6 Useful Tips for First Time Visitors to Paris, France

Pont des Arts - Lock of Love Bridge

Paris is one of the famous tourist destinations in the World. Parisian streets are filled with tourists and any time of the year would be a good time to visit Paris. Despite the gastronomical allure and abundant history, visiting Paris can quickly turn into a chaotic nightmare for a first time visitor. 

1. Overplanning is a Killjoy: As Anthony Bourdain once said, "The vacation gone wrong in Paris is almost always because people try to do too many things." While planning our first vacation, I conveniently choose to ignore this suggestion and ended up with an unpleasant experience. There are a million things to do and to see in Paris. But, If this is your first time, do not fill your schedule with activities. A hectic schedule will lead to a disappointing trip. Lower the number of activities but thoroughly plan the activity. Pre-book tickets, map out the routes, and pack loads of snacks. 

Louver Museum

2. Stay as Close as Possible to the City Center: The one thing I regret from our trip was staying far away from the city center. Even though staying in the city center appears to be expensive, it saves a lot of time, money, and unnecessary agony of navigating through public transit. Imagine chasing 2-3 busses to reach your hotel after an extremely active day. The other option is to shell out money on the cab but still end up spending hours in the traffic. Neither is pleasant. So, if you are traveling with kids, stay as close as possible to the city center.

Venus de Milo - Louvre Museum

3. Crowds & Queues: There are queues everywhere. Museums,  attractions, public transportation, restaurants. I am no stranger to waiting in queues. But, visitors in Paris take it to a whole new level. Waiting in a queue for 4 hours to gain entry to a museum is not pleasant. However, for families with young kids, there is an added advantage of priority entry to almost all the museums. 

Here are a few tips to minimize the wait times:

• Stay close to the city center and start early. 
• Book a tour guide. Tour guides have access to a separate entrance and would save the pain of prolonged waiting. However, the tour prices are generally twice or thrice the regular entry price.
• Be prepared to leave. You are the best judge of your family's tolerance for waiting. At times, it is sane to skip an attraction and just spend time in the park.
• Visit the "not so popular" attractions. Even though there is no such thing in Paris, there is always an alternative option. For example, Musée d'Orsay was much more pleasant to visit than the popular Louvre.

Notre Dame - After the Fire

4. Public Transportation: Paris has a good network of public transportation. RER (Réseau Express Régional) connects Metro to the suburbs in Paris. Métro is a local underground train network. There are also trams and buses available. Paris is divided into 6 Zones. Paris center, which includes most tourist destinations, are covered under Zone 1-3. Palace of Versailles, Disney Land, CDG, and few other destinations come under Zone 1- 6. Tourists have the option of choosing between Paris Visite Pass or Single tickets called (t+).

    Paris Visite Pass has an option of tickets just for Zone 1-3 or Zone 1-6 and is valid for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days. A 5-day adult pass covering Zone 1 -6 would cost €65.80. The advantage of Visite pass is that they can be used for an unlimited number of journies on any mode of public transportation including RER, Métro, bus, tram. If you are not going to use public transportation a lot, single-use t+ tickets would be cheaper. They can be purchased at the counter or a vending machine. A carnet (vending machine spits out 10  t+ tickets) is cheaper than a single ticket. These t+ tickets cannot be used on RER. One very useful tip is if you are taking RER and visiting a place in Zone 6 and do not have Paris Visite Pass, buy tickets both ways at the starting point of your journey. If you are planning to stay inside the city, and visit tourist attractions alone, Hop on Hop off buses will be very useful. 

Using Métro with young kids is quite a challenge. Most Métro stations in Paris are 2 levels underground. Escalators and elevators are mostly non-existent. The turnstiles of the metro are not stroller friendly. There were countless occasions where the folded umbrella stroller got banged against the closing gate barriers. I wonder how Parisians with young kids commute. Unlike Amsterdam, Paris Métro is outdated. It tests your physical endurance. But, it gets the job done.

Musée d'Orsay

5. Remain Vigilant at All Times: The chances of first-time travelers getting conned are very high. I have heard of cases where the hotel rooms were robbed. Fortunately, this is not a common occurrence. Take care of your belongings and remain vigilant at all times.

View From Eiffel Tower - Level 2 Observation Deck

6. Language: It is always a good idea to pick up a few sentences of the language of the land one is visiting. However, in France, a few sentences of French just don't cut it. As soon as we got off the train at Paris Gare de Nord, we booked a cab. After a couple of hasty phone calls and trying to understand what we were saying, the taxi driver decided to cancel our ride as we do not speak French and he did not understand English. It is like a bitter aftertaste like a rancid nut would leave. These encounters are quite common and are an important part of the whole travel experience. Sometimes, you will encounter menus in French without English translation. Well, Google translator is your best friend. However, it should not stop one from visiting France.