Paris Travel Tips
A top 10 list ... and don’t forget to visit “Sank Roe Do Noo”.
A niece of mine recently asked me for some Paris travel tips. I’ve been there a lot on business trips, so most of my activities centered around where I happened to work and stay, but that managed to be a pretty nice section of town with all the good stuff within walking distance. As comedian Stephen Wright once said, “everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.” I have a Spotify playlist to which I listen whilst I’m walking around.
The accompanying photos were all taken by me.
1) Galeries. Galerie des Variétés. Galerie Vivienne. Passage des Panoramas. And many others; they’re all over the place. Sources of endless delights; collectibles, shopping, dining, you name it. Also great places to get out of the rain.
2) Chocolatiers, macarons, pâtisseries. Bump into these by just walking around. My favorites are Foucher, Ladurée, and À la mère de famille. Any Godiva shop is also a treat. The hot chocolate at Foucher will change your life.
3) L'Atelier des Lumières at first glance seems a bit cheesy, but it’s more amazing than one would ever expect. My wife and I saw a Gustav Klimt show there in 2018, and it was surprisingly moving. Sometimes modern technology opens new doors.
4) You have to go to the Louvre, but plan your work and work your plan. Try to go early or late. Budget extra time to meander.
5) Walk along the Champs-Élysées top to bottom. Listen to Joanie Mitchell whilst doing so.
I’d start up at the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.
6) Do a wide circuit of the Champ de Mars and end up at the Eiffel Tower. Or go the other way and jog left at the École militaire and visit the excellent Musée de l'Armée.
7) The area around L'Opéra Garnier is very close to the aforementioned. There’s a big Apple Store, as well as Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Hausmann, which leads into Boulevard Montmartre. Harry’s New York Bar, birthplace of the Bloody Mary, is nearby on 5 Rue Daunou ... as Hemmingway and lots of other Lost Generation folks did, just say “Sank Roe Do Noo”.
8) Parisian restaurants are deservedly world-famous. I like traditional places: Bouillon Chartier has it all. Brasserie Lipp as well, down to the rude waiters, but it’s well worth it. Dépôt Légal is outstanding, as is Canard & Champagne. Colonial cuisine is magnificent; Hanoï Cà Phê Opéra was our favorite, but appears to possibly be closed. No worries, as any Vietnamese restaurant you stumble across will likely be outstanding. If you get homesick for a hamburger, find a Hippo.
9) My avocations attract me to a number of quirky knife, gun, and hardware stores. There’s also a place called LaBeL RéCuP that features “upcycled’ stuff that’s not to be missed.
10) The hotels I ended up liking the most were the Hotel Malte , the Hotel Ambassador , and the InterContinental Le Grande. I’ve stayed at the Paris Hilton overlooking the Eiffel Tower, but it (like its namesake) was nothing special ;-)
Hope that helps! Bon voyage!
P.S. This may turn into an ongoing series https://gunnarmiller.substack.com/p/tokyo-travel-tips .