Paris: What to Do and What not to Do ? 

Are you planning a trip to Paris? Are you a bit too much overwhelmed in making the most out of it? Is there a lot of excitement and thrill and you can't wait for your trip to start?

Well, it's perfectly normal as you're going to be visiting a French capital that happens to be a major European city. Its cityscape known for major landmarks like Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, and Notre-Dame is crisscrossed by boulevards and River Seine.

When talking about Paris, every tourist has a common question:

"What to do and what not to do in the city of lights?"

It is because this city quintessentially known for its landmarks has much more to offer: its café culture, gastronomy, and fashion are hard to be ignored!

Every individual has his own style of traveling that suits his interests. Some like to be on a walking holiday while others love lazing around the beach. Then, there are others who like the mix of both the worlds. Therefore, this blog post is aimed only at sharing things based out of my experience. This is significant to know especially when you're visiting a city as vast as Paris. It takes several trips to explore such an exalted place that can never be discovered in a week's time.

The Blogging Hacks: To Do List

Cruising along the River Seine

While you may think the cruise will give you same views of the River Seine as you may get from the streets or bridges, you must not commit the mistake of not booking an evening or a night cruise. The cruise will take you to far-off places where you'll find groups of locals sitting by the river, couples taking salsa classes and city's lights reflecting on the water. In a nutshell, you get to feel the place and the city that is so much talked about.

Montmartre Walk

You must not consider visiting Montmartre only for the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the Place du Tertre. It is a different experience to visit this eclectic district and there are many things to see. A singular faith the basilica expresses has the power to move you and leave you spellbound. If you like to be surrounded by art, it will not be hard for you to find things that tickle your fancy. You can simply climb or ride the cable car to the Basilica.

Bercy Village

This city has fascinating neighborhoods that you can't miss to explore. In case you don't have sufficient time, you must not at least miss visiting Bercy village. Described as a "faux French village in the heart of Paris", the paved courtyard with cobblestoned lanes is a diverse area with shops, restaurants, and entertainment.

Hire Uber

The locals will tell that you that Parisien taxis are the cheapest way of getting around the city in a four wheeler. Certainly, it is not! You'll see Parisien taxis all over the place but the taxi stand system in Paris is completely unreliable. You'll be saving your Euros by using smartphone car services like Uber. They offer fast and reliable service and that too in English.

The Blogging Hacks: Not to Do List

Don't Spend your Entire Time around Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysees

Even though it's a delight to see the majestic Eiffel Tower and lush green gardens sprawling the entire place, I found it one of the most boring and beaten tracks. This area only caters to tourists and there is hardly any feeling of the city beautiful. The least you would want on a holiday is to be surrounded by touts and pickpockets and the entire area is full of such people.

Also, stay alert in not falling trap to a gang of people asking tourists to play "Find the Ball" game. If you observe them carefully, there is no trick involved in the game. They are crooks duping people of their money.

A stroll down the regal Champs-Elysees is an experience in itself when you're visiting Paris. The street offers a spectacular view when seen from the Arc de Triomphe but all you are going to find there is a chain of brands and expensive cafes with no great food at all. But if you're after a Parisian walk, the experience is completely worth it, especially in the evenings.

Venture outside of this area and you'll get to experience Paris in an authentic way. There are fascinating neighborhoods and much better shopping places to be explored.

Stand in Queues and Pay Extra

Are you planning to take a trip to the top of Eiffel tower, visit Disneyland or catch the glimpse of world famous Mona Lisa at Louvre?

Don't forget to make reservations online in advance. The queues can be hours long. And when you buy a ticket for Disneyland the same day online or directly on reaching there, it will cost you almost double the amount. Why not save the extra buck with prior planning?

Visit Galeries Lafayette

The much hyped and upmarket department chain is only for designer and luxurious shopping with no discounts or special rates. All the brands are available on two streets- Avenue Montaigne and Ave George V, forming the Golden triangle to the south of the Champs-Elysees. If your only objective of visiting Paris is to buy Louis Vuitton or Chanel, you may still consider visiting Galeries Lafayette. At least, I would never visit this place again considering there is a lot more to be explored outside this mall.

Enjoyed reading the article? Share your reviews in the comment section below.