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

• You will need a lot of time in Paris
  review by erato posted more then 30 days ago
  Paris is just as beautiful as they say. The whole city, the streets, the buildings. Although, I didn't like the contrast between the old buildings and the very modern ones next to each other. The city was also extremely crowded, there are very many people and cars on the streets, at the...
• Public transportation in Paris
  review by erato posted more then 30 days ago
  Paris is indeed an amazing city with world famous monuments and people. It is as beautiful as they say but still causes many surprises for a first-time visitor like myself.Paris - Transportation There are two different cities, one under the earth and another one up in the sunlight. The metro...
• The wonderful France
  review by travelgrove-editor posted more then 30 days ago
  France is the country of romance, fine food and beverages and it offers an endless choice of enchanting destinations. This country's landscape from the towering snow capped mountains of the Alps, the quaint countryside, the vineyards, thick green forests, sandy white beaches to the well-know...

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Read our members' travel tips about Paris

• Luggage lockers
  travel tip by erato posted more then 30 days ago
  If you travel with large luggage, you can leave it at the luggage locker of one of the train stations like Gare de Lyon, Gare du Nord, Gare d'Austerlitz. If one is not opened, you can ask about the other at the information stand and walk...
• Accomodation in Hostels
  travel tip by danpop posted more then 30 days ago
  If you don't wear fancy pants, if you search for something rather cheap than comfortable for accommodation in Paris, you should definitely take into consideration hostels. Depending on the date of arriving, the nights spent, the number...
• The city of bicycles
  travel tip by erato posted more then 30 days ago
  Paris is more and more the city of bicycles. There are hundreds of stations where you can rent a bike for 1E per day or 5E per week. The only thing is that you have to check in a bike station in every 30 minutes. If you miss it, you have...

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