First Time Traveler’s Guide To Paris: Top Things To Do

Are you among those who have never been to Paris and would love to visit the city of Lights? If that is your case, do you want to know what the top things to do are and more? In this blog post, “first time traveler’s guide to Paris: Top things to do”, I will share some valuable tips and recommendations to help you plan your trip.

First Time Traveler’s Guide To Paris: Top things to do

UPDATED NOVEMBER 26, 2022. As I was saying on the onset, in this blog post,” first time traveler’s guide to Paris: top things to do”, you will get some great piece of information to help you plan your first trip to Paris.

Passport for first time traveler to Paris

You need a valid passport to travel to Paris, France. If you are a first time traveler visiting from certain countries, you will need a valid visa as well to enter France and the Shenghen area. Additionally, check the French consulate website of your home country before you start making any travel accomodations. Once your paperwork to travel is approved, start searching for flights.

Covid 19 test

At this time ( November 26, 2022), there is no more restrictions in France and masks wearing are no longer mandatorty excepted in medical facilities and hospitals.

Flights to Paris

For first time travelers, searching for international flights can be daunting if you have never traveled outside of your country. Here’s a few travel options that you can use to book your flight to Paris. To find some great deals, I suggest that you start searching at least 6 monts before your trip. Three of the websites that I use to search for flights are:

Google Flights
Skyscanner
Secret Flying

Secret Flying is definitely my favorite of them all to search for affordable flights. You will never pay ridiculous amount of money to travel especially if you are on a tight budget.

Get A VPN

One of the things that I do when searching for cheap flights is to turn on my VPN to change my location to get the best travel deals.

Paris airports

There are 3 major airports close to Paris. They are in terms of size and traffic:

CDG or Charles de Gaulle for mainly international flights
Orly for mainly local/European destinations as well as some foreign countries
BVA or Beauvais for some local but mainly low budget travel within Europe with Ryan Air

Beauvais Airport is about 1 hour and 15 min away by bus from the Paris’Porte Maillot bus station. If you decide to enter France through this airport, make sure you plan accordingly in order not to miss the shuttle bus that will take you to Paris especially if you arriving in the evening. For more info on the shuttle bus click here. The same thing applies if you plan on traveling through this airport to catch a flight. Give yourself enough time to get there.

The majority of international flights arrive at CDG. From there you can take a taxi or the suburban train RER B to get to the city. Your first 4 stops in Paris on this line will be in order :

Gare du Nord
Châtelet-Les Halles
Saint Michel-Notre Dame
Luxembourg (stop to visit the Luxembourg Garden)

How to get to the city from CDG

Uber
Taxi
Private car services
RER B
Bus

RER B (suburban train) is the cheapest way to get to Paris. A ticket one way will cost you €10.30. The bus ride will cost you €12 euros. Get more info here.

How to get to Paris from Orly airport

Orlybus
Orlyval
Tramway

In addition to what I said, Get more info here even if you plan on arriving through Beauvais Airport.

Follow the signs that says RER B, OrlyVal, Orlybus, Bus or Shuttle bus to Paris as you exit baggage claim. They are posted thoughout the airport making it easy to anyone to follow directions. Furthemore, you can either buy your tickets at the airport by using the ticket booth near the RER B line or order them online ahead of your trip (see below).

Travel passes for Paris transportation, museums, sightseeing etc…

To save time and headaches, you can purchase a Paris Pass that includes or not the cost of public transportation. It is up to you to decide what is best for you based on the length of your stay and needs. Read more on them and how you can book them online here. In addition, once you have your pass that includes public transportation, use it to take public transportation ( RER trains, metro, buses, tramways) to reach your travel destination.

RER are suburban trains. They are 5 of them that run through Paris and the suburbs. These lines are called RER:

Use your pass also for the other suburban trains such as lines:

H, J, K, L, N, P, R, and U.

