Thread:Hilo2/@comment-31164748-20180620071940/@comment-31164748-20180621202125

Personally, I find the tours and tickets offered on websites like Viator and GetYourGuide too expensive. In my experience you get the same for less in most cases if you book your tickets on the sights' websites.

Depending on your itinerary you may consider buying the Paris Museum Pass or Paris Pass Lib'. It sure did save me a lot of time and money during my stay.

The entry to Notre Dame is free, the line is long but it moves quickly. If you want to climb the towers be sure to book your time slot in advance. You need to download an app for that. If you do it when you're there you might have to wait a couple of hours until it's your turn. And the ladies on location are not overly friendly.

Not far from Notre Dame is Sainte Chappelle. It's rather small but really beautiful with big stained glass windows.

At the Louvre do not take the entrace at the pyramid. Take the one underground. Practically no queue there. The Louvre is huge, you could easily spend a whole day or more in there. So you may want to be prepared and pick the pieces you want to see beforehand.

After the Louvre you could take a walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, across the Place de la Concorde and then along the Champs-Elysées up to the Arc de Triomphe.

If it's not to morbid for your taste go see the catacombs (with audioguide). To skip the line you have to prebook tickets for a specific time (!). When I was there I had bought my ticket at the tourist information and still had to line up. 3 hours in the burning sun although I already had a ticket. I felt so stupid.

For the best view over Paris (360°) I recommend the roof the Tour Montparnasse. Go there shortly before sunset and stay until they close. This way you'll be able to see the city in different lights. It will probably be crowded but you got elbows and know how to use them, I suppose. 😉 Best thing about it, the ugliest building in town won't ruin your pictures because you'll be standing on it.



There's also a small bar on the roof and a restaurant on the last floor.

Another great thing to do at sunset is sitting on the steps in front of Sacré Cœur, drinking some wine and enjoying the view after a stroll through Montmartre.

To get around town by public transport I found the app Next Stop Paris pretty useful. It's free and also works offline.

I can't really help you when it comes to hotels. I stayed at a friend's apartment. The only "insight" I can give you is look for hotels (or vacation homes if that's an option) in the arrondissements 1 to 9 and avoid the areas around the train stations.

How long will you stay btw?