First of all, can you guess what my favourite city is? Maybe we’ll make a game of it and see how long it takes you to guess; though there is a big hint on the page.
We will typically rent an apartment in one of the central arrondissements (neighbourhoods). We like Ar. 1, 4 and 6 the best, but would happily stay in any of the adjacent Ars. too.
We’ve always had luck renting through this site: https://www.vacationinparis.com/index.php … they seem to have some quality apartments at reasonable prices (and no, they’re not paying me to say this!)
Now consider that we’ve already seen the main attractions, so we’re not likely to take those in. Though we really might enjoy a personal guided tour of one or two of them. It provides a richer perspective and is worth it once you’ve done the cursory walk through on your first visit or two.
We had a student take us through the Musee d’Orsay on one of our visits. It was so informative well beyond what we would have learned on our own, and more selective than going through the audio tour. Of course, it’s more expensive, but if you treat yourself to one or two tours per visit … then, for us at least, it’s doable. We had great luck with an outfit called Paris Muse https://parismuse.com/ (again, no compensation! – maybe I should have just qualified this once at the beginning)
For us, a slower pace is ideal, after all, we’re trying to wind down, so we don’t always make firm plans ahead of time. Paris is such a great walking city, you can head out with a vague notion of where you want to go and just amble along at your leisure. If you want to get anywhere in a hurry, the metro is very straight-forward to use. It’s one of my favs. of all the cities I’ve visited.
There’s an interesting phenomenon that happens in Paris, you’ll venture out on your walking tour and see the iconic Eiffel Tower in the distance. It has such a presence, you have the sense that it’s just a few blocks away, and so, you think to yourself … “Let’s walk to the Eiffel Tower”. What you learn, as you walk block after block after block … is that, it’s further than you imagined. I’m just warning you … it is worth the effort though. Wear good walking shoes.
It seems that on each visit we latch on to a new food/beverage that is a “must have”. We add them to an ever growing list of treats that we need to have on each visit. I envisage a time when we get to Paris and our list is so long that we spend the entire trip eating our way through our listed items, then lay in a stupor in our apartment for the rest of our stay. The list currently consists of: Grand Marnier (don’t ask me why – we don’t drink it at home), Grand Marnier and Nutella Crepes, Rum and Raisin Ice Cream from Berthillon (again, no comp… oh never mind), a treat from Du Pain et des Idées, hot chocolate a l’ancienne*, it’s probably good to have a macaron – though this last item is optional.
* I need to explain a bit about the hot chocolate. In one of the earlier trips, I had the privilege of having a cup of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. It tasted like a great milk chocolate bar melted into a cup. Since that trip, none of the hot chocolate has ever been quite as good. The reason the hot chocolate remains on the list is that it has become a quest, a quest to relive that ultimate hot chocolate experience. Now you’re probably saying to yourself “Why don’t you just go back to the same place?”. Good question, we did try on one of our outings, but either I’ve mis-remembered where the shop was, or it’s no longer there … and I don’t remember the name (sigh!)
So that’s our time in Paris … ambling around, visiting the local neighbourhoods, checking out the outdoor markets (can’t forget that!), sitting in the cafes; eating and drinking. It’s a great life! And the time always go by too quickly!
