PARIS — In Paris, one can stumble upon a gladiator arena dating back to the 1st century and get knocked down by a 21st-century electric scooter on a pedestrian crossing.
Or spend several hours observing sunset from the Eiffel Tower and then get yelled at by a homeless person just at the bottom of it.
Paris is full of such contrasts, and a visitor needs time to get used to them. But when one gets to know the best routes around the city, finds favorite places to eat and buy groceries, Paris’s contrasts along with its shabby chic will become its strengths — not its flaws.
Time for a visit
Paris is one of the world’s most hyped cities, so there are always many visitors. However, the French capital is especially crowded around July 14, as the country celebrates its national holiday, known as Bastille Day. The capital is in the epicenter of the celebrations.
Crowds may be a downside, but there is a huge military parade that marches, rolls and flies through the renowned Champs Elysees Avenue. There’s also an opera concert and a 30-minute fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower to conclude Bastille Day.
For those not interested in witnessing Bastille Day, locals advise coming in April or September.
Getting out of Paris
The Parisian suburbs are places of grandeur and wealth. Almost every small town on the capital’s outskirts has a palace or two.
So when the riches of central Paris start to seem pallid, and the overcrowded streets have worn you out, a 30-minute trip to the suburbs might be a good change.
Take a train to Giverny, for example. Impressionist painter Claude Monet lived and planted a huge garden there, from which he drew inspiration for his paintings. In fact, this is where he painted his famous Water Lilies.
Another suburban town is Fontainebleau, where tourists can visit a local medieval castle and later palace, Château de Fontainebleau. This is where Napoleon’s rule as emperor of France ended in 1814. The town has a garden adjacent to the palace and an immense park nearby.
Versailles is also close to Paris. It is home to probably the best-known palace in the world. Be sure to book tickets online in advance to avoid the lines.
A one-way train ticket to any of these towns costs 10–15 euros.
Another way to escape the Paris bustle while staying in the city is the Luxembourg Gardens. Created in 1612, these lawns, tree-lined promenades, and flowerbeds take up 23 hectares. It’s a peaceful place to sit in the shade, eat a sherbet, and watch locals play the French ball game pétanque.
Food: restaurants and supermarkets
Eating out in Paris is expensive. A main course at a simple cafe will cost from 12 to 19 euros. Add to that a starter or a dessert for 6–10 euros and 2–4 euros for a coffee, and you will have to pay 20–30 euros per person.
So look out for formules, set menus with reduced prices. One formule usually consists of a main course, dessert and coffee that will cost about 15 euros. In Parisian restaurants, formules are offered from noon to 2:00 p.m., the time when employees in France have their two-hour lunch break.
A glass of tap water is always free in French restaurants. Just ask for “une carafe d’eau.” Sure, it’s not Evian or Perrier, but it is safe to drink and all the locals do it.
Buying food from supermarkets is a cheaper option. Go for olives à la provençale, camembert cheese, a pack of Spanish dry-cured ham, a baguette and a bottle of rosé; for desert: toast with mascarpone cheese and a ripe mango. This set is enough for two people and costs around 15 euros.
Museum junky
There are three main art museums in Paris: the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou. The three of them are filled with masterpieces like Eugene Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People,” an ancient Greek statue the Venus de Milo, and van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
Although they all have world-class art, the Louvre stands out as the most popular and the biggest one. During the high season, it’s best to buy tickets online in advance. They sell for 17 euros.
Once inside, don’t expect to see everything at once: the Louvre is immense. Here’s a handy New York Times guide though to make sure you won’t miss the most significant art.
Musee d’Orsay is particularly famous for having the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world: paintings by Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent Van Gogh are all displayed there.
Centre Pompidou is dedicated to contemporary art, but also has works by modern geniuses like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Shagal, Andy Warhol, and Yves Klein.
In France, if museums say they close at 6 p.m., it means that they will, in fact, start closing at 5:20 p.m. So going to visit at 4 p.m. might not be the best idea.
Electric scooters
“Get out of the bike path!” — it’s a phrase one hears a lot in Paris.
There are always electric scooter riders on this path, trying to dodge pedestrians and calling them names at the same time.
One can pick a scooter to rent virtually anywhere and leave it anywhere too. The most widespread vendor in Paris is called Lime. Install the app, and its map will show the nearest scooters for rent. Usually, it takes less than a minute to find one. They are on every corner.
Then, scan the QR code on the scooter using the Lime app and voilà — this contraption switches on. It goes up to 20 kilometers per hour. After a ride, you can park it anywhere, just press “finish the ride” in the app.
You pay 1 euro to start a ride and then 0.20 euros every minute. The money will be subtracted from the bank card you connect to the app.
You might need to break a few minor traffic rules while driving the scooter because it is impossible to get from A to B without pretending you’re a pedestrian from time to time — crossing pedestrian traffic lights and rolling along pavements. The bike paths are not always clear in places or go in a different direction for hundreds of meters before you can turn.
Super cheap to get from Kyiv
A one-way ticket from Kyiv to Paris costs $70 if you choose a non-stop flight by France’s second airline Aigle Azur, which entered Ukraine in March 2019. Earlier, the only non-stop a route was Ukraine International Airlines with tickets starting at $230.
Aigle Azur arrives at the Orly Airport in the south of Paris. There are two options to get from there to the city center: by taking the Orlyval train to the railway station and then another train to center for (12 euros) or by a tram (1.9 euro) to Metro and then by Metro (1.9 euro). The first option will take you around 1 hour and the second 1.5 hour.
Very useful words
Formule — set meal (a set of meals for a special price; equivalent to a business lunch in Ukraine)
Carte bleue (CB) — bank card
Café au lait — latte
Café allongé — americano (which is actually an espresso with a bit of water)
Fermé — it is closed (they write this everywhere)
Pas possible — it is impossible (they say this everywhere)
Soldes — sales
Two lifehacks
Birthday — If you have a birthday while in Paris, you can get a big discount. For example, take a 1-hour cruise on the Seine with a crêpe and drink (or a glass of champagne, instead) for free. Just bring your passport.
Eiffel Tower — to save money and skip the lines, take the stairs. It’s only 674 steps to the second level of the tower, or about 32 floors. They are easy to climb, given that you can rest at the first level (16th floor). And you will save 6 euros on a ticket and get a nice cardio workout. The downside is you won’t get to the very top of the tower.
