Ah, Paree. What a place to be.

My first trip to Paris was about seven years ago and I felt very lukewarm about the whole thing, but I’m glad to say that I have given it another chance and Paris has fully redeemed itself.

The first trip was all a bit hectic to be honest and I did make some mistakes in my decision-making so it’s not fair of me to put all the blame on Paris. Here’s where it all went wrong the first time and how I fixed it on my second trip.

The Journey to Paris

This is the first issue – we went by coach.

Obviously we did it for the lower price point because no one in their right mind would optionally take a nine-hour coach journey over a speedy flight or the Eurostar unless they were scared of flying and trains.

It’s not the length that’s the issue because if you stick me on a 9 hour plane journey I’ll be absolutely fine. A coach journey, however, is not quite the same and I’m not even going to talk about the toilets on coaches…

We travelled overnight so I figured I’d be able to get some shut-eye to make the time pass but no. Our coach went on the ferry rather than through the tunnel so we had to get off the coach in the middle of the night and onto the ferry. I suppose I was grateful to be able to stretch my legs, but it was the middle of the night. Where I wanted to be was ideally sleeping horizontally but I would have settled for sleeping in a seated position (or at least attempting to) on the bus.

“Why didn’t you just find a seat on the ferry?” you might ask. Oh I tried.

There was not a sufficient seat-to-passenger ratio on that ferry. I think I eventually found a seat but it was one of those tiny little things seats with curved edges that doesn’t really provide you with anywhere to lean your head. The rest is a bit of a blur so I don’t remember if I stayed on that seat or gave up and went somewhere else. All I know is that I did not sleep.

The benefit of an overnight coach is that you arrive nice and early so we had a full day ahead of us, but on a full night of next to no sleep, we weren’t exactly feeling invigorated. Still, we were determined to make the most of the day.

100% Tourist Mode

We were basically walking for two days straight – which I suppose is the only way to do Paris if you have less that 48 hours – and that first day was full on.

We started somewhere near Jardin des Tulleries
worked our way up through Place de la Concorde
along the Champs Elysees
to the Arc de Triomphe
then the Eiffel Tower
before getting the metro to Sacre Coeur in the most dreary summer weather you could have.
Then we made our way to the Louvre
joined the Mona Lisa mosh pit
and finally finished off the day by going BACK TO THE EIFFEL TOWER.

Feel free to ignore the chaos of that last paragraph and keep reading but essentially, we zipped here, there and everywhere and were completely shattered by the end of the day. On tourist paper, it may have looked like an incredibly successful day but the reality is, the landmarks and paintings were all we really saw. I feel like I didn’t take a moment to simply exist in Paris.

These are famous landmarks because people talk about them, but every street is simply gorgeous and you’re not exactly missing out if you don’t stand directly underneath the Arc de Triomphe.

SO Many Paintings

I planned this trip down to a T and for some reason, I decided that the hit list should include as many museums and galleries as possible. Here’s the thing – at the time, I didn’t yet realise that travelling and visiting new places isn’t simply about ticking off boxes. I thought London had a lot of museums but Paris could give London a run for its money.

Day 2 was Notre Dame, Pont des Arts, Musee d’Orsay and l’Orangerie which may not seem so busy but put me in a gallery and you won’t see me emerge for hours so each activity was very time-consuming.

I found one of my favourite painters (Pissarro) at Musee D’orsay and it was incredible to be in the room with Monet’s waterlilies at L’orangerie so I don’t regret any of it! I don’t know what I would have sacrificed if I had to (I’m glad I didn’t decide to give Notre Dame a miss…); however, I wouldn’t recommend the same crammed schedule I had.

There will always be something that you miss out on and that’s the beauty of a city that has so much to offer, but the thing you never have to miss out on is experiencing the city itself. If I had taken things even a tad slower, I would have had time to wander down the beautiful side streets or eat a fresh croissant while people-watching from a cafe window.

The Food Faux Pas

In the afternoon of our second day, we figured we would find somewhere to eat en route. Should’ve been easy enough because it’s Paris and they say there’s a boulangerie on every corner. Well, I learned the hard way that this is not quite true. I don’t remember what neighbourhood we were in but there weren’t many bistros around but the ones we did pass were closed for a couple of weeks for their summer holiday. Whose genius idea was it for everyone to go on holiday at the exact same time? Could we not have some sort of relay/tag team system?

It seems that I should have taken my own advice and done some research beforehand, but it’s experiences like this that you learn from. Albeit the hard (and hungry) way.

Eventually, we ended up in a small café on a corner that was full of flies and completely unbothered staff. Not the quintessential Parisian experience I had been after but an experience nonetheless.

I also don’t think I had any croissants while I was there! Outrageous I know, but I fully rectified this on my return to Paris when I probably had about four pastries a day.

Rainy Days

This was my attitude for the trip and I let the weather affect how much I was enjoying myself. This is not the attitude not only when travelling but also just for life. If you let the weather dictate your mood you’ll have a worse time than if you decide to embrace whatever comes your way.

If I’d also taken my own advice about having some flexibility in my schedule, I probably would’ve visited Sacre Coeur at a different point but instead, I decided we still needed to go right then while it was rainy and foggy, even though I wasn’t too chuffed about it. If that’s the attitude you’re going to have then what’s the point?

I’m very different these days and my approach now is to have a good time, rain or shine. Living in London has made me realise that if I let the affect my day, I’ll always be unhappy.

Giving Paris a Second Chance

After that first trip, I spent years saying that I didn’t love Paris and that it was so overrated but this year I returned with a new mindset. I was going to experience Paris. And I did!

I didn’t return to any of the places I’d already seen but I did pass the area around the Louvre a few times and found myself appreciating the architecture and the beauty of the place. Standing near that glass pyramid in the middle of a huge square with beautiful buildings surrounding you really feels like being in a movie.

I also had the best pastries ever. Three days in Paris is not enough to try a whole bakery but I certainly gave it my best shot. I had the most delicious apple turnover of my life and even had a cookie croissant (can confirm that it is an elite combination). I ate garlicky snails and buttery potatoes, the cheesiest galette and confit de canard, all for a relatively reasonable price (by Parisian standards).

Walking was still very much the primary activity on my trip but I let myself wander to new and interesting places.

I strolled up to an incredibly random and unexpected building that I’d never seen or heard of before – Centre Pompidou. It was quite the contrast to everything else around it but it’s very cool.

I strolled along the Seine and took in the two different renditions of La Vie en Rose that were happening on either side of the bridge as I crossed over.

I strolled up to the gorgeous Palais de Luxembourg and then through the neighbourhood of Montmartre, at which point, my phone died…

Lost in Paris

When my phone battery ran out, I was somewhere in Montmartre and a certain Tom Misch song came to mind. I was pretty warm after hours of walking and felt very safe but there I was, “Lost in Paris”.

I had somewhere to be in an hour and I knew the general direction so I decided to embrace the forced freedom from checking my map all the time and just figure it out. I continued wandering for a little while (a bit unsure to begin with), but once I reached the river I found my bearings once more and even enjoyed the challenge of trying to find my way.

How To Do Paris

So what can we learn from my mistakes and the way I rectified things on my second trip?

Get lost in Paris.

I’m just kidding but also that’s kind of the idea. Plan, research, and do all that good stuff but make sure you leave time to roam free and to simply be.

Get it out of your head that you won’t have seen Paris if you don’t tick off 12 tourist attractions in 2 days because I can assure you that it will be the other way around. If you only see tourist attractions, you won’t have seen Paris.

This time last year, I would have said Paris is nothing special, but this new approach has helped me to realise that Paris does have a little something.