my 4d3n paris itinerary + comprehensive guide

paris can be a very overwhelming place to visit. with so many sights and museums, a question one might have is, where do i start? what is worth visiting? is paris racist? is it even safe? and because i was once in that position, i’m gonna try to make this as comprehensive a guide as i can by answering all those questions, and more.

before i begin, i laid out my full day to day itineraries in each picture above but these are all interchangeable depending on the activities you would like to do. for example, the flea market day is only applicable to sundays so you can switch the days around to accommodate your timeline.

and now let me get right into it beginning with transport. the most financially saavy way to get around paris would be to purchase their one week navigo travel pass which covers all buses and trains in every zone. this costs around €30 and is extremely worth it and necessary given the amount of moving around you will be doing in paris. unlike many other cities in europe where the attractions are fairly clustered, paris isn’t as walkable and you’ll find yourself taking the train/bus a lot so this will be a very worthwhile investment. you can download the RATP app to purchase the travel pass beforehand and it loads as a virtual card on your phone which you can just tap on buses and in train stations.

second, the must visit attractions in paris. honestly, paris has so many museums, it’s truly so overwhelming. i don’t recommend visiting more than one museum a day because of the information overload. anyway, i visited the palace of versailles, the louvre, palais garnier and the musee d l’orangerie. do take note to prebook your tickets for versailles and louvre so that you don’t have to queue when you get there.

Palace of Versailles was somewhat underwhelming for me because i didn’t have much interest in the apartments of louis XIV which was the bulk of its appeal. i suppose i was only there to see the hall of mirrors where the treaty of versailles was signed. the audio guide provided a lot of information, most of which flew right past my head. was the palace pretty? definitely, yes. is it worth a visit? sure, if you have time.

the Louvre Museum, on the other hand, is definitely worth going to. it’s massive and home to so many amazing sculptures and art pieces. i think one way to not get too overwhelmed in there is to narrow on specific exhibitions that you want to see before you enter. i personally really enjoyed looking at the greek sculptures, the couture collection and the medieval louvre. having these in mind when i visited made my experience a lot more purposeful and every other collection i saw along the way was an added bonus.

Palais Garnier gorgeous gorgeous place that everyone should see. it hosts ballet and opera performances and tickets to enter costs €12 so i recommend going there at around 930am to buy the €10 last minute restricted view tickets for any one of the evening performances instead so you get to see the inside and enjoy a performance on top of it. i’ve never seen a ballet performance before so this was definitely an interesting watch. the queue to buy the restricted view ticket is on the inside and is a lot shorter than the entrance ticket queue so make sure you are in the right one.

Musée de l'Orangerie houses monet’s work in a beautiful brightly lit space, meant for reflection and introspection. it’s a small museum with many other art pieces and i thoroughly enjoyed them all. the size of this made it very manageable to get through and it was definitely not as crowded as the other attractions which i liked.

third, foods to try in paris. as a student travelling on a budget, i didn’t splurge too much on food. a must try, i would say, is the chez janou chocolate mousse at Le Petit Italien. i could only go there past 1030pm because i was only getting dessert but it was so good albeit for 12 euros. many people recommend the hot chocolate from Carette which i did enjoy, but found the portion too much for one person so i recommend sharing. the whipped cream was extremely delectable though. the french food at Brasserie Dubillot was a first for me because i haven’t been exposed to much french food in the past. their french onion soup and beef tartare were not bad and fairly affordable. aside from that, i would say that you definitely need to try the croissants in paris. i recommend Tranché for the best croissants i’ve ever had in my life. at just €1.50. and finally, what’s paris without macarons right? i tried the pierre herme and the le laurec ones. pierre herme was more expensive but i bought it because it came in this really cute tin box (€15 for 4 with the box) and it was perfect to bring back as a souvenir. le laurec was €2.30 each and the matcha one was really good. if you are a matcha lover, i recommend the white choc raspberry matcha from maison matcha as well.

fourth, shopping in paris. truth be told, i didn’t do a ton of shopping in paris but if you are looking to get skincare and haircare, i highly recommend going to Pharmacie du Forum Des Halles because they have so much stock compared to citypharma which i saw many people recommend as well. Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is great for branded shopping and souvenirs and the mall interior itself is gorgeous and worth a visit.

if you happen to be in paris on a sunday, please go to the flea markets. 🙏🏼 i’ve visited quite a few flea markets around europe and paris truly had some of the best ones. there’s a tiktok account that details the locations of all the flea markets open in paris every sunday and there usually tend to be a couple in each avenue so you can visit a few quickly. i managed to snag the coolest vintage postcard, scarf and coffee table book at the markets for less than €5 total. amazing deals.

for more souvenir and gift shopping, i recommend the street shops in montmartre. this area was where van gogh used to stay during his time in paris and the streets are so cute and the vibes of the restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops are so lovely. definitely explore this area and find van gogh’s house. to know more about the history here, i would suggest signing up for the free montmartre walking tour on guruwalk.com. you pay as you wish and it offers so much insight to this vibrant little place.

fifth, safety and racism in paris. i’ve heard of many cases from my friends where they were ignored in restaurant settings. thankfully, i did not experience such discrimination at the restaurants i ate at but i do think it’s a fairly common occurence for people. as for the safety, i was quite cautious after having been pickpocketed in another european city so my guard was up in crowded areas. one thing i did notice though, was that the men in paris do tend to catcall girls a lot and there was an occasion when i was alone and a man sat next to me and started pushing me to go to the eiffel tower with him. fortunately, my friend appeared at a good time to save me from that situation but definitely, it doesn’t hurt to be careful. aside from that incident, when i was moving around alone or when it was just me and my female friend walking around, i did not encounter any dangerous situations or face racism. i consider myself quite lucky in that regard, but i recognise that my experience may not be the most representative.

anyway, i think that’s all for my spiel on paris. i hope this guide helps and you have an as amazing time in paris as i did. feel free to ask if there’s anyth i missed out. 🫶🏻

#parisguide #parisrestaurants #travelrecommendation #travelitinerary #traveltips