11:07

A Trip To Paris!

Paris, the city of love, architecture and new experiences! Last week I spent three days away with Brad for his twenty-fifth birthday. I'm the Queen of gifts *if I do say so myself*, and I really outdid myself with this one. 

We did all the general stuff, but I wanted to let you know about some tips and tricks for visiting Paris! 




Use the Metro and the RER They're basically exactly like the tube in London and are so quick, cheap and simple. It costs 10 to get into the city centre from Charles De Gaulle airport and about €1.90 each way to travel within the centre. They run every few minutes and all the main areas are within 40mins of each other, if that. Also use this if you're wanting to go to Disneyland - its 40mins away and takes you right to the entrance of Disney. 


Try the local cuisine 
Sounds like an obvious one, but nowadays I feel like people forget and just go for a pizza or whatever - I was one of these people, but Brad is all about the local delicacies. Try snails, as long as they have garlic on! I can't get enough of garlic so this was a dream, the snails themselves are more just a funny texture with very little actual taste. Now, frog's legs, they're a little different. We tried them with nothing more than a little bit of parsley on and (this sounds typical, but...) they tasted like chicken - honestly! I'd recommend them, so don't just settle for a burger or a pizza. Really suss out the good places! 





Be money-savvy
You don't need to be boring, I'm not even saying scrimp on what you take or spend particularly, but check things out before you spend. If you visit the main attractions you can often get in free if you're a European Citizen up to the age of 24-25, this is true for the Arc De Triomphe and the Notre Dame (Notre Dame is free to get in but not to get up the towers). The 'Junior' age range is often cheaper and is up to the age of 24, this is at most attractions, including the Eiffel Tower. 


Walk up the Eiffel Tower
Don't get the lift. For starters, its slightly cheaper to walk up it, there's also no queue (most of the time) to get tickets, whereas the queue for the lifts can be up to two hours long during peak times! I think there's around 600 steps total to the second floor and you get the views on the way up too, plus the exercise is good for you - think how good your bum will look after all those steps! There's a glass floor on the first floor, now, I'm terrified of heights but Brad made me go on it and I'm glad I did, it was a little thrill, being above all the ant-like people. The second floor is all about the views so just take it in! We didn't manage to go to the top, as it was temporarily closed, but once you get to the second floor you get the gist. 


So cliche and soppy, but put a lock on the bridge
This is located about a 10min walk away from the Louvre museum and although it is just a bridge with a million locks on it, there's something enchanting about it. All those people that have visited the bridge just to attach a lock with someone they love, its cute. So obviously we did it! You can take a lock with you (I was going to but totally forgot) or you can just buy one when you're there, the shops have pens too so you can write on it, ours was €4.



Disneyland 
Get there when the park opens, this is 10am in Summer. If you stay in a Disney hotel then you can go in from 8am I think, but we were staying in the centre of Paris. Obviously there are people there but not many, and the queues are so small. If you go just before peak Summer, your wait times for stuff will be stupidly quicker than if you went in August. The maximum amount of time we queued for anything all day was about 40mins I think. Try to get to the main attractions early on, again, then you won't have to wait as long, but don't be put off if a ride has a long wait time - they definitely add time on to make you buy the Fast Pass tickets (you can buy these for selected rides which enable you to come back at a certain time and skip the queue). For the sake of €12 per ride or whatever it is, if you just queue then its free and only a 10-20min longer wait. You can take food into Disneyland so if you're on a bit of a budget then do that, if you're willing to spend a bit then there are loads of restaurants around the park which do burgers, pizzas, chicken, etc., the meals are around €10-15 but they do fill you up. If you're really wanting to splurge then go to the restaurants on Main Street USA, but you're looking more €30-50 per person! 
Check the weather! We were lucky enough to have beautiful weather all day, but unfortunate enough for it to tip it down at the end of the day, so the night parade and fireworks were cancelled (and they're totally the best bit of the entire day!!). Likewise, you don't want to go when its boiling hot, otherwise you're queueing all day in the beaming sun and thats just not fun. 




All in all, just go. Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and 100% worth the hype. Its pricey but you can do it in a couple of days and on a relatively small budget. We did all the main attractions of actual Paris within a day and Disneyland within a day. 



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