how to be a traveler

1. Weather in August is HOT and sunny.

Lots of places like restaurants and cafes do not have AC. While researching accommodations, I read that some hotels don’t have AC either, so AC was definitely one of my requirements when looking for a hotel.

2. August is summer vacation for the French.

Many places are closed, like shops and restaurants but this is typically in the less frequented neighborhoods. Tourist attractions are still open. We didn’t have any trouble seeing/eating everything we wanted and we visited during the second week of August. The only issues we ran into were modified metro schedules because of renovations in preparation for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

3. Look into getting the Museum Pass.

Ben and I are not big museum go-ers, but we still wanted to do the major ones. The Louvre is a part of the Museum Pass, which we purchased separate tickets for already. We actually ended up purchasing the Museum Pass at the Louvre after the fact because we realized a few other ones on our list also participated. You can buy a 2, 4, or 6 day pass. The Museum Pass is great if you are not on a time crunch. It allows you to visit museums you normally wouldn’t have. Because we had the pass, we added the Conciergerie to our itinerary, since it was next to Saint-Chapelle, the Pantheon, and the Arc de Triomphe, which were two attractions we were initially only planning to see from the outside. But because we had the pass, we decided to go in, and they were very cool attractions. Some of the museums still let you book time slots, even with the Museum Pass.

4. Tipping at restaurants is not customary since service is included.

If you’d like, you can round up to the nearest Euro, or leave a few extra Euros per person.

5. Public transportation is very convenient.

The metro is their subway system and comes frequently and on time. It’s also very easy to follow. If you plan on taking the metro a lot, look into getting a pass. If not, there’s also a discount if you buy a 10-trip package. This will also work on the RER if it’s within the city. This is the Réseau Express Régional, which is a transit system that also goes underground but connects the suburbs to the city. This is the train you’ll take from the airport to the city (about 30 minutes), or if you go to Disneyland (about 1 hour).

6. The official language is French.

We found that most people spoke/understood English in Paris, but it’s still nice to know at least a few basic French words/phrases – even if it’s just, “Bonjour”, “Merci”, or “S’il vous plaît.”

7. The currency used here is the Euro but most places accept credit cards.

American Express isn’t as widely accepted as Visa but it is accepted at department/luxury stores.

8. You don’t need a Visa if you’re visiting for up to 90 days.

9. Paris is divided up into arrondissements, or administrative districts.

Within each of the arrondissements are several neighborhoods. We stayed at Dandy Hotel, which was in the Les Halles neighborhood in the 1st arr., and Hôtel Hélios Opéra, which was in the Opera neighborhood of the 9th arr. Les Halles is good for restaurants and nightlife, and is walkable to the Louvre. Opera is good for department store shopping.

10. Eight days is enough for Paris.

Two out of our eight days spent in Paris were spent in Disneyland. Probably about 1 day was spent traveling between Paris and Brussels, so really we had five full days. I think this was a good amount of time to do everything we wanted. Paris is pretty big so it’s best to list out all of the things you’d want to do, and prioritize them based on the neighborhood in order to maximize your time.

11. Parisians love their long lunches.

This isn’t NYC. People don’t really eat on the go, and if you sit down to lunch here, expect a long lunch. In NYC, lunch is maybe 45 minutes. You go in knowing what you want to order, eat, and get the bill. In Paris, a lunch is probably about 1.5 hours. It’s a very leisurely activity so keep this in mind if you’re in a rush – you probably want to skip the sit down lunch.

12. Country hopping by high speed train is so easy.

We visited Brussels, which was only about an hour and a half. The main train stations in the city centre are Gare du Nord, and Gare de l’Est. You can and should buy your tickets online ahead of time if you want to get the seat/train time you want. Each car has luggage storage. Ben and I each had a regular-sized suitcase and didn’t have any issues traveling with it.