TIPS FOR YOUR TRAVEL TO PARIS
Kent Porter
Museums Worth a Visit
*Le Louvre
Le Louvre has one of the largest art collections in the world. The building with its seven wings is both the largest museum in the world (8,160,000 sq ft.) and the largest former royal palace. If you have the time, before you go on your trip, watch at least the first 30 minutes of this award-winning film which I used to show to my students: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIcHlRvtd1Q
It is narrated by the famous French actor Charles Boyer. It tells the history of the building up until 1964 (when the film was made). During the last thirty minutes of the film, one gets an extensive discussion and views of the art. If you want a good overview of the masterpieces found in the Louvre, you might want to skip the last 30 minutes of the film and go here to a page from the Louvre website:
https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/visitor-trails/the-louvre-s-masterpieces
At some point before you visit the museum itself, perhaps the day before, I recommend that you walk around the whole museum outside. The building itself represents over 1100 years of French history. Check out La Grande Gallérie, the wing of the Louvre along the Seine. It is over seven hundred feet long, and, as the NBC film above points out, the French King Henri IV had it entirely rebuilt and expanded. He would fill it with trees and bushes and hunt a fox on horseback inside to amuse his son, the future King Louis XIII. On the connecting side of the building between the river and the rue de Rivoli, be sure the see the beautiful colonnade façade added by Louis XIV (the Sun King who had Versailles built). On the side facing the rue de Rivoli, you can see the section that houses the Napoléon III apartments. On the side with the two enormous wings exposed, have a look at the entryway glass pyramid designed by the Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei. He and his team of builders completely restored a large part of the museum (1989) in a massive public works project celebrating the bicentennial of the French Revolution. The work uncovered many of the remnants of the original Louvre built on behalf of the French King Louis-Auguste in 1190. You can visit some of those by briefly touring the Medieval Louvre underneath the museum when you go to see the art and architecture from the inside.
For tickets and museum information, go here:
https://www.louvre.fr/en/visit/hours-admission
Usually, access directly from this metro station is quicker—take Métro line one and get off at the station Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. You enter directly from the Métro station.
For its major masterpieces, here is a great easy guide in English from the Louvre website:
https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/visitor-trails/the-louvre-s-masterpieces
Must see—the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, Vénus de Milo..among others.
*Le Musée d’Orsay
19th century works of art, most especially the impressionist paintings
*Le Musée de l’Orangérie
For the beautiful water lilies mural painted by Claude Money when he was nearly blind.
*Le Musée du Centre Pompidou
Modern art, go especially to view the building designed by Lorenzo Piano and Richard Rodgers
*Le Musée du Moyen Âge (Le Cluny)
As its name suggests, it specializes in the Middle Ages. Also, on the bottom floor, there are Gallo-Roman ruins. Don't miss the "Lady and the Unicorn" Tapestries—well worth-seeing
Churches Worth a Visit
*La Sainte Chapelle
For its spectacular stained glass. See a concert held there if you can.
La Sainte Chapelle (the spire on the left below is the top of it) can be visited with a combined ticket to La Conciergérie pictured below (the former royal palace before the Louvre was built, and the place that Marie Antoinette was held in prison before her execution by the Guillotine during the French Revolution.
*Le Sacré Cœur
In Montmartre, with a great view in front of it looking down on Paris
*Notre Dame
Probably not available yet to go inside because of the reconstruction after the fire. A stroll around it is well worthwhile. Good views and photos can be had from le Pont de la Tournelle (bridge across the Seine right near the famous Tour d’Argent restaurant (they have a similar view from their dining room)
*Église Saint Germain des Prés
The oldest church in Paris
Restaurants
Notes: Don’t tip, and check the menus posted outside. Almost all restaurants accept Apple Pay or a version thereof, as well as regular credit cards. And the waiters bring their credit card/Apple Pay machine readers to the table. You generally must ask for the bill after your meal—“L’addition, s’il vous plaît”. Also, don’t engage waiters in idle chit-chat, and don't ask for alterations on the menu.
