Paris 2024

The French aren’t rude to English speakers. They just need to hear a little French before they start speaking English 😁 More than a decade after my last high school French class, I was still able to recall a few French phrases. And, I have to admit, it was fun. "Parlez-vous Anglais?". I can only imagine how funny it is to watch an Aussie with a mixed Indian accent (aka me) try to speak French. It's quite adorable how their face lights up when we mispronounce "Bonjour" or "Merci" ever so slightly and they can pick up the outsider in us 🤭 "Je ne parle pas Francais" but a small dose was refreshing and helped elevate the mood for everyone involved 🙃

In both Paris and Lyon, I enjoyed taking the city bikes and e-scooters for a ride through the fantastic bike lanes. Whether it be riding along the Seine, marveling at the Musee D'Orsay, the bridges and local markets or under lush canopies to get to the Sacre Coeur, this way of exploring the city is great for covering a bunch of checklist items while also stopping spontaneously for photos or a walk! Riding along the right bank of the Seine is a great way to marvel at the Tour D’Eiffel, among many, many other ways.

Side note: Over my entire Europe trip, I thoroughly enjoyed climbing up stairs to the highest vantage points and I cannot recommend it enough! You MUST climb up to the Sacre Coeur in Paris and Basilica of Notre Dame of Fourvière in Lyon to see the eagle's eye panoramic view of both these beautiful cities. It is easy to get lost in the bars and restaurants, and museums and rivers. But only a few minutes bike ride away (and a healthy amount of walking up stairs 😛), there is something special, peaceful and mesmerizing about enjoying this different but wholesome perspective of the city. If you happen to do this at sunset, on a clear summer day, with a bottle of wine (like I did), you won’t find many better ways to spend an evening.

Back to Tour D'Eiffel, my first experience was from a famous vantage point at Place du Trocadero, in broad daylight, where we clicked some beautiful panoramic photos and got our "I saw the tower" photos. On another occasion, I enjoyed the bright orange sun setting over the iron lady while enjoying wine and cheese at the Seine river bank. The next morning, I had to see the sunrise from the river bank. Although the view was covered by mist and clouds, the thrill was unreal. But nothing beats the experience of getting up close and actually going up to the tower. We booked tickets for an evening tour and I cannot recommend this highly enough! Starting at the base of the tower, the lift ride up to the second floor is already breathtaking as you start to get a glimpse of the city from a decent height. The real magic, though, is at the peak of the tower - almost 300 meters above ground level. The slow transition of the dim orange of the sunset into a true view of the City of Lights is a sight no camera can ever capture. Carmela, our tour guide, was brilliant at getting us into and up the tower in no time and then gave us a wonderful introduction to the history of the tower and its emergence into a wonder of the world.

Experiences like the guided tour of the tower drive an important point home - it is difficult for me to appreciate art without much context on the history. An unfortunate example from the same trip is that of The Louvre. Although we got expedited access to the Mona Lisa, it was difficult to absorb any of the other 30,000+ art installations without a guide or English language descriptions. I am sure that the art attracted by this iconic museum holds a rich history and value so maybe in the future, I would pay for a guide and spend a whole day to soak some of that in. There are some other Paris landmarks that I did not personally find much value in visiting - Champs Elysse and Arc De Triomphe. I can see why people are drawn to these but I am not a big shopper. Given the option, I would use this time for more picnics, bike rides and sunsets!

Among my list of local Parisian-recommended experiences, number one is a picnic at the Seine. At any point during the day, but especially after 5pm, you’ll find people flocking to the river bank with wine, cheeses and baguettes. So did we! And we stayed there for the next four hours, casually snacking, chatting, drinking and enjoying the beautiful sunset over the eiffel tower while waving at cruises and noticing the intricate details of the gorgeous Paris architecture. If setting up a picnic sounds too cumbersome, getting beers by one the many bars right at the river bank, is another affordable and fun way to spend evenings in Paris. I did both 😀.

If you are someone like me and not into the clubbing scene but you like staying out late for drinks and live music, Paris won’t disappoint. Once again, I was grateful for the local company. I got taken to two wonderful live music bars over the course of two nights. The rock bar was not something outside my comfort zone as I don’t listen to a lot of loud rock music but the ambience was mind blowing, especially after a few drinks. What stood out for me was the piano night. After the picnic at the Seine, some of us headed to a piano bar to get more drinks and ended up staying there for quite some time. The place was buzzing with electric vibes - the singer, the musicians, the crowd were all on the same wavelength. Everyone wanted to have a great time - drinking, singing, and swaying all our worries away - on a TUESDAY night! In a true parisian fashion, we ended the night with some crepes across the street 🥞.

Last but not the least, you have to immerse yourself in a French dinner experience - a minimum 3-course meal with pitchers of wine after queuing up to find a table in a busy crowded restaurant. Now, I am not a fan of French food. But, was it fun to try a cow’s head and snails - absolutely! In fact, I highly recommend everyone to sit down in a french restaurant at least once - for the experience. To add, I recommend visiting the hidden rooftop bar behind the Moulin Rouge windmill. Although a long-ish trek away, this was a great way to end the evening after our Palace of Versailles tour. When it gets dark and the red lights come on, over the windmill blades, the place gets going with the muttering sounds of the 20 or so people and the cocktails are banging 😋

It is worth noting that cities like Paris and New York have something for everyone and there is not a lot that you’d go wrong with. One advice that I’d give to myself and anyone else reading the blog is to find a local and speak to them about what you’re interested in and try some of their recommendations. Obviously, I’ve enjoyed all the food and experiences that I’m more inclined to like based on my preferences but I’ve hardly ever gone wrong with trying something new, even if it is outside my comfort zone.

I will not rave a lot about the croissants and pastries 🥐. Go to ANY boulangerie and you’ll be happy. Just don’t ask them to heat up the croissants for you. And if you want good coffee, just go to Italy. For wine, well, read my blog on Rhone Valley 🍷

If you must obsess over optimizing for the food experiences (like I do), you can always find some recommendations in my Google lists 🙂