French. We were the only two who signed up that night, so we had a private lesson. Our host/chef was delightful, and we spent three hours learning French cooking techniques and about her passion for slow food and the importance of terroir. Highly recommend. If you want to check her out, she posts cooking class reels on Instagram @mygreedyparis
- Evening concert at Saint Chappelle—Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in that venue was magical. I cried at the beauty of the sound surrounded by the beauty of the chapel
- La Galerie Dior—I started my career in the fashion industry, so this was of particular interest to me. It's very well done, with creative displays and lots of historical info about the House of Dior. Highlight was seeing Celine Dion’s gown from the Olympics
- Specialty shops—Mariage Freres and Damman Freres for teas; Savonnerie de Montmartre for soap; Boutique Maille for mustard; Epices Roellinger for spices; de Hillerin for kitchen supplies
- National Library—the Oval Room and Mazarin Gallery were amazing to see. And free.
- Montmartre cemetery—the least crowded place we went and a good alternative to Pere Lachaise
- Marche Saint Pierre—five floors of every type of fabric and trim imaginable
I hope this rambling report helps someone. After two very difficult years, this trip was just what my traveling soul needed.