10 things you must do in Paris, explained by me below! 😀 Liking to run and participate in sporting events in all Europe has more benefits than you think. I mean you manage to see a lot of new places, you end up having great experiences and can share these eternal memories with others. Today, I am talking about Paris. Spartan Stadion Race from April 2022, held on the famous Stade de France, opened new doors for me. Now, I won’t be talking at common wisdom level about Paris. The capital city of France is too well known to do this. Instead, I’ll make you some granular 10 recommendations, the type I would like to find out when I am visiting a city for the first time. These being said, behold:

1. Artisanal bread with Roquefort cheese and Belgian beer at Tour Eiffel

We didn’t stand in line to visit the edifice, but we did spent three afternoons with Roquefort blue cheese, traditional artisanal bread bought from bio-c-bon.eu. From the same place we took also some Quiche and everything went down with a (or more than one) great Maredsous Belgian strong beer. For sure, if you have the sun on your side, you’ll enjoy Tour Eiffel in the best way possible. Oh, and try also a local cup ice cream for desert, it is just near the great masterpiece of 19th Century.

2. La Terrasse des Galeries Lafayette

It is exactly near the Opera and the view from here is great. You won’t find too many advice to go there, but it is very accessible, interesting and, most important… free of charge! 🙂 OK, the galleries are, in fact, a luxury store – you might now that. You can cast a glance, of course, it is worth it. But, the summit of it is the roof, equipped with a wonderful terrace, from where you can see Paris from another perspective and also take some wonderful pictures of the surroundings. If you do as I say, you’ll thank me afterwards.

3. Eat snails and drink lemonade at Chez Eugene

Chez Eugene is a lovely restaurant just near Sacre Coeur – a place where, for sure, you want to be if you travel to Paris. From the hill where the great church is built, you can admire Paris at its best and the prime take away from here, I shall say, is a lovely dinner at the restaurant mentioned and linked above. The personnel is great, the prices are decent and the menu is very generous. I am strongly recommending the snails, the crepes and also the lemonade. Which is, indeed, a pure lemonade, because you have a full glass of squeezed lemon which you can mix with water several times – apart from the fact that you, maybe, like a rough lemon experience.

4. Grounding in Jardin des Tuileries

Taking of your shoes and stick them in the grass of Jardin des Tuileries can be a wonderful “foreplay” before visiting Louvre. Mark my word! If you are there with the right person, the greatness of the experience amplifies exponentially, even though you will be spending there no more than half an hour. It is a great place to be and the famous museum, above mentioned – Louvre – is only few minutes away.

5. Buy Tour Eiffel souvenirs from a Seine shore kiosk, near Notre Dame

I spoke about the view from Sacre Couer, now I’ll switch to the most famous Notre Damme. Not about the cathedral itself, because it is not something new for anybody, but to go for a walk on Seine shore and check the kiosks where local seniors were selling souvenirs, including mini Tour Eiffel, is something you might to experience and maybe sense the atmosphere of Paris from other decades. We bought three pieces for only 5 EUR and, as a bonus, received some gorgeous bookmarks. You can see the below:

6. Have a coffee at… Shakespeare & Company!

We are staying still near Notre Dame. Well, OK, Shakespeare & Company is not a profound French experience at a first glance, you can imagine. In fact it is not a pure French experience at all, even though we are in the middle of Paris, the proud capital city of mighty France. But maybe this is the beauty you can experience in this moment. To drink a coffee at Shakespeare & Company, glancing a New York Times and watching, in the same time, people walk in front of the window, either to the metro, some to the cathedral, some decided, as we did, to grab a coffee. Maybe take away, maybe there. Yep, it will be a great experience!

7. Chat Noir or… Blanche?

While walking through the paths of Montmartre, we saw some splendid souvenirs and we have noticed that French really like… cats. At a glance, the black cat looked to be the one, but after buying some post cards with it, a chic white feline appeared to be more interesting and far more French. To be honest I do not know why the Parisian have such an affinity for cats, but the souvenirs are for sure to be taken, if you want to have something less commercial from Paris. Oh, the white cat was portraited on a small tray and, of course, this is not an usual memory, like a fridge magnet.

8. Charlie Hebdo from a kiosk next to Moulin Rouge

If we are talking about souvenirs, let us talk as our paths took us to Moulin Rouge. Of course, it is forbidden – metaphorically speaking, of course – to go to Paris and not see Moulin Rouge at least from the outside and take some photos. From here, the sweet – or painful, it depends on your state – climb to Montmartre starts. On the road, you can stop at a local kiosk, packed with newspapers, among others, and take with you a memorable Charlie Hebdo. The satire newspaper that, some years ago, was even better known by the world because a bloody terrorist attack. We took one each and have it safely placed at home. I mean a copy of the paper.

9. Macarons at… McDonalds from… Versailles!

Too many things about Versailles are not to be added, simply because everybody knows this place very well and of course you will visit it, in one way or another if you get to Paris. Just to give you a few tips, remember not to cast the ticket from the train you take from Paris, because you won’t be able to exit outside Versailles train station. For real, you’ll be at the mercy of the public guards. On the other hand, there are some nice souvenir shops, but make sure you got some cash with you, otherwise it will be rather difficult to buy small things. Last but not least, on your way back, after you see the Palace, take a break at McDonalds. It is exactly opposite the train station. Grab a coffee and eat some macarons. Of course, you might be able to do that in many places in the World, but believe me it can feel differently in one of the most iconic villages from Europe!

10. Saint-Denis, better than you think!

If I would to end this tip list with something, it will be Saint-Denis. There, to be fair, is not much to do, but I can recommend you the hotel we stayed at, B&B as it was 1 minute away from Carrefour Pleyel Metro. Exactly near the Pleyel Tower, which has an interesting history and further plans for development. Apart from this, there is the Stade de France, the biggest football stadium in France, where I had the pleasure to attend an event on and some quiet buildings. Some say it is a dangerous suburb. It might be, I don’t know! What I do know is that we had no problems at all, that we stayed at a fair hotel and that the metro station was just at its exist so nothing impacted us negatively. If you want a fair and decent accommodation, than this might be the place. Still, it is not recommended to go for romantic walks after dusk. 😀