Paris - Trip To Beguiling City Of Lights (Part I)

in travel •  7 years ago  (edited)

What is it that lures everyone into the city of lights? Why everybody raves about spending a day or visiting Paris? What spell does this city cast on each one of us? Is it the fancy lights irradiating all over the city? Or the gleaming lights of Eiffel tower standing against the pitch-dark sky? I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Resized.jpg

However, In the process of hitting more off the beaten paths due to eternity tourists that drives everyone batty, I feel we should not miss on experiencing immortal places like Paris or Rome.

Here are our 4 days Paris itinerary that will make you utilize most of your time during your Paris trip.

FACTS:

  1. Some of you may find our Paris itinerary a bit too hectic, that’s because we had only 4 days and wanted to make the most out of it to see what Paris has to offer. In case, if you want to skip any place or if you have the flexibility of staying more days than what we had spent in Paris, feel free to change our itinerary according to your schedule.

  2. All the time we meandered inside the city either by public transports or by foot. We did not opt for a rental car. We suggest you not to opt one as driving and parking in the city may become difficult

Day 1

We reached the city early in the morning, hence we had an ample time to explore on our day one.

• The Eiffel Tower

When in Paris, visiting the Eiffel tower has to be on day 1 itinerary right? 😉Here you go, the first thing is visiting the Eiffel and walk around. Walking around the Eiffel will often lead you to those beautiful spots where you can see a different angle of the tower playing a game of peek-a-boo!

TIP:
If you are planning to go on top of the Eiffel tower, do buy your tickets beforehand as it always gets overcrowded.

Resized (4 of 20).jpg

The Eiffel tower. Standing tall.

Resized (6 of 20).jpg

The Eiffel playing a game of peek-a-boo!

DSC_0092.JPG

• Walk through the bridge Pont de Bir-Hakeim and other parallel bridges.

After exploring the Eiffel tower and surroundings, head towards the bridge Bir-Hakeim: A viaduct bridge. The bridge itself attracts the attention of every photographer and tourists with its beauty. As an icing on the cake, the view of the Eiffel tower through the arch bridge is overwhelming. After strolling around, cross and walk along the Seine river.

We did spend some time sitting on the river bank appreciating the flattering beauty. If you got some time, do spend an evening picnicking on riverside I promise you will not regret it 😊

Before leaving the place don’t forget to check out other parallel bridges. They all have their own beauty and view to overwhelm you with!

TIP:
Do check out these bridges at night. Once they are lit up, it sums up to the beauty of gleaming Eiffel tower. The real “city of lights”.

Resized (7 of 20).jpg

A perfect view of the tower.

Resized (12 of 20).jpg

And the best thing about being in a less touristic place is, you can enjoy the view all by yourself.

DSC_0202.JPG

DSC_0281.JPG

Resized (9 of 20).jpg

Resized (8 of 20).jpg

Resized (10 of 20).jpg

Isn't it called architectural brilliance?

• Go on top of the Montparnasse tower for the best view of the city and the Eiffel tower

As the evening falls, before sunset, head on top of the Montparnasse tower. You will gaze in astonishment at the 360-degree view of the city. As Sun goes down, this would be one of the best spots to watch the sparkling Eiffel. Montparnasse has even few cafeterias to munch some snacks while soaking in the view of the lit up Paris!

Tip:
Buying tickets to Montparnasse tower is not as indispensable. Nevertheless, if you want to skip the line, buy your ticket online like we did. Make sure to be on top little earlier than the sunset to reserve a good place to click a better photo. Don’t forget your tripod 😊

Resized (13 of 20).jpg

Can elsewhere beat this view in Paris? Below Few pictures that will do a better job in discribing the beauty as night falls in Paris.

Resized (14 of 20).jpg

Resized (16 of 20).jpg

Resized (18 of 20).jpg

Resized (17 of 20).jpg

Resized (19 of 20).jpg

Resized (20 of 20).jpg

DAY 2

• The Louvre museum


Louvre museum – home to brilliant arts by great artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jacques-Louis David, how can we forget about the prodigious portrait “The Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci? Few facts say that you will need at least 100 days to go through each piece of arts that Louvre owns.

