To stay in Paris on my own for three days?!

[RainbowHash]

Posting here for traffic. For reasons not relevant to this post I will find myself in Paris for three nights in August on my own. I haven't been away on my own before (recently separated) and not sure what to make of the idea. I'm looking forward to keeping myself busy during the day, but I'm worried the evenings are going to feel weird. Any tips from other lone travellers? I guess a good book will be my friend. And are there any areas of Paris that you would recommend for me to stay in, or any to particularly avoid? Thanks in advance!

That sounds amazing. I go away on a European city break alone once a year. It's wonderful. I'd do it more often if I had the extra money and could easily spare the time away without my small children and busy job.

I can't say Paris one of my favourite cities personally, but you will find loads of things to keep you occupied during the day. The evenings too are wonderful and actually my favourite part, but I love my own company and eating in peace and quiet. A few glasses of wine and an early dinner is great, and then I go do something for the evening - go to a night market or street festival, go see a show, go to a late night in a museum, go take a walk around, have some cake, people watch, etc.

Paris is a great city for exploring, I can't count how many amazing weekends I've had there. I would recommend Musee Orangerie as it houses the huge Monet 'Nympheas'. Chill out in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower (champ du mars). If you like shopping you must go to L'Opera to Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, gorgeous buildings! Lots of other great recommendations above. A great way to get around are the Lime bikes or Lime scooters, just get an app and it charges to the app directly and you can pick them up everywhere. It's also great fun.

I've stayed somewhere different each time, really depends on what you like! Le Marais is probably a great area for a solo traveller, lots going on, fairly quiet and 'out' of the city, very chic, lots of beautiful cafes and boutiques!

Nothing wrong with eating by yourself, the best thing about Paris is all the outdoor cafes. Sit there facing the street and people watch! They are usually open til quite late so you could go for dinner, take a book and have a lovely glass of red!

I personally find Paris a bit sketchy at night, I wouldn't want to walk around on my own or get the metro late at night. Last time we just got Ubers which are everywhere and not particularly pricy. I say this as someone who's lived in many big European cities.

StCharlotte
Did you mean Versailles? I don't think you could visit Marseilles from Paris!

Oh and in terms of places to stay I would avoid the suburbs (the banlieue) and I also didn't like La Defense as that's the business district and it always feels culturally dead to me. A bit like the vibe I get from canary wharf- it's just offices and huge shopping centres.

I personally always stay in the Bastille region... I just get a great vibe from it... It's very French but in a trendy, artistic and culturally accessible way. And I'm not cultured at all but I just love the bars and cafes there.

I did this once about ten tears ago, well I just had a couple of daytimes completely free, the evenings I had to go to some formal dinners, work stuff. I did the Louvre, went on a boat trip, mooched around Galleries Lafayette and hung out near the Eiffel Tower eating a baguette in the grass.

It was nice and I enjoyed it. I did feel a bit lonely and Billy no mates though and really missed my DP not being there too, what a saddo I am.

Get some pictures too. fotoautomat.fr/nos-cabines/ #01 is good,make sure you take lots of euro coins.

If it’s something you’d be up for but a lovely notebook and pen when you get there (the stationery shops are divine) and write a journal about what’s happening, and maybe your plans for the future.
If that’s not for you write some postcards, even if they’re to yourself. Sitting in a cafe, writing and thinking is a great alternative when you’re done with reading. Have an amazing time.

Oh and buy yourself an ice cream at Berthillon.

I can recommend a lovely little hotel on the Left Bank - google St Paul Rive Gauche and its on Rue Monsieur le Prince.

I also like the walking tours that Sandemans do. They don't charge a fee upfront; you pay by tipping the tour guide at the end, which means they are really incentivised to make sure that you enjoy it.

Sounds fab! I've been on some great walking tours in various cities - an evening food one would be great in Paris.

I can highly recommend buying hop on hop off bus ticket. There is one who has 4 routes so you get to see everything. Just hop off whenever you fancy exploring and pop back on to move. Really enjoyed it!

Ooo I love Paris.

