Everyone has different ways of visiting Paris — one of the world’s favourite cities. There are obviously a lot of iconic sights that need to be seen and ticked off — Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe — all musts for the first time visitor.
But obviously there is a lot more to Paris than just buildings and monuments that make a great backdrop for your selfies. No doubt you’ve heard of the great restaurants, the fantastic shopping, the cafe culture, but the best way to really experience this side of Paris is to immerse yourself in one of the city’s neighbourhoods, to live like a local.
While there are a lot of great neighbourhoods in this city, my favourite is the sixth arrondissement — Saint-Germain-des-Pres, it’s residential but with a real sense of local life and colour. Parisians are adept at offering private rentals of their apartments — there might be a few stairs involved but you’ve got to work off those croissants somehow.
Navigating your way
Whether you live in London, Brussels, Amsterdam, or Berlin, getting to Paris by train is a breeze, and if you know where you are going you can jump straight on the Metro and be heading to your temporary home in no time.
If you are arriving into Gare du Nord, then Saint-Germain is just a few stops away on the Metro, so you’re still very much in the heart of the old city.
Making the most of the neighbourhood
Paris is renowned for its cafe culture and the famous cafes in Saint-Germain are Les Deux Magots and Cafe de Flore — many of the famous writers who made Paris their home would spend their days in these cafes.
For a bit of fresh air and open space then the Jardin du Luxembourg is beautiful, or if you just fancy a bit of exploring then jump on one of the hire bikes and see where your wheels take you.
Saint-Germain is particularly blessed with a huge array of great restaurants. My favourites include Le Comptoir which offers brilliant simple lunches of tasty food; and at the other extreme there is Le Petit Zinc which specialises in seafood — sit outside if the weather is good or if you are inside you will be over-awed by the Art Nouveau decor.
If you’re just looking for a good bar to kick back and have a few drinks or a coffee, then Au Pere Louis (near Jardin du Luxembourg) is always good at night, or for something a bit more relaxed then La Palette is a favourite with the locals prime spot is one of the tables outside so you can watch the world go by, but inside is a great place to read the paper or do some writing.
The hidden gems
One of my ultimate favourite things to do in Paris is to go to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont on a Sunday afternoon for drinks and dancing at a little bar called Rosa Bonheur. Every Sunday afternoon, this is the best party in town.
If only my French was a bit better I could happily move to Paris.