The Catacombs caught Norah’s attention when she was little and she has always talked about wanting to visit Paris. We finally had the opportunity to make this happen and planned a trip for spring break in March 2023. This was a fortuitous time for our spring break - just enough ahead of the main tourist season that prices were reasonable and the crowds weren’t at their peak. Historically the weather can be cool and rainy, but we felt this was a fine tradeoff for visiting in the shoulder season.

Planning a first time trip to Paris is intimidating - the choices of what to see and do are overwhelming. Once we decided we were going, the first order of business was locking down the best priced flights and lodging. When picking lodging I was most concerned with a convenient location in a safe neighborhood and a good price. We didn’t expect to be in our room much, so we were fine with small quarters and basic accommodations. I settled on Hotel le Clement in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It had good reviews, good prices, and is in a great location. It is in a lively neighborhood within walking distance of many attractions and close to three Metro stops. Upon arrival we realized an added bonus: it was around the block from Epic, an upscale grocery store with a nice selection of drinks, fresh fruit, prepared food, etc. that was convenient when we wanted to grab snacks.

With flights and lodging taken care of, I turned my attention to an itinerary. I found the Rick Steve’s Paris Guide very useful in planning, as well as browsing various forums, articles, and blogs about visiting Paris. We slowly started to make a list of what attractions were our top priorities, what neighborhoods we wanted to visit, and some potential tours. Based on when attractions were open/closed and grouping nearby sites, I started to sketch out a rough itinerary. I did the math and found it was beneficial to purchase a Paris Museum Pass (being under 18, Norah was free to most places we visited). In addition to some savings, the other advantage of the PMP was that for some of the attractions it was not required to book a time slot ahead of time and there was a separate line for pass holders. We never had to wait in line anywhere we visited. This also came in handy when we had to do some last minute rearrangements of our schedule and didn’t have to worry about booked time slots for some attractions.

Some places, even with the PMP, required booking ahead of time and I did this early on to get our desired time slots (basically first slots in the morning). A few of the places we saw were not included in the PMP: Palais Garnier (tickets could be reserved ahead of time for a date, no specific time slot needed), The Catacombs (tickets released online a week in advance), and the Eiffel Tower (multiple ticketing options). I mostly had no problems booking time slots, but did find that the summit tickets for the Eiffel Tower were not available for the day and time we wanted to go. I ended up booking a summit tour through Get Your Guide (a very popular website for booking tours in general). It was more expensive but I felt better having tickets in hand than hoping some might be available if we showed up and waited in line. It ended up being a moot point since the Eiffel Tower was closed due to the strike on that day and our tickets were refunded. There were several museums we visited that were free and did not require booking at all: Musée de la Libération de Paris, Mémorial de la Shoah, and the Victor Hugo House.

In addition to the museum and monuments we planned to visit, I booked several extra tours. We always love doing food/walking tours and there were plenty to choose from in Paris. We ended up on a Secret Food Tour in Montmartre and we loved it. Upon the recommendation of a friend, we also booked a 2CV tour. This was a tour in a vintage Citroën 2CV and customizable. We arranged to be picked up at our hotel and driven around Paris for two hours. This was a great way to cover a lot of ground and learn about Paris from our local guide. We loved seeing everything lit up at night and it was very easy to get around with little traffic in the evening. The third tour I booked was at Versailles. The PMP covers entry to the Palace of Versailles and I booked an extra tour through the official website for a tour of the King’s Private Apartments (well worth it for an extra 10€). I’m so glad we did this tour - the crowds at Versailles can be a lot and it was nice to be on a small tour with a guide without the crowds.

There are numerous places in Paris to get nice views of the city. Even though we didn’t make it up the Eiffel Tower, we didn’t feel like we missed out because we had good views from Sacré-Cœur, Galeries Lafayette, Centre Pompidou, and the Arc de Triomphe. We really enjoyed going up the Arc de Triomphe, which is a great vantage point from which to see the Eiffel Tower. We also were highly entertained watching the traffic at rush hour - it was pretty crazy! We arrived in the early evening and took in the views as the light transitioned from daytime to sunset to nighttime. It was a lovely evening.

Prior to our trip, I kept my eyes on the news about the strikes and how it could potentially impact our trip. My main concern was any kind of delays related to airport workers striking and luckily this was a non-issue for us. We immediately noticed the trash piles (this varied by arrondissement - it was definitely worse in Saint-Germain-des-Prés where we were staying) and they continued to grow throughout our stay. Fortunately it wasn’t hot, so it didn’t smell bad. The biggest inconvenience was having to sometimes detour around them because the sidewalk was blocked. We never came across any protests, although a few times Metro stations were closed due to protests. This was minimal and otherwise we had no problems getting around via walking and the Metro. As I previously mentioned, we did have to cancel our Eiffel Tower tickets and we did some last minute rearranging of our schedule in case any of the other museums closed (they didn’t and we were still able to see everything else we had planned on). I know the news portrayed Paris as a city on fire roiling with riots, but this was certainly not the experience on the ground.

Overall, I was very happy with how our plans played out. We got to see what we wanted to (although there is plenty left for more trips!) and we never felt rushed. Paris is a relatively compact city and it was very easy to get around. We loved the different neighborhoods and it felt like we were constantly oohing and aahing over a charming street or stopping to look at a cool building. Coming from a young country, the deep history of Paris was so interesting. Fantastic history, art, food, and neighborhoods - it was a terrific trip. We loved the seven days we spent in Paris and are certainly looking forward to returning some day.


A few other points:

The advantage of March was lower prices and crowds in the shoulder season versus peak time. We didn’t mind the cooler weather (much prefer that to hot weather) and we were rained on twice, but were prepared with rain jackets and umbrellas (I really loved my Eddie Bauer Girl on the Go waterproof, insulated trench coat. The removable lining adds to its versatility). I thought the main drawback of March was that most trees and plants weren’t blooming yet. We didn’t spend as much time in the various gardens that we might have if we were visiting when everything was green and blooming. Also, hours can be reduced and in one instance, the Dome at the Pantheon was not open (in season you can climb the dome for panoramic views of Paris).

We don’t speak French and had no problems getting around. We were sure to know key phrases in French and used them liberally and we were fine. Having Google Translate on our phones was definitely a nice backup though if we needed it!

If you start researching a trip to Paris, you will undoubtedly start coming across information on pickpockets and scams that could make you think twice. We had no issues and felt it was like any other big city we have visited. We wore cross body purses, practiced common sense (be aware of your surroundings, keep a hand on your belongings, pay attention on crowded Metro trains, etc.) and felt safe during our trip. Only twice did we encounter the scams. Once was at the base of Sacré-Cœur where a group of men were trying out the bracelet scam and the other was when we entered Cour Carrée, one of the main courtyards at the Louvre. There was a group of women with clipboards that were attempting to talk to us. In both instances a firm “non, merci” or “non” without stopping did the trick.