My favourite area is definitely Pigalle/Montmatre. (10th & 18th arrondisamont)

I would suggest a visit to Cafe Amore in Pigalle. They have an outdoor terrace which is just filled with greenery. Its idyllic, especially for brunch, but going there for a glass of red is amazing.

It’s obviously very pricey round the tourist spots, and it can feel a bit like going to Leicester Square in London. So I would avoid eating and drinking directly by Eiffel Tower and Moulin Rouge.

I would download the app FourSquare. It gives you amazing recommendations for breakfast/lunch/dinner and tea&coffee. You can search by area as well as price point. It will bring up some real hidden treasures. We found an amazing natural wine bar on there and had the best evening.
You can walk around a lot of Paris. It really isn’t that big, if you have an iPhone or google maps I would just wander around.

Haven't read the thread but I did this 10+ years ago when I was needing a proper break and DH couldn't get the time off

Booked a flight, off I went, got lost all the time and had a bloody ball.

BFF's Dad was about to put her on a flight to 'help' me and I told her in no uncertain way she wasn't welcome (I love her to bits, but she hates being on her own and I love it).

Do IT!

Louvre, Museé D'orsay, Notre Dame - three days?! you won't even scratch the surface.

This thread has got me wanting a real french baguette with delicious ham and cheese for lunch. 😋

Montmartre area is really nice, love staying there.

BarryBarry my fave, they’re not the same anywhere else. Meet you at the Eurostar terminal in an hour and a half? 🙂

Oh how lovely! Make sure you enjoy every second it really is a fantastic place.
The metro is your best friend during the day- it's very cheap and will get you anywhere (plus it's nice and cool in the hot weather).
Night on the other hand... do not walk anywhere or get public transport!!!
Please use Uber's at night. The streets in certain areas are mostly filled with men hanging around doing god knows what! When I went this time last year one of them even commented on my appearance as I walked past making me feel very unsafe.
Also avoid staying in the area around the train station/bus station. This is where the "gangs" of men are more abundant.

I'd stick to touristy areas to be safe & you'll have a fantastic time!

So, so jealous. Don’t miss Montmatre and the Musee d’Orsay, whatever else you do. Comfy shoes and walk your feet off.

Have you had a look on Airbnb? Not for a places to stay but they do fab experiences like Parisian cooking classes, walking wine tours etc. That if you fancy some company however if not Paris is a great place to go alone.

All the things PPs have suggested but failing everything you can't beat sitting at one of the tables on the street with a glass of red wine and people watching. Bliss! Have a fantastic time!

Um OP you do realise that quite a lot of single women live in Paris? It's a very safe city, lived there for years, never had any hassle day or night.

I've done quite a lot of work in Paris, and although obviously I didn't have whole days to fill there were often big chunks of time around lunch and early afternoon when i was free to wander.
I tended to have a big lunch at a bistro, they often have small tables facing outwards either outside or just inside by the windows so you can people watch, and there were lots of other solo diners at that time of day. I do find evenings more difficult for eating out, but I LUFFS French supermarkets and food shopping, so would buy some yummy bits for dinner then. Do you have some basic self catering facilities?
Or I'd sometimes grab some sushi/noodles for a quick dinner.
Bits of Paris are completely fine to walk around/use public transport in evening. Bits aren't. You'll have to trust your judgement and see what other Parisians are doing.
I would say Parisians are not exactly friendly (and my French is rubbish), so don't rely on them to chat to you. But something like a walking tour or food tour would be great as a way of doing something that gets you talking to people.

I'm not normally nasty/argumentative on MN...but...unless you have SEN, are on the spectrum, need a carer, have MH or disability issues, what the hell is AIBU about a few days in a city on your own?? Seriously???

Just go and have a great time! What's the big deal?? Have fun, enjoy being you and not part of a group/partnership/family.

fairydust because she’s clearly never done it before so she was asking for other’s experiences. As she said she’s just come out of a relationship and possibly needs reassurance.

Oh hero don’t tempt me, I only work 20mins away from kings cross

Oh BarryBarry🙂