We went through some of the famous artworks for the first few hours and then spent our leisure time eating snacks in the cafeteria of the Louvre museum before heading towards painting section where “The Mona Lisa” portrait is kept.

TIP:
Booking your tickets online is very important whilst visiting Louvre, as the museum gets overcrowded as the day progresses. The best time to visit would be during Museum opening hour when there are fewer tourists.

DSC_0466.jpg

* The Louvre pyramid as seen from Louvre museum.*

DSC_0436.JPG

DSC_0456.JPG

Delicious cheese cake with croissant - French combo!

DSC_0449.jpg

There she is! sitting calmly, luring tourists from worldwide 😊

• Appreciate the architectural brilliance of Palais de Garnier – the opera house

Palais de Garnier is an architectural wonder. Each piece that built this opera house makes it worth your visit.

We walked all the way from Louvre to Palais de Garnier, appreciating the beauty of Parisian architecture. Once we entered, the opera house left us dumbstruck with its opulence.

DSC_0587.jpg

A front view of Palais de Garnier.

DSC_0648.jpg

Charming nanoscopic details of the Palais. Is there anything to complain about the view? 😊

DSC_0729-2.jpg

DSC_0667-2.jpg

DSC_0688.jpg

DSC_0706.jpg

DSC_0689.jpg

DSC_0693.jpg

• Pay tribute to Jim Morrison at Père Lachaise Cemetery

If you are an admirer of the legendary 1960’s rock music band ‘the Doors’ and charismatic lead singer Jim Morrison, do not forget to plan a visit here and pay tribute to the musical genius. Not only Jim Morrison, the cemetery has tombs of many world-famous magicians, poets, writers, other artists and also few presidents.

DSC_0761.jpg

DSC_0764.jpg

• Stroll on the path of Rue des Barres and visit island Île Saint-Louis

One of the offbeat things to do in Paris is - walking around Rue des Barres. The place has a filmy touch with fewer tourists and that makes it a perfect destination for a romantic walk!

After your walk at Rue des Barres, head towards the island - Île Saint-Louis for those famous colorful doors you have seen in Instagram photos!

DSC_0793.jpg

DSC_0822.JPG

Colourful doors of Île Saint-Louis.

• Sein river cruise

What else could be the best way to end your day with when in Paris than watching the glittering Eiffel tower from river cruise with a glass of Champagne in your hand? The river cruise is one of the must things to do in Paris, especially if you are a first timer! WHY? Because -

  • After a long tiring day of sight-seeing, you get to sit relaxed, enjoying your leisure time while sailing through the city.

  • You get to see all monuments, tourist attractions from a different angle that you wouldn’t have experienced from the mainland! 😊 like this one

DSC_0852.jpg

  • And the experience of watching the glittering Eiffel tower from the cruise is one-of-a-kind.

  • Bonus! You will see all monuments once again but with gleaming lights 😊

DSC_0832.jpg

Sunset as seen from river Seine.

DSC_0845.jpg

DSC_0859.jpg

The Pont Alexandre III.

DSC_0862.jpg

A random capture of a capture!

DSC_0865.jpg

Eiffel tower getting ready for its glitter show 😊

Thanks for reading my post. Hope you enjoyed the article😊
Your comments/opinions/questions are welcome. Upvote and resteem if you have liked it.
Please follow for more interesting articles!

Spread love 💖
Chaithra Bhat

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

I really loved this. Probably what I have been looking for. Great job. May I ask you were doing well on steemit but u have not been active for 2 months or so, May I ask why. Just curious steemit missed you :). Looking forward to part 2

Thank you @thatdamiguy :) And wow, you really noticed that :D

Keeping up on steemit was a bit hard due to some other things coming up in life. In between, I did travel and exploring new places. I could have posted some pictures on the go, but I believe in providing better content for readers, that will, of course, need a lot more effort and time. Now I am back and will try my best to keep up.

