I love making money online because it allows us to work from anywhere. Check out our video of Paris, or read below.
Scott: Voila!
Maddy: We’ve stayed in 3 different neighborhoods in Paris, and today we’ll tell you our top places to see, including…
the world’s most famous avenue: Champs-Élysées
where to get amazing free views of the Eiffel Tower,
if it’s worth it to pay for a boat ride on the Seine River,
the best people-watching spots,
the most beautiful free garden in all of Paris,
the Louvre Museum,
the Notre Dame Cathedral,
and where to find the cutest hidden street in Paris.
Scott: We’ll also share the best nightlife district in Paris,
explore the Panthéon,
let you in on the simple trick to avoid stairs in the famous neighborhood of Montmartre, and
I’ll admit my… naked mistake.
Maddy: It’s actually a more common mistake than you’d think.
Scott: It sounds better if we use the French phrase for it, fox pass.
Maddy: You mean, faux pas?
Scott: Yes, a faux pas. We’ll get to that later.
Maddy: So, let’s start with #10 on our list but certainly not least…
Table of Contents
10 – Strolling the gorgeous Luxembourg Gardens
Scott: Paris is divided into districts called arrondissements. We stayed in an Airbnb in the sixth arrondissement near peaceful Luxembourg Gardens.
But even if we hadn’t stayed nearby, the Luxembourg Gardens are worth the trip.
Maddy: The park is free. In addition to wide tree-lined sidewalks and flowers, you’ll find impressive fountains.
There’s even a little manmade lake they call Grand Basin. It’s full of toy boats and ducks. And it’s surrounded by historical statues.
You’ll also see the beautiful architecture of the French Senate building, which is called Palais du Luxembourg.
Scott: From Luxembourg Gardens was actually your first view of the Eiffel Tower… voila!
Maddy: It was beautiful.
Scott: One thing I didn’t know before coming to Paris is that you can pretty much see the Eiffel Tower from nearly anywhere in the city. It’s not like New York, where tall buildings block your view of everything. Paris doesn’t have many super tall buildings.
I’m from New York City, so I got a bit of a mini Central Park vibe from Luxembourg Garden. Then I got homesick for America. So, right there in the garden, we posed with the Statue of Liberty. A replica, of course.
Maddy: For those who don’t know, the big Statue of Liberty in New York was a gift from France and was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. And its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. Yes, the same Eiffel who built the Eiffel Tower!
Scott: Speaking of which…
9 – Picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower
Maddy: A picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower was a must-do for me at Champ de Mars Gardens.
Unfortunately, when we went, there was construction blocking that area.
But we did get to sit on a park bench on the street called Alle Adrienne Lecouvreur. It’s pretty much right next to the Eiffel Tower. And we even got a free show!
Scott: But NOT the Eiffel Tower light show. The Eiffel Tower light show starts when it gets dark. The tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of each hour until 11 p.m.
8 – Walking the magnificent Champs-Élysées – the most famous avenue in the world
Maddy: Start your walk at the Arc de Triomphe and continue about 30 minutes to Place de la Concorde.
Sometimes on the first Sunday of the month, they prohibit cars, and that’d be a more relaxed way to enjoy the beauty and shops of the avenue.
While we were walking, it started raining really hard, so we got an Uber.
Scott: And seeing the sites from inside the car was kind of cool too.
When he dropped us off, remember what he said?
Maddy: He said, “Voila!”
Scott: But Is dropping you off at your destination voila-worthy? I don’t think so. I mean, if he rolled out a red carpet for us, then yeah. Let’s continue with…
7 – Explore the artistic neighborhood of Montmartre and get beautiful views of Paris from the Sacré-Cœur
Maddy: Montmartre is a pretty neighborhood on a large hill in Paris’ 18th arrondissement.
Scott: Best of all, they have a funicular.
Maddy: Yes, instead of taking stairs up the hill to the Basilica…
Scott: Take the Funicular!
Maddy: The funicular is basically a cable car. It costs about $2 per person and saves you from climbing the stairs.
So we went to Montmartre at night, and we went inside the Basilica, which was free to do. And we walked the streets a bit and found cute restaurants in the square.
Scott: But then, tell them what happened.
Maddy: Oh, yeah, disgusting rats. They were the size of squirrels and everywhere on the grass at the base of the steps of the Basilica of Sacré Cœur de Montmartre.
Scott: But in happier news, in Montmartre, we also had our 2nd-best meal in Paris.
Maddy: We went to La Couvee Montmartre. We had steak and red wine.
Scott: Remember when that lady sat next to our table outside and asked you a question in French?
Maddy: I didn’t know what she was saying, so to be polite, I said, “Oui!”
Scott: Turns out she wanted to smoke. So then you were choking on her gross cigarette exhaust.
Maddy: Here’s an insider tip. Don’t say “Oui” if you don’t know what they’re asking!
Scott: I want to address a Paris myth. Or maybe it used to be true, but when we went, we had nice service in restaurants everywhere we went. Maybe it’s because we always greet people by saying “bonjour” or “bonsoir.”
Maddy: But when does bonsoir start? 6 o’clock? I think I said “bonjour” at 4 p.m., and it was already “bonsoir” time.
Scott: I think it starts when you can see the very first evening rat in Montmartre.
