Top 5 things to do in Paris!

If you happen to be lucky enough to find yourselves in Paris then here is, in our opinion, the 5 must-do's. We lived in Paris last year and we saw our fair share of beautiful places and inevitably, some of the not-so-beautiful places (*Cough* the METRO!). Please feel free to comment your favourite things as everyone's experience of Paris is different!

*Edit - This guide appears to contain a lot of alcohol and we would like to stress that we are NOT alcoholics. 

5: Sit down and relax - Ideally, you'll wait for the rain to come down. Now, all you need to do is sit outside on one of the many heated restaurant patios with a bottle of wine and watch the world go by. Nobody likes getting soaked after all, its the sensible thing to do.

4: Mix Club,  Montparnasse - In our opinion, the best club in Paris. Definitely cannot be missed whilst you're there. On Thursday nights there is free entry for tourists before 12, which is always a bonus as Paris can be expensive. Aside from all that is the fact that there is a SLIDE between floors. we know - we couldn't wait either. Not to mention they host the biggest light-boards in Europe.
- Unfortunately we have no suitable pictures for Mix Club. The majority contain an innapropriate amount of alcohol or are blurred beyond comprehension.

3: Try the local food - We can almost guarantee that on your return back home, people will ask you whether you tried snails and/or frog's legs. Dissapointment will quickly spread if you reply no to either. We were reluctant at first, but once you get to grips with the strange utensils provided with "escargot" you'll find that they look a lot worse than they taste. In fact, they're rather nice! Frog's legs or "'cuisses de grenouille" are equally not as horrible as you might think. Think of a chicken wing and you're almost there!

2: Don't just climb the Eiffel Tower... -  Embrace it. We love the Eiffel Tower, it's by far the most iconic part of Paris. We aren't saying not to climb the Eiffel Tower, you almost HAVE to, what we are saying is climb it (or get the lift) but have a picnic with you, maybe some wine - again, and enjoy the great buzz around the area. There are street performers and ice cream and candy floss (Barbe a Papa in French - literally meaning dad's beard). Lots and lots going on and if you're still mobile after the long climb up, you can walk up to Trocadero for some fantastic views of the area. 

1: See Paris by night - When the sun goes down Paris comes alive, the Eiffel Tower twinkles (actually pretty much the whole of Paris twinkles), Café's and restaurants are buzzing with conversation and laughter, bars are open and playing music and life is generally great. The sort of stuff you imagine when you think of Paris. Walking around Paris at night is easily our favourite pastime and we really think you should give it a go. We guarantee you will not regret it, we were regularly seen wandering around at night like a pair of nomads, drinking in the atmosphere and just generally appreciating life. (We can not accept responsibility for blisters and/or tired legs)

In the entire history of the city, there has not been one single person that hasn't thoroughly enjoyed being in Paris* so throw caution to the wind and go and we promise that you'll love it!

*Fact may or may not be true and has no official citation.

Notre Dame, Paris, France

Unfortunately, no hunchbacks. However, it is always brimming with tourists, street performers and the infamous pigeon man (don't get too close). We actually sat for about an hour, watching a man mimicking passer-by's, announcing them as the Director of the CIA etc. and generally being an ass - it was hilarious. The queue can be, and usually is, huge. It can snake round and round and you may think you'll never see the inside. Luckily, it moves nice and quick. The contrast between the back and front of the iconic cathedral is striking - gargoyles on one side and carved angels on the other. Inside is just as beautiful as other big cathedrals, it really is an architectural delight. For a small donation you're allowed to the very very top, the views of Paris are beautiful and we really suggest making the trip up. The cathedral attracts more visitors annually than the Eiffel Tower, so if you are or aren't religious, to just go and see the beautiful decorative inside is definitely worthwhile. And best of all - It's FREEEEE!

Fun Fact - In 1804, Napoleon invited Pope Pius VII to the Notre Dame to crown him emperor. However, at the last second, Napoleon took the crown from his hands and crowned himself.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Can you believe that the Eiffel Tower was originally a temporary structure made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution? No? Neither can we. Now one of the most iconic and recognisable peices of architecture in the world, nothing symbolises France more than this 'iron lady'. A hubbub of tourists, locals, street sellers and Romanian scam artists, the Champ de Mars is never empty. The queues to take the lift up can get lengthy, but if you're happy to plod up the first few flights of stairs - you'll cut your wait time in half (if you don't mind breaking into a sweat). 

 One thing to note: The only problem with climbing the old Eiffel, is that - go figure - you're ON the old Eiffel, meaning it won't feature in any of your aerial pictures of Paris. If you want a beautiful view of Paris WITH the Eiffel Tower, we suggest you try Montparnasse tower instead (which is cheaper, and houses the worlds fastest lift!). 

In short: you can't come to Paris and not see this baby, but you knew that already didn't you? It's one to tick off the bucket list.  There's also a pretty swanky restaurant at the summit "Le Jules Verne" - As you can probably imagine, its expensive. Very Expensive.

Once night falls, every hour on the hour, the Eiffel tower twinkles and it really does look so incredibly beautiful and a perfect Kodak moment.

Fun fact: The popular French author Guy de Maupassant ate in the Eiffel Tower restaurant every night. Why? It was the only place in Paris that he didn't have to look at the 'monstrous' thing. 

Chateau de Versailles, Paris, France

It's hard not to feel like a teeny tiny ant when walking round this elaborate and expansive wonder. One of those places where pictures won't do enough justice, it really is a palace fit for a king (Louis XIV to be precise), no wonder the French revolted. If you are ever lucky enough to find yourself in Paris then it simply must be on your list of things to do. They really did get creative, and somewhat overzealous, with the gold. The highlight of the inside, once your eyes have adjusted to all the gold, is the Hall of Mirrors. It is absolutely immense in every way you can imagine. Although it's not just the inside, the grounds are vast, with what must be a small army (cue French army joke) of gardeners tackling the immense 2000+ acres of palace gardens. You'll need at least a day here to really take it all in, we suggest taking a picnic, some sort of baguette (when in Rome..) and really make a day of it. Alternatively, there's a La Durée (see La Durée blog post) or an Angelina inside that will probably top your day off if you're a fan of macarons and/or pastries. €15 is a really reasonable price in our eyes, there's plenty to see for an entire day! (roughly 0.007c per ACRE!)

Fun Fact - Kanye and Kim were not considered distinguished enough by the palace to be married there, and were refused.