Where did we stay?

We stayed in the 4th arrondissement, which is smack in the centre of Paris. If you do a Google Map search, you’ll see it’s within walking distance to many of the big attractions and train stations. You can also catch a bus up the Boulevard de Sebastopol that will let you off at the Gard du Nord station – very handy if you’re connecting to regional speed trains or the Eurostar. If walking is too slow, but you still want exercise, bicycle hire is available, but only for ages 14 and up.

There are small supermarkets, boulangeries and fruiterers nearby, along with open-air markets. Marvellous place!

Language

Hospitality workers and those who deal with the tourist trade (like retailers) generally speak great English. I was impressed (and thankful) for that – as I’ve said in earlier posts, my French wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be ahead of arrival, and those phrases I learned flew right of my head. Not only that, when I opened my mouth sometimes German came out. Who said you forget what you learn in high school?! “Are you German?” I was asked on several occasions. Fair question!

Most of the French people we encountered very friendly. They really do appreciate an attempt to speak the language, even if you stuff it up. They were quite doting on the kids when we got them to order their own croissants or hot chocolates. We survived on the bare minimum of phrases: Bonjour, Merci, Parlez-vous Anglais? and l‘Addition?

Health and wellbeing

Pharmacies are prevalent in Paris, distinguished by their luminous green signs. They are quite small and front-of-store mostly carries products like skincare and makeup. You might have to specifically ask the staff member for items of a medicinal nature, so it might help to bring in the medication or have it written down for reference. Don’t be surprised to see dogs brought into shops, either. On a few occasions, I turned around to see a little chihuahua or sausage dog practically under my feet. The kids loved it.

Days out

Whenever possible, we kept all of our stuff in a single backpack during the day, things like water, snacks and spray jackets in case of rain. This was usually fine – unless the day turned very warm and everyone stripped off their layers, like what happened here at Montmartre and I’m trying to shove everything back in!

The benefits of keeping things in a single bag means baggage costs are kept to a minimum if you want to check it at a museum or gallery – in some places it’s a free service, others you pay a couple of Euro per bag. When doing so, for safety sake, I’d never check valuables, like my phone or passports. Adam put those in our slash-proof security satchel.

Lines

This is Riley’s “How much longer do we have to wait?” face. Even if you’re visiting in non-peak times, there’s no getting around the fact there will be lines of a certain length. That said, if you’re lucky, they might not be long. We got to the Lourve shortly before opening and there weren’t many people in front of us; turning up to the Musee D’Orsay just a little bit before opening, and we were in the line for ages. On the other hand, we walked straight into Notre Dame. It’s so hard to predict! We didn’t have any pre-paid tickets to Paris sites, unlike London or Rome, so perhaps it was best we got a taste for this kind of thing early.

Scammers and Pickpockets

We were warned ahead of time to be very vigilant about our belongings in Europe. Rome was the worst city for hawkers, but Paris had the most amount of scammers: people with fake surveys they’d ask you to sign and while you were distracted they would reach under the clipboard and try to lift what they good; the ‘dropped ring’ scam; buying spring water when the bottle had been pre-used and filled up with regular tap water. There are others too. We just kept our wits about us, and if you do that then we weren’t bothered. (It helped that Adam is very tall and can exude a big physical presence when needed – that was handy in Turkey!)

Travel Guides

Before leaving, I read up a lot about Paris. My personal preference is for the DK Eyewitness Travel books. I like the thicker ones for research, and the smaller ‘pocket’ ones for travel because they easily fit into the bag (which, as you read above, got quite full on occasion), or in a jacket pocket. I made the mistake, though of also thinking we’d need a ‘big’ book and packed one in our suitcase. It was unnecessary weight. This is because the Wi-Fi was good in our Airbnb and was pretty good in public areas, so looking up where we needed to go was usually just a quick Google Maps job. Also, most Airbnbs and hotels have lots of information for tourists to access.

Watch your personal space

If crowds are a problem, or you like a decent amount of personal space at all times, then be warned. Travelling on public transport can get very squishy during peak times, and a fair bit of jostling can go on to get onto a train when it turns up. You usually only need to wait three or four minutes until the next train, but don’t assume they’ll be any less full!

I had my first experience of a unisex public toilet up at the Sacre Coeur – it was strictly monitored by an attendant, so I wasn’t bothered, but I did see some women leave, preferring to wait, rather than remain in that situation. Young boys were often given a choice, but as they were mostly with their mothers or minders, it depended on the sex of the adult they were with as to whether they used a toilet or a urinal.

Speaking of kids, one of the refreshing things about Europe was their lack of ‘bubble wrapping’. Here in Australia our parks are layered or coated in squishy matting to avoid injuries; over there, you could tell the philosophy was, “These buildings have been here for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years. Deal with it.” I got the biggest fright up the top of Sacre Coeur when, in one place, there was just a tiny little rail. It sent my anxiety into overdrive whenever one of the kids went close, fearing they’d topple over the edge! But, generally speaking, I loved the independence that it fostered. There were so many kids on school excursion outings, braving the traffic, finding their way through the city.

Have I missed anything? Do you have any questions about Paris? Let me know! I’m not an expert, but if I can help I’d love to! If you missed them, you can read my earlier posts about Paris here and here.

Here’s a video of some fun things on offer if you get to Paris!