What NOT to do on a city trip to Paris

DW (English)

We have no shortage of tips for what to see and do in the French capital, but how should you go about it and what should you avoid?

Transcript

00:00Welcome to Paris, the city of love, the city of light, of art and fashion and

00:06beauty. There are thousands of guides, blogs, videos available telling you

00:11everything that you need to do in the French capital, so today I'm gonna tell

00:15you what not to do.

00:16So are you ready to explore this magnificent city with me?

00:21Let's go!

00:25Starting the day with an early morning trip to the Sacré-Coeur at Montmartre.

00:32This area gets so busy during the day and especially at sunset, so if a quieter

00:38scene is more your thing, I'd recommend rather coming in the morning. The light

00:42is beautiful and you have the place more or less to yourself.

00:46This is the second most popular attraction after the Eiffel Tower, as is

00:51evidenced by the increasingly growing crowd of tourists here, even first thing

00:56in the morning.

01:00Probably should have come here an hour ago.

01:05Lesson learned, come at 8 a.m. not 9 a.m.

01:11Gorgeous!

01:16If you thought I was gonna tell you not to go up the Eiffel Tower, don't worry.

01:20This is one of the most visited landmarks in the world for a reason. Of course

01:24it needs to be on your Paris bucket list.

01:28If long queues aren't your thing, just book your ticket online in advance.

01:35The Eiffel Tower is a masterpiece of engineering design and part of the

01:40UNESCO World Heritage.

01:43I'm meeting Eiffel Tower welcoming agent Ammar El-Bouchary for some insider tips.

01:49To come during the sunset, because you know sometimes people come for the day

01:53and then they come for the night, they want pictures during the day, pictures

01:57during the night. They come during sunset, just before sunset, so it's beautiful

02:01because how the light changes, but if they really don't want to do the line,

02:05the best thing is to come in the morning.

02:07In terms of actually getting around, don't bother with cars or taxis. The roads

02:12are busy and they're expensive. The public transport system is very well

02:16connected and the bike lanes are great if you'd rather cycle or try out a

02:21riverboat.

02:25Time to try some French pastries. Looks like if you want a croissant in a café,

02:30don't wait until 12 p.m. Take away it is.

02:33Flaky, buttery, chocolatey, straight from the source. You can literally see them

02:39making them right there. So fresh.

02:44Back to the cultural sites.

02:51Welcome to the Louvre, one of the biggest and most visited art galleries in the

02:56world. The Louvre is one of the world's largest art galleries.

03:01One of the biggest and most visited art galleries in the world. My same tip of

03:06booking in advance definitely applies here because it also gets super crowded.

03:10But the main thing I'd recommend you not to do here is to just rush through to get

03:15a selfie with the Mona Lisa and then leave again. Take your time to really

03:19appreciate some of the most incredible works of art in the world.

03:25The Louvre is home to some of the most well-known pieces of Western art.

03:29So of course, take your selfie with the Mona Lisa at the start.

03:38But there are around 35,000 works of art to see in the Louvre. So take a proper look around.

03:48My tip would also be not to book too many things into one day.

03:52Don't be afraid to take a nap.

03:55Walking along the River Seine is so magical. And of course you'll cross the

04:00Pont des Arts Bridge, the famous meeting point for lovers. You've probably seen

04:05pictures of the bridge covered in locks left there by lovers from all over the world.

04:10But don't do that because it's actually now forbidden to put love locks on the

04:15bridge because in 2014 a part of the bridge railing collapsed under the weight

04:20of all of them. But it's still a very romantic place to come and visit.

04:24My final tip for you guys is not to shy away from the local food.

04:29Yep, I'm talking about snails.

04:36Oh, they're XXL.

04:51Mmm.

04:55You know what? That's actually pretty good.

04:58It's garlicky. Tastes almost like chicken. Definitely tastes better than it looks.

05:04I'm glad that risk paid off. I hope you trust me enough now to follow my advice

05:09about what not to do when you're visiting Paris.

05:12And I hope you've enjoyed this journey through the French capital as much as I have.

05:16Cheers!

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