Some areas where I have especially enjoyed restaurants in the past. My preferred place is a stereotypical French bistrot. Those often have a zinc bar and a slate chalkboard on which they write the daily menu. The insiders who are French know where the good bistrots of the moment are. It is ever-changing. I could dine in one of those every day!:
Le Marais 4th arrondissement
Latin Quarter 5th arrondissement
St.Germain des Près 6th arrondissement
Going out from Bastille 11th arrondissement
Les Batignolles 17th arrondissement
Here are some restaurant guides. Keep in the mind that there is always a lot of turnover with restaurants. The following may or may not be current:
Click here for one guide
And another guide
And still another with less expensive restaurants
Other listings for Bistrots which offer traditional Parisian food:
First bistrot list
Second bistrot list
Try one of the Bouillons for a Belle Époque decor (late 19th century) and generally pretty good food
Here is a list of some Brasseries —note that one of them on this list is the Closerie des Lilas, which was one of the hangouts of the expat writers from the 1920s
Good Areas to Explore on Foot
*Le St. Germain des Prés (6th arrondissement)
Note particularly the cafés frequented by the American ex-pats F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas: Le Café de Flore and
Aux Deux Magots
The oldest café in Paris (and perhaps in the world) is still operating in this area, frequented by the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire, Rousseau, Verlaine—Le Procope
*From Place St. André Des Arts to Place St. Germain des Prés
An interesting walk along a street (and surrounding streets) lined with small art galleries. A fun gallery/museum is the studio of Eugène Delacroix along this walk nearby on the rue de Furstemberg https://www.musee-delacroix.fr/en/museum-studio/eugene-delacroix-37/biography-140/
*Along le Canal St.Martin
read about it here https://snippetsofparis.com/canal-saint-martin/
*Around Montmartre (touristy but picturesque)
read about it here https://www.solosophie.com/montmartre-walking-tour/
*Le Jardin du Luxembourg
Many Parisians’ favorite park
read about it here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_du_Luxembourg
*From the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe
Read about it here
*Wander around the Île Saint Louis
Read about it here
*Visit some of the huge department stores
Read about them here
*Antiques and farmers markets
read about them here
and here
*Les Passages Couverts
For an experience a bit off of the tourist trail, you might want to visit some of the passages couverts, the covered and hidden passageways. Here is a short list by arrondissement:
-Galerie Vivienne Paris – 4 rue des Petit-Champs, Paris
-Galerie Colbert Paris – 2 rue Vivienne, Paris
-Passage du Grand Cerf Paris – 145 rue de Saint-Denis, Paris -Passage des Panoramas Paris – 11 boulevard de Montmartre, Paris
-Passage Jouffroy Paris – 10 boulevard de Montmartre, Paris
-Passage Brady Paris – 43 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin, Paris 10
-Passage Choiseul Paris – 40 rue des Petits-Champs, Paris
-Passage du Bourg-l’Abbé – 120, rue Saint-Denis, Paris 2
Passage des Deux Pavillons Paris – 6, rue de Beaujolais, Paris 1
And here is a site explaining them and one or two others
*From the Centre Pompidou via la rue des Francs Bourgeois to la Place des Vosges—le Marais (4th arr.)
Good Views of Paris
*From the Eiffel Tower
*From the Tour Maine-Montparnasse
*From the 20th arrondissement—le Parc de Belleville
*From the steps in front of le Sacré Cœur in Montmartre
Cemeteries
*Many famous people in history are buried in Père Lachaise— go to see it only if you have run out of things to see and do.
*Also, another interesting burial site is Les Catacombes
If you have claustrophobia or are afraid to see lots of human bones, you might want to skip it
Public Transit
Buses allow you to see more, but the Métro can be quicker to get from point A to B. WALK if you can in order to see more. Stay on sidewalks, and obey the traffic signals. Paris traffic can be quite dangerous.
RATP le Métro and les Autobus
RER Suburban lines
Paris Navigo pass is a good bargain for unlimited travel during the week. Also includes the RER lines from the airport. Be sure to read the conditions and others found here at the Paris Public Transit site
Travel Guide Books
Rick Steves
Lonely Planet
Foders
Final Note From Kent
The above tips represent a few things that come to mind from my lens and my personal experiences—from having close French friends who live in Paris, from having been to Paris over 30 times, and from my 38 years of teaching high school French. Incidentally, your trip will be much more fun if you learn a few key phrases in French before you travel (hi, hello, thank you, please, where is, how much, etc.). If you make an effort to speak in French, you will have more fun and will probably enjoy meeting French people.
I am not an expert about Paris, but I do know it fairly well as an American who is a “certified French Nut”. The items I mention above are literally the “tip of the iceberg”. Get yourself a good guidebook (and highlighter) and study the book before you travel. Get informed before you board the plane, and you will have a better trip. Have fun, and keep an open mind to your new experiences! Bon Voyage!