Here’s a few posts you might find handy for your trip:

About Paris

Paris is divided in 20 arrondissements or districts. An arrondissement is an administrative district of Paris. Each one of them has its mayor, police, fire department and councils. Paris is shaped like a snail shell or in spiral starting with the first arrondissement in the middle. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and fourth arrondissements are called, “central Paris”. These arrondissements were formed before all of the others and are considered like open museums due to their rich history, beautiful architecture and momunements that lasted the test of time. Furthermore, most touristst tend to stay in central Paris to be near the Louvre Museum, attend Paris Fashion Week, stay at fancy/ private hotels and so forth…

Water

Water in Paris is safe to drink and is free at any restaurant. Just ask for ” un verre d’eau s’il vous plait!” meaning a glass of water please.

Beware of pickpockets

Unfortunately, picpockets are pretty much everywhere in the city. Be careful about your belongings especially while riding the metro, RER trains, buses, trams and restaurants. Beware of scams as well. I constantly see these scammers going after tourists and unfortuanely some fall victims to their snare.

Hotels to stay in Paris

Fortunately, Paris has no shortages of hotels. From budget to luxury, you are bound to find something that fits your budget.

La Clef Tour Eiffel in the 16th arrondissement if you want to be close to the Eiffel Tower
Hotel Plaza Elysée if you want to be near the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées Avenue
Ibis Hotel if you are on a budget
Pullman Montparnasse a 4* hotel ideal for business traveler located in the Montparnasse business center in Paris.

What to do in Paris

Head to Montmatre
Visit Little Africa (that in itself deserves its own blog post)
Go up the Eiffel Tower
1h Seine River Boat (try Vedettes du Pont Neuf)
Visit the Louvre Museum
Musée D’orsay ( for its rich collection of impressionist art)
Hop on hop off Paris bus tour
Visit le Palais Garnier
Go visit the beautiful Hôtel de la Marine in the 8th arrondissement

Where to eat

Walifay for authentic West African cuisine
Le Pavillon des Canaux in the 19th arrondissement
Breizh Café for savory and sweet crepes
Newsoulfood for Cameroonian cuisine
Food court la Felicità
Pinky Bloom for its cute pinky theme and delicious pancakes located near the Eiffel Tower
Café Cassette
Le Relais Gascon in Montmarte for French cuisine from Southwestern France

Where to brunch in Paris

5Pailles for all day breakfast and brunch on weekends
Désirée
Nous Valmy accross from Canal Saint Martin
Kube Hotel mainly if you want to stay near Gare du Nord because the nieghborhood is not that great.

First time traveler’s guide to Paris: Where to shop

Galleries Lafayette (department store)
La Samaritaine (luxury department store by LVMH)
Marais for thrift shops
Saint Germains des Prés (a neighborhood in the 6th arrondissement for luxury shopping)
Les Halles ( a mall in the 1st arrondissement)

Where to get some cocktails in the evening

Le Perchoir Ménilmontant rooftop ( make a reservation if you are more than 3)
Le China ( one of my favorite places for cocktails)
And also Le Comptoir Général ( get there early on weekends)

Where to watch a NBA game in Paris

If you are a fan of baskett ball and planing a trip to Paris in January, book your ticket to go see a game of the NBA. This year on January 19,2022, the Chicago Bulls will be playing against the Detroit Pistons at the Accor Arena in the 12th arrondissement. Check the Accor Arena’s website here for tickets.

Where to Dance in Paris

Le Pachamama for latin dancing ( strict dress code so be aware of it).
Le Comptoir Géneral mentioned above
Bizz’art

Day Trip from Paris

I love to take a day trip to leave the city for some more quieter time and sceneries. My favorite destination is the Normandy region. It is about a 2 hour drive from Paris. Many cities in Normandy are accessible by train from Paris in just an hour or more for those that do not drive. In addition, I love to live in Paris because it has a great railway system. For a day trip, I recommend:

Deauville
Dieppe
Giverny
Honfleur

Finally, these cities down below are great choices as well:

Auvers-sur-Oise to visit the fomer home of Van Gogh. Line H from Gare du Nord will take you there.
Versailles

5 Helpful emergency numbers you should know

17 Police
18 Fire department
114 for deaf and people with earring problems
15 in need of medical attention
112 if you are traveling anywhere in Europe in need any type of help

Conclusion

I hope that this post “first time traveler’s guide to Paris: top things to do” will help you plan your trip to Paris. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. I would like to hear from you guys. Feel free to share this post and to subscribe to my newsletter.

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