Paris was always at the top of my travel list, but I was nervous about it. So many people told me it was overrated, too crowded, too expensive, too hyped. I went anyway — and Paris didn’t just meet my expectations, it completely rewrote them. This wasn’t just a city of monuments and museums. It was a city that taught me the art of lingering, of savoring, of finding beauty in the small things 🇫🇷🗼.

I arrived at Gare du Nord by Eurostar and immediately dove into the city by metro. The Paris Metro is one of the best urban transit systems I’ve used — over 300 stations, trains every few minutes, and it connects to practically everything. I bought a carnet of 10 tickets and never felt stuck. Within 20 minutes of arriving, I was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in the Champ de Mars, and yes, I cried a little. Some moments are just bigger than you expect them to be 🗼.

Getting There & First Impressions

The Eiffel Tower at night is something else entirely. Every hour on the hour after sunset, it sparkles with 20,000 golden lights for five minutes, and watching it from the Trocadéro across the river was one of the most magical things I’ve ever witnessed. Built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World’s Fair and originally meant to be temporary, the tower was nearly torn down in 1909 before being saved because of its usefulness as a radio transmission tower. It’s now the most visited paid monument in the world, welcoming over 7 million visitors annually ✨.

The Louvre was overwhelming in the best way. I spent five hours and still barely scratched the surface of the world’s largest art museum. Of course I saw the Mona Lisa (smaller than you think, behind bulletproof glass, surrounded by hundreds of phones), but my favorite moments were the ones nobody talks about — standing alone in the Egyptian antiquities wing, discovering Vermeer’s The Lacemaker in a quiet corner, and walking through the medieval foundations of the original Louvre fortress in the basement. Pro tip: enter through the Porte des Lions entrance to skip the pyramid queue 🎨.

Top Highlights & Must-See Spots

The neighborhood of Montmartre was my absolute favorite part of Paris. This hilltop village feels like it’s been plucked from another century — cobblestone streets lined with artists’ studios, tiny vine-covered houses, accordion music drifting from cafe doorways. The Sacré-Cœur Basilica at the summit is stunning, but I actually preferred the view from the steps below it — all of Paris spread out at your feet while buskers play and locals share bottles of wine on the grass. I spent an entire evening here and it cost me nothing but time 🎵.

I crossed the Seine to the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the intellectual heart of Paris. The Shakespeare and Company bookshop, famous for hosting writers like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Ginsberg, is a tumbling, cramped paradise of English-language books where you can read for free and the upstairs beds are open to traveling writers. The Panthéon nearby, housing the remains of Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie, was deeply moving 📚.

Parisian food deserves its own novel. A simple croissant from a neighborhood boulangerie at 7 AM, still warm, with that shattering crust and buttery interior, is a religious experience. I had duck confit at a tiny bistro in the Marais that I still dream about, macarons from Pierre Hermé that were almost too beautiful to eat, and a croque-madame at a zinc-counter cafe that made me understand why the French take lunch so seriously. But my favorite meal was the simplest: a baguette, some Comté cheese, and a bottle of rosé, eaten sitting on the banks of the Seine watching the bateaux mouches glide by 🥐.

More Things to See & Do

The Musée d’Orsay, housed in a converted train station, became my favorite museum in Paris. Its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art is unmatched — Monet’s waterlilies, Renoir’s dancing couples, Van Gogh’s bedroom, Degas’ ballerinas — all displayed in the most beautiful museum space imaginable. The giant station clock on the top floor frames a view across the Seine to Montmartre that’s pure poetry 🖼️.

I also fell in love with the Marais neighborhood — a former swamp turned aristocratic quarter turned bohemian hotspot. Its narrow medieval streets house some of Paris’s best vintage shops, falafel joints (L’As du Fallafel is legendary), contemporary galleries, and the beautiful Place des Vosges, Paris’s oldest planned square, where Victor Hugo once lived. On Sunday afternoons, the Marais fills with locals strolling, shopping, and living their best Parisian lives 🏘️.

Final Thoughts

What I didn’t expect about Paris was the quiet moments. Sitting in the Jardin du Luxembourg watching children sail toy boats in the fountain. Walking along the Canal Saint-Martin at twilight. Discovering tiny, perfect churches in random neighborhoods. Paris isn’t just grand gestures and famous monuments — it’s a city of a million small, perfect moments that accumulate into something unforgettable ❤️.

Planning a trip to Paris? 👉 Check out my full Paris travel page for all the details and tips!