7 Must-Do's in Paris (Besides The Normal Stuff)

Now this is by no means a “local’s” perspective of Paris- Parisians are very… proud. Kind of like New Yorkers. Except.. they’re Parisians.

Side note: I saw no cool fashion in Paris. How that’s possible, I don’t know, but I saw not one person wearing a long fur coat and heels and a hat and a poodle. Not.one.person.

ANYWAY if you happen to stop by Paris this weekend, I don’t know maybe you’re on a jet setting kick like Emmy (who asked me to write this post!), here are a few things you should do on top of the other cool things you should obviously do.

7 Must Do's In Paris To Add To Your Main Must Do List:

1.     Climb the Arc de Triomph at night

The at night part is imperative here. The coolest part about the Paris skyline is the Eiffel tower, right? So it’s kind of a disappointment when you climb the Eiffel Tower and you see.. like just a normal city. Like you cant see the Eiffel Tower from the Eiffel Tower, duh. You’re like so high up you can’t really see anything. To be frank, it’s kind of lame. (Unless you’re DYING to do this, I would seriously skip it.)

But! The Arc de Triomph at night, ohemgee, c’est supercool. (The French, like actually say that.)  You can see the Grand Roue (Paris’s big Ferris wheel), the way that the streets are lined up… it’s like taking a step back from the city & appreciating it all at once. It’s amazing, beautiful, spectacular.  But go at night. Seriously.

2.     Get macarons from La Duree
 

Now in SLO we can get macarons from Whole Foods, so it’s kind of ruined the whole appeal, but I had never had macarons before Paris so this was like an OH EM GEE STOP THE CLOCK ( I just made that up right now and don’t know what it means ) THESE ARE THE BEST THINGS OF MY LIFE.
 

Fact: I left all my clothes in Paris when I moved back to the states so that I could fit a huge box of macarons in my luggage. Priorities, solid.

You MUST go to La Duree, the prima ballerina of macaron places (again, where are these random metaphors and sayings coming from?). Ils sont les crèmes de la crème. 

And take a photo outside because it’s adorable and perfect and you cannot take photos inside.

3.     Have a picnic at Buttes De Chaumont (with the macarons)

This is my favorite part of Paris, hands down. A huge park, a la Central Park in NYC, with a man made moat and huge mountain-esque thing (one of the tallest points in the city), and a cool draw bridge. Tons of people flock there for daytime picnics, and it is the perfect place to relax, eat macarons, and realize omg I am in FREAKING PARIS.

4.     Stop at a street crepe place, and get a crepe with Nutella & coconut

There is nothing like being able to get food off the side of the street like they do in Paris. Like why is that not a thing in the states. I don’t understand. All I want is a chocolate croissant while I’m walking to Starbucks why is that so hard. So, seriously, take advantage of this, kiss Paleo & gluten intolerances goodbye, & enjoy this. Crepes, especially, are so fun because they fold them up so they look like waffles cones and you just enjoy and love life and Nutella and everything and your whole house, yeah. (This is a Jessica’s daily affirmations reference, for those of you who didn’t get that.)

5.     See the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero stop

Take the RER to Trocadero. Get off. Start walking. All of the sudden you see the Eiffel Tower and you will, WITHOUT A DOUBT, one hundred percent, I don’t care how many photos you’ve seen, will drop dead. Like the Eiffel Tower is HUGE. SO HUGE. And SO COOL. I definitely was like too cool for school, oh who cares, I’m gonna live here so why do I – SHHH. Just shhh 22 year old Asia. Shh. You’re a snobby idiot. The Eiffel Tower is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen and Number One on my list of “Things that are just as cool as everyone says they are even though they seem really overrated but really they are not.” That’s a very short list, p.s.

p.s. I can't remember where I took this photo! I don't think it was the Pompidou Centre, if anyone knows, please tell me!

6. See the Pompidou Centre, modern art museum

For the record, I hate museums. I have seen enough museums in my life to last me the next six generations. Like I dislike them so much that when Alyssa came to visit, I was like you can do the Louvre yourself & I’m gonna nap in the gardens. K bye. (She’s also a very fabulous independent traveler, I obviously wouldn’t have done that if she was uncomfortable being in a foreign country by herself!)

ANWYAY, THIS MUSEUM IS AMAZING. The outside is SO COOL, the inside always has different modern art exhibitions & they are all colorful, fresh & different. If you have to go to a museum, and you aren’t like the biggest paintings-of-old-people fan, this is the one for you.

7.     Take a nap in the Tuileries Gardens

These are the ones outside the Louvre, where I sent many hours when I had visitors who wanted to see the Louvre, and there I would take photos of the Louvre (the outside is the coolest part, in my humble opinion), and read my Kindle and lay and nap.

So much of Paris is just being, just basking in the fact that you are in Paris. Slow down and enjoy it.

Things that underwhelmed me:

1.     Moulin Rouge. It’s lame.
2.     The top of the Eiffel Tower
3.     Croque Madames
4.     French “cuisine”, except their baking.
5.     The Louvre.

Things that were cooler than I thought they would be:

1.     The Eiffel Tower.
2.     Macarons
3.     Taking the RER (feeling so cool)
4.     CROISSANTS OHEMGEE
5.     Espresso (hence my addiction)

I, like, really love Paris. So, if you like, need a tour guide or a translator.. I could totally fit in your suitcase. Quelle bon idee Asia! :)