Paris Travel Guide, France

Paris, the city of love, fashion and perfume has been receiving visitors for decades. They come here to discover art, history, a way of life, romance or to discover themselves.

So much has been written about Paris that it would be hard to write anything new, still there are a few things that might arouse your interest.

There are so many sides of this city that it would take more than just a vacation for you to discover all of them.

First of all it is the capital of perfume. You can get perfumes in every street, the market if full of intriguing scents and if you don’t find your favorite here you won’t find it anywhere. Of course their quality varies, but if you go for something unique there are shops that sell the same perfume for years to people that refuse to change their favorite scent and here you can try some really special perfumes. You don’t have to go only for brands known all over the world, there are some perfumes known only by Parisians and if you want to taste a bit of the way they live, try the ones they use. With so many perfumes around you might have the impression that the whole city has a scent of its own.

Perfumes and love have definitely something in common, it could be the reason people fall in fall faster here than anywhere else! Romance is in the air!

And with some masterpieces of architecture around like the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and the Eiffel Tower the picture is complete.

After you have visited all the major attractions and remained deeply impressed by them the next step would be to discover the other side of Paris, the side known by the locals and not by the tourists. You will be thrilled to discover them and feel like you have discovered a secret that is hidden from tourists. For example there is a place in Paris on a hill where there is a little vineyard and wine has bee produced for decades by a conscious owner who wanted to preserve tradition. The wine is excellent and you will be able to say you tasted some of the city’s “blood”.

Parisians are great wine drinkers just as all French are but be aware and don’t let yourself be tricked into drinking some poor quality wine, ask a local’s opinion first then order your drink.

Visiting the city centre is one thing but you definitely have to go to see the neighborhoods which are worth discovering one by one as each of them have their own story to tell, their own secrets to reveal. On your tour you can meet a lot of interesting people and maybe some of your own nationality as there is of mix of cultures and almost every country has a “representative”. No wonder they choose to live here who wouldn’t? Most famous people have a residence here.

Paris is an expensive city and if you want to spend some quality time in some quality shops or clubs you have to prepare a big budget for your trip. But that’s not to scare you away, Paris is the city of artists and everybody knows that at the beginning of their career they don’t have a lot of money and still manage to survive and create in Paris as they use it as a source of inspiration.

Of course there are downsides of the city but they are so minor compared to the glamour around that they pass unobserved.

When you go to Paris don’t do what all the tourists do and eat what they eat, visit what they visit, but if you want to feel like a real Parisian do what the Parisians do and get an insight of their life, then you will be able to say that you know Paris!

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Read our members' reviews about Paris

• Visit the Eiffel Tower
  review by cipristb posted more then 30 days ago
  The Eiffel Tower is considered the symbol of Paris and one of the most nonconformist architectural piece of art in the world, even if at first it was met with skepticism. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel and inaugurated in 1889. The tower has a height of 300 m and a weight of over 10 000 tonnes....
• What to know about the Notre Dame Cathedral
  review by cipristb posted more then 30 days ago
  The Notre Dame Cathedral is one of the most recognized historic monuments in France. It is located on Ile de la Cite, its construction began in 1163 and lasted until 1250. The Notre Dame Cathedral is considered the darkest gothic style cathedral. The building is 130 m long, 35 m in height, 45 m...
• Getting around in Paris
  review by Wazling posted more then 30 days ago
  At that time, when i've been there, it was really nice, 'cause you could find at every corner a bar, restaurant or coffe bar, where you could eat and drink something. I had pleasant experiences with the Chinese restaurant and bar next to Gare de Lyon, try it, if you are there. The people were...

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Read our members' travel tips about Paris

• Paris City Passport
  travel tip by erato posted more then 30 days ago
  Paris City Passport is a very useful little booklet. It contains coupons that give you a discount to more than thirty places including museums, shops, shows, restaurants, attractions etc. You can use one coupon only once and, to be...
• Eiffel Tower by night
  travel tip by danpop posted more then 30 days ago
  If you want to see something breathtaking, watch the Eiffel Tower every hour from dusk to 2 am (1 am in the winter) as 20,000 bulbs twinkle brilliantly for five minutes. The view will surely make you love Paris even more.
• Metro in Paris
  travel tip by danpop posted more then 30 days ago
  If you are in Paris just a day or two, the best way to go to the most important tourist attractions is to buy a one day Metro ticket (Carte Mobilis), that costs 5 euros, the cheapest. Be careful, Paris is divided into zones and the...

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