Paris tips

[milkeyway]

lovely people of Mumsnet please give me your top tips for 48 hrs in Paris with a friend. We want to avoid the tourist traps and obvious things/queues but see the best of the city. So any recommendations for things to see, parts to wander, walks, restaurants (mid budget) would be wonderful

Try asking AI, eg ChatGPT. They're quite good for itinerary suggestions when your criteria are so broad.

Or maybe search this site for previous threads about Paris to see what people have already posted.

If the Matisse exhibition is still on, go! It’s fantastic.

Look on TripAdvisor for the Montmartre food walking tour. You’ll learn a lot and eat some delicious treats.

The tearoom behind the big clock in the Musée D’Orsay was one of the highlights of Paris for me. Café Campana I think.
And also Marie Antoinette’s palace - Le Petit Trianon. I was so happy I went - it’s exquisite. (Didn’t bother with the rest of Versailles)

Loved downstairs in Le Grizzli in the Marais 🐻
https://grizzli-cafe.fr/en/

The montmarte Renoir gardens is a lovely little place for a quiet coffee.

If you get the Navigo weekly rail card which is cheaper than buying individual metro journeys make sure you take a passport photo for each traveller and make sure you attach it - we were fined a massive amount because we didn’t have photos on ours (although at no point were we made aware that we HAD to and the card itself sounds more like a ‘you can if you want to’ rather than a ‘you must’) - they target tourists to check the cards.

Well worth going up the Notre Dame tower for views ( have to book in advance). We went at 8pm.
Catacombs are great and Musee de la Liberation opposite.

I recommend going to the Montparnasse Tower for amazing views, especially of the Eiffel Tower. If timed right, you can see the lights coming on all over the city at dusk.

Wandering around le marais is my recommendation:)
if you’ve never been you need to do a bit of tourist stuff though. Have you been before?

Fondation Loius Vuitton is definitely worth a visit.

Its closed!!!

Oh no…ignore that, then. Sorry!