FRANCE
All my favorite spots
in Paris
n 2017 I returned to Paris after 20 whole years. In 2022 I visited once more, as part of my Mini Eurotrip, so this post is a combination of both, with all my favorite spots in the French capital.
You walk around these neighborhoods and can't not love every minute of it
First of all I traveled from London with the EuroStar for the first time and if you haven’t done it, it’s just like in an airport (passport control etc). My 2017 travel was more tourist stuff, while in 2022 I got to visit some spots I wanted, like Sainte-Chapelle. I have a strange relationship with Paris, it was never a dream destination (maybe partly because I visited it so early in my life) but a close friend lives there, so it feels like a third home (?), after London.
Center Pompidou
Center Pompidou Definitely one of my favorite museums. It was named after George Pompidou, the Prime Minister of France from 1959 until 1962 and president from 1969 until 1974. There was a David Hockney exhibition at the time so our visit was even more special. At its balcony, I had the chance to see the sunset; on the one side was the Eiffel Tower and on the other was Montmartre, with a street musician playing Spanish music at the museum’s front yard. If you happen to be at the museum during the golden hours, do stay and watch the sunset from the balcony.
Musée d’Orsay
Statues at the ground floor and a gallery with the work of impressionists at the first floor. Once you got to the first floor you faced the extraordinarily gorgeous big clock that oversees the city. I was waiting in line then when my moment came to pose, naturally I took my time and I ended up being the subject of many other photographers. But truly, it’s a fairytale-like picture you must take.
Rosa Bonheur sur Seine
On one of the best nights, we spent our time drinking in a bar, in a wooden boat, on Seine. This is Rosa Bonheur, and between my two visits (2017 and 2022) I realized it caught a lot of attention because in 2022 it was packed! Neon lights, flamingos, ’80s music and tequila shots, what else could we possibly ask? If you want fewer people you better visit around opening time because then there’s a line. We ended up sitting on the stairs until a tiny spot opened up on the bar outside.
Montmartre
On one hand you may want to skip the most popular sights and locations but how can you miss Montmartre? After you inevitably take pictures of the famous Moulin Rouge, you walk around these neighborhoods and can’t not love every minute of it. Of course there’s the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur with the incredible view of Paris. Nearby it’s the famous crooked house that you may not notice at first glance but I won’t give away the secret. Just look out for the orange building next to the church.
Then, the Wall of Love in the Jehan Rictus garden. A 40m wall with the phrase ”I Love You” written in every language (including Navajo and Greek!). The theory has it that Frédéric Baron first asked his brother, and later his foreign neighbors, to write words of love in their languages, then collected ‘I love you’ in this way in over 300 languages and dialects of the world.
Eiffel Tower
Now if you’re in Paris, chances are you will want a shot of the Eiffel Tower. It’s visible from Montmartre (that will give you shots like the one on the left) or stop at Champs de Mars for a classic one if you find a way to avoid the huge crowds. I took one at the stairs because no one really realizes what a good spot that is. You get the whole tower and the crowd behind you. Then, there’s over the fountains if you’re not afraid of heights, but you may have to wait for other people to finish taking pictures. You won’t get crowds in your picture though.
Lastly, now there was a gate on the construction site of Champs de Mars, with locks, if you want a more artistic shot.
Sainte-Chapelle
This is definitely one of the most beautiful places you can visit in Paris. In Île-de-France you can visit Sainte-Chapelle, a stunning Gothic-style church which operates as a museum now. The thousands of small pieces of glass turn the walls into great screens of colored light, which gradually change in intensity from hour to hour. Most of the windows were put into place between 1242 and 1248. The rose window at the west of the upper chapel was made in the late 15th century, later than the other windows and is composed of eighty-nine separate panels representing scenes of the Apocalypse. The entrance fee is €11.50 (children are free) and its better if you pre-book your ticket on a specific timeslot online to avoid the long queue.
Rue Crémieux
In 1854, French entrepreneur, journalist and banker, Moïse Polydore Millaud, created the Compagnie Générale Immobilière for the purchase of land in Paris, and acquired rue Crémieux in 1865. At the time, it was called Avenue Millaud. In 1897, it was renamed rue Crémieux, in honour of Isaac Moses, aka Adolphe Crémieux.
It’s a neighborhood that may remind you of Notting Hill, only here it’s just a street. There are houses painted in pastel colors, and a lot of people stopped to take pictures.
Now there are signs to keep photographers away since, you know, there are people living there.
