Marcella’s Travel Tips

Originally written in 2019 with my travel tips for first-time visitors to Paris.

Updated August 12, 2022. My Friend Mary, who studied abroad in her youth and is a world-class traveler, recently returned from Europe and posted her tips for travel in post-Covid days. They are reprinted below with her permission:

These are my tips for first-time visitors to Paris based on my experiences:

Comfortable shoes – walk as much as you can – there is so much to see. I worried about wardrobe but saw every style of clothes. Backpacks however do scream “Tourist”.
Try to sleep on the plane (if traveling from US) as you will be arriving AM and will want to make the most of that day as well.
Don’t worry about the language. I don’t speak French and had no issues. A few people say they don’t speak English – but most do and are very accommodating, especially the young people. I picked up words easily and was able to read menus and directions (I took 3 years of French in school).
Buy the pass for Batobus; it’s the only Seine river cruise offering “hop on/hop off” option. It makes nine stops along the Seine, all within comfortable walking distance of the major museums and monuments (except the Arc de Triomphe which is about a mile away). I bought the 48-hour pass and would hop on and ride when tired. Then hop off at another site and keep going. It’s #1 stop is at Eiffel Tower and #9 is at the Jardins des Plantes and the Sorbonne. The round trip passes by both sides of Notre Dame.
Order coffee at the bar in the cafés rather than sitting at a table. After you get your coffee, you can sit at the tables without paying the extra 2 euros for table service. Take your time at the café and watch the people walking by and enjoy.
Plan only one or two major visits/events for each day. Let the rest of the day go unplanned and walk and enjoy everything around you. Plan places that are close together and you can do more.
You won’t have time to do everything, so don’t stress yourself out trying. Have fun and relax.
Batobus. Photo copyright 2019 Karol Roff
Wander the streets, especially the side streets.
Be sure you visit a Diwali shop and buy Marcella a scarf 😊
Find restaurants a couple blocks off the main streets/boulevards – cheaper and most likely, the food will be a lot better. You can find a three-course meal with a glass of wine for a third of what the same costs on the tourists’ boulevards.
Make sure you go to at least one of the street markets. There is one somewhere, every day.
When going to a boulanger, look for the ones that advertise “Artisan”. That means everything is made onsite and not brought in par-baked from other bakeries.
In my opinion, the d’Orsay is better than the Louvre. The Louvre was SO crowded, it was impossible to enjoy. I couldn’t get any closer to the Mona Lisa than 30 feet. I spent several hours in the d’Orsay. (The views from the terrace of the d’Orsay are amazing.)
If you want to visit several museums, buy the official Museum Pass at Paris Info. Make sure you are planning on seeing a lot of different museums (it includes the Arc but not the Eiffel). You get to cut the lines (although the cut line at The Louvre is still several minutes) and get in faster. Once inside, however, no help with the crowds. Buy your passes from the Tourist Office. The is one inside the Hotel de Ville in the Marais – it’s the official tourist office and best deals and best advice.
Where I tried Aligot

Have Aligot at one of the restaurants – an Auvergne food of mashed potatoes and cheese (but so much more and fun, too). I found mine at a tiny restaurant near the Bastille Monument – but you’ll find it around your hotel.
Be sure and walk along the Seine – so much to enjoy. The Parisians treat it like the beach in the summer with umbrellas, chaise lounges and picnics
Laurent duBois in Saint Germain is best cheese shop, in my opinion. I’ve been told that Marie Quattrehomme is also excellent, but I didn’t get there. You’ll find shops as you walk along, and some are good, and some seemed a little scary to me (food safety in France is different from the US, for better or worse). LDB is an MOF, which is the highest honor an Affineur can attain in France. You can bring back all the raw milk cheese you want for “personal use”. I brought back 10 raw milk cheeses. Be sure you declare it. You cannot bring back fresh-fresh cheeses (like ricotta) or cheeses with meat but everything else is ok. Butter and olive oils are OK as well. Here’s the link to the government page about what’s allowed.
Every Day Parisian is the best site I have found for practical info on navigating Paris.
St. Martin Canal with Bastille Monument. Photo copyright Karol Roff
Again, don’t try to do everything because you are going to go back again and again. I am already planning my next trip and this time I will go alone. After only one trip, I am confident I can navigate the city on my own. I’ll rent an apartment next time, most likely in the Marias near the river.
Re pick pockets – they are around, especially at the big attractions where crowds gather. Keep your phone and wallet protected. One PP scam is people pretending to be deaf and trying to get you to sign a petition – we encountered them at the Sacre Coeur. While one gets you to sign the petition, the other picks your pocket. Ignore them.
The streets inside the Peripherique are safe. I never felt nervous while walking. Outside the Peripherique can be dicey. (The Peripherique follows the old wall path of medieval Paris.
I found the public restrooms to be very clean, many even attended but it will cost you 1.5 euros. There are public urinals which astonished me…
I stayed above ground and never got on the metro – didn’t want to miss seeing stuff.
The Yellow Jackets demonstrate on Saturdays only and usually along the Champs and near The Bastille monument. Most likely you will never be bothered by them.
The Louvre from The Orsay across the Seine

More tips:

Pick out the most important places you want to see and plan one or two for each day. As I said above, pick places together so you can accomplish more in your short time. If it’s museums: choose the top 3 you “must” go to – the Louvre, l’Orangerie and d’Orsay are close together. Depending on your tastes, you can probably get them all in the same day.

The Arc is a nice walk from the Eiffel so you can do them both in the same day and then walk along the Champs de Elysees to the Grand Palace and Petite Palace.

I went to the Moulin Rouge – just the show and not the dinner show and loved it. Well worth the money. It is in the red-light district – kind of fun to see the nightlife there. That’s where I saw a public urinal.

If you go to Sacre Coeur (highest point in Paris – wonderful views) be sure you walk down the Montmartre steps or ride the cable car. Fun, we walked as line for the cable car was a twenty minute wait.

The views from the d’Orsay are amazing.

Stop and enjoy the street musicians – we saw several while there and all are good.

There is a hop on/hop off bus, but I didn’t try using it. Summer traffic was horrendous.

Visit my European visit pages: Bra, Italy 2011; Comte 2019; Comte Videos; Geneva 2019; My Week in Paris 2019 and How I Finally Got to Paris

Mary’s Post-Covid travel tips:

Things I learned on this trip after not traveling in over two years:

Even if you have notified your bank, a large purchase generates a fraud alert. Don’t be alarmed by a declined charge. The stores are used to it and all it takes is a free call to your bank to clear things up. This protects everyone!

Most places in Europe prefer credit cards. If you load them into Apple wallet or Google pay before your trip it’s faster and easier. They prefer you not use American Express as the fees are higher.

Uber can be a Godsend. They find you and you don’t need to speak to your driver. Some cities have a minimum charge.

Put all your travel related apps together in a folder on your phone.

Download the following apps: GlobeTips and Global Blue

Turn on cellular data only when you need to. Your phone really uses up power quickly in roaming mode. Shut down as many apps as possible when in cellular mode so they aren’t running in the background. Consider buying backup power.

If you want a VAT refund, your purchases must be in your carry on bags. Sometimes shipping it is worth the trouble.

In addition to being an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional, I am a Certified ServSafe Food Production Manager with certifications that also include ServSafe Certified Food Protection Manager.