Things to see and do around Paris

Welcome to another blog post at The Pen and Inkpot. In previous posts I have been taking you through my favourite things to do in London and Dublin (copy this link to see what I thought of London http://thepenandinkpot.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/the-beginning-of-my-trip-in-europe.html  and copy this link to see what I thought of Dublin http://thepenandinkpot.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/travelling-around-dublin-and-guildford.html). Now I will share with you the next part of my journey throughout Europe, which is in Paris.

I must admit that our accommodation in Paris was the best of all the locations. We stayed in an apartment in the city which was on the sixth floor of an apartment building. Despite the fact that the building was too old for an elevator and we had to lug our suitcases up six flights of stairs, the view was beautiful and it was nice and quiet at night. 

Of course the major sight in Paris is the Eiffel Tower which you must see. Be very careful though, make sure you chose a clear day and get there early because we made those mistakes. After walking 4km from our apartment to get there, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower 1 hour after opening time then waited in line for two hours! When purchasing tickets you have the option of paying extra to go to the top of the tower or just the first level. You should definitely go to the top. The day that we went up the tower was quite cloudy but it the photos still turned out ok. Just make sure you choose a nice day to go if you can.

Next, if you have a day to spare, I would recommend spending it at the Louvre. This is the largest museum in Paris and has a priceless collection of famous works of art from around the world. The Mona Lisa is the most iconic which you must see. I would suggest pre-booking tickets and arriving as soon as it opens then going straight to the Mona Lisa since it gets so crowded as more people are let inside. Another useful thing is the audio guides. These are 3DS tablets with headphones attached and they tell you where to go to find the most famous artefacts and in each section a voiceover explains the history of what you are looking at. You definitely need a whole day to go here since we spent all day there and didn’t even get close to seeing everything!

Versailles is a short train ride out of the centre of Paris and gives you a small taste of 
life outside of the city. Versailles is the old residence of the royals in France and it certainly matches the image of a majestic, gold palace. Inside, we purchased audio guides which once again told us about each room as we entered it. One of my favourites was the hall of mirrors which was made by one king who loved himself so much that he covered a whole wall with mirrors which were a rare luxury at the time. 

If you have made it out to Versailles, then you must see the gardens after looking around inside. They might not seem like much at first, but these 1976 acres of gardens are intricately made with pathways through hedge mazes, fountains, statues and a lot of maintenance. In the gardens are two smaller residences one of which served as a holiday retreat for the king and his family. The grounds were so big that they considered it a holiday to stay in a house in their backyard! There was also a smaller, English style cottage for one of the king’s sisters who stayed there. I found that visiting  Versailles was very interesting and gave me an understanding of the history of France and their royal family.

A few other places I enjoyed in Paris are Musée D’Orsay, Notre Dame, Les Invalidés and any local flea markets but this post would be way too long if I explained them all to you. If you have been to any of these places please comment what you thought of them or if these are places you would like to go. Thank you for reading another blog post, I hope that you enjoyed it and come back next week for a new post.

~The Inkpot Blogger