Maddy: Let’s move on to…
6 – Enjoy wine bars and nightlife in the Latin Quarter
Maddy: One of our favorite neighborhoods in Paris is the Latin Quarter. It’s in the 5th arrondissement.
Scott: It has a young, professional vibe. And many places have a classy atmosphere.
Maddy: I loved the wine bar Chez Nous. They had delicious French Bordeaux.
Scott: And I had an imported wine from Russia called vodka.
We also tried the food in Paris. We had to fulfill your dream of eating butter bugs.
Maddy: You mean escargot. Not butter bugs.
Scott: Do they crawl on the ground? Are they squishy? If one was in the house, would you panic and want me to remove it?
Maddy: Anyways, I also wanted to taste delicious Paris pastries like croissants and pain au chocolat.
Scott: Excusez-moi, Waiter, there’s a snail bug in my croissant.
French Waiter: Ooh la la, you’re lucky. Usually, this costs extra.
Scott: So, at this point, we’re up against the clock.
Maddy: Time was running out.
Scott: Many restaurants in Paris close at 9 or 10 p.m. And we were on a mission to get you butter bugs.
Maddy: Snails.
Scott: Yes. So we made it just in time to get served. But then we faced a bigger problem.
Maddy: I have no idea how to eat escargot.
Scott: Me neither. We researched everything, but apparently, we didn’t look this up. I figure maybe it’s like cracking open a lobster. And we’ll get little land lobster bibs.
Maddy: Ooh, I like “land lobster,” way better than calling them “butter bugs.” So fancy.
Scott: So the waiter brings out the surgical instruments.
Maddy: I think you mean eating utensils.
Scott: No, not really.
Maddy: So, you eat escargot by digging the creatures out of their shells with mini tongs – and yes, they are stuck in there. They don’t slip out easily.
Scott: And how did you like escargot?
Maddy: It was like you’d expect. The green sauce weirdly tasted like Alfredo sauce, but I wouldn’t try without sauce.
Scott: I mean, nearly anything slathered in butter will be OK. So, that’s when I made my naked mistake.
Maddy: No sauce.
Scott: Right. When you eat snails without sauce, it’s called eating it naked. Big mistake. It was like chewing gum that had been stuck under the desk at school for a few years.
5 – Sipping coffee or aperitivo in a cafe and people-watching
Maddy: We love people watching. So, a must-do on my Paris list was to relax at a cafe and chit-chat over a cappuccino.
Scott: So I took you to the best cafe in Paris, “Le McDonald’s.”
Maddy: That was to use the bathroom. Although, McDonald’s in Paris does have tasty and cheap macaroons.
Scott: We went to a few Parisian cafes like Cafe Carousel and Cafe Varenne. And we did get free snacks with our drinks because we went during happy hour. Although, at one cafe…
Maddy: Oh, they gave me a dirty fork. Like really dirty.
Scott: I got to use my French. “Excusez-moi, but this fork has lé filth. May i have new one, si vous plaît?” She brings you a new fork and…
Maddy: She says, “Voila!”
Scott: Yeah, that is NOT voila-worthy!
Maddy: Let’s tell everyone about…
4 – Rue Cler – the cutest street in Paris
Scott: The Best food we had in Paris wasn’t in a restaurant or cafe. Our most delicious meal was from a street vendor. But not a food cart. From a caterer with a pop-up shop on Rue Cler.
Maddy: It’s called Jeusselin Traiteur. Rue Cler is lined with fresh fruit and vegetable stands, restaurants, and other pop-up food places.
Scott: Now here’s a place to get incredible views and take in history at the same time…
3 – The Panthéon
Scott: We went to the Panthéon to get out of the rain, pay respect to the great people of Paris’ past like Voltaire, Marie and Pierre Curie, Louis Braille, Josephine Baker, and to see the amazing city view from the top… and to get out of the rain.
2 – Notre Dame Cathedral
Maddy: The Notre Dame is nearly 1,000 years old and is one of the most famous medieval cathedrals in the world.
When we first went to Paris, it was still closed for repairs. But on our second trip to Paris, it had just re-opened.
We weren’t able to reserve free tickets online because they limited the number of tickets. So I recommend booking in advance directly on the Notre Dame website.
But we enjoyed seeing the rebuilt architecture from the outside.
Scott: Now, before we reveal the #1 thing you must do in Paris, we need to add…
The Louvre Museum
Maddy: If you’re an art lover, the Louvre is a must-do.
Scott: So we skipped it.
Well, we skipped the inside. We did enjoy the architecture and took photos. I do appreciate certain statues in real life, but I rarely am willing to wait in line to see one. An exception would be the Statue of David in Florence. That’s an amazing statue. I’m glad I saw it in real life.
But Maddy really appreciates the art of French doors:
Maddy: moving on to…
1 – Evening boat ride on the Seine River to see the major sites lit up at night
Scott: Now, this was epic. So dope.
Maddy: Bateaux Parisiens is the name of the company we used. Very basic sightseeing cruise at night with no food/extra frills. I found them through an American influencer who is living in Paris. It costs about 8 to 10 euros per person.
Scott: I like that we had the option to sit indoors with glass windows to see out, or head outside to get an unobstructed view. And when the Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkled over the shimmering water…
Scott and Maddy: Voila!
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