Will post the second article in few days.

Nice! Welcome back Hope to see more from you. And yes quality is key

Cool trip! I liked your photography work, @chaithrabhat

Thank you @lazariko12 :)

Brilliant pictures in this! I've never been to Paris, despite it being just a couple of hours from where I live. Am inspired by your post though! I'll definitely make a journey there soon :-)

Paris is so beautiful i hope to be there sometime

Thank you @lottiegross. I feel it does happen with many of us. Often we miss out on experiencing beautiful places around us. Paris cannot be missed. No matter how touristic it is, you can find a way to be at the right place at the right time (yes, I meant the Eiffel tower too ;) I will share it in my upcoming post ).

paris paris. i remember it! when i got the wage from my first job, i bought my best friends a ticket and we all went to PARIS for an amazing concert. unique romantic city! loved it!

thank you for your post, beautiful described and amazing photos

@purplemoon - I truly agree with you :) Happy you had a great time. Thanks for your comment.

paris paris. i remember it! when i got the wage from my first job, i bought my best friends a ticket and we all went to PARIS for an amazing concert. unique romantic city! loved it!

thank you for your post, beautiful described and amazing photos

Paris is a beautiful city. A fantastic city at any time of the year. Some very good photos especially those of the Palais de Garnier.
Thank you very much for sharing!

Thanks, @teks Indeed Paris is a beautiful city no matter what time of the year you visit. I really enjoyed my time in Palais de Garnier although I wished to watch a play there, which unfortunately was not possible.

Interesting .I'll follow along. also vote !!

Very nice post :) this city is so beautiful, i like it and you really made good pictures.
thanks for sharing and have a nice day

@yeaho - Thanks for your appreciation :) Wish you a great day too

tre bien

Nice write-up and useful information.
This is gonna help us a lot! :D
@varunpinto check this out!

Thank you @wandereronwheels, I'm glad you found the article useful. Have a great time in Lisbon :)

I found your post very interesting and my dream to visit France i already have been in Denmark ,Sweden and Holland....so all the best and peace on you

I am glad you enjoyed the post @rezzouk.elabiad. Hope you enjoyed your Euro trip. Denmark and Sweden are on my bucket list too :) cheers!

I have been their for a training for SIEMENS GAMESA factory in MOROCCO.
really I hope to you a very good luck

paris paris. i remember it! when i got the wage from my first job, i bought my best friends a ticket and we all went to PARIS for an amazing concert. unique romantic city! loved it!

thank you for your post, beautiful described and amazing photos

I enjoyed reading your post. There is a lot of good stuff.

Thanks @shihabieee

great job

Thank you @ihebanis

You have change my perspective of Paris, thank you beautiful post

I love this post. Amazing pictures ♥ One of the reason that I study modern languages is because I want to know of culture of french. And one day I wanna go to paris. I love this city and all the beatiful places

Thank you @denissemta :) nice to know your interest towards understanding other cultures and happy you are working towards that :) I'm sure you will enjoy your time in Paris. Good luck with your French :)

Cool pictures @chithrabhat amazing!!! Good job.
Upvoted and following you.
@arpitpaliwal
Please join me ☺️
Thankyou !!

Thank you @arpitpaliwal :)

Fantastic shots! what camera do you use?
Would love to see you share some of your work in #steemcreations
it's a project that aims to ensure free digital artwork/photography and services For steemians By steemians

Thanks, @steemcreations. I use Nikon.
I am new to #steemcreations. Sounds interesting, will definitely look into it.

Got some cool shots there. I love the tips. Will take them into consideration when I visit there soon. Look forward to seeing more from you.

I'm glad you found the article helpful @karliesadventure. Happy to help all steemians :) Thank you.

Wow nice pictures, i was in paris some years ago, but since then my photography skills grew a lot and i am looking forward to visit it once again.

@florian-glechner - Thank you. This time around you will see it in a different angle ;) sure will be wonderful.

Nice post. I will be Paris in new's year eve. Hopefully will be awsome. Nice content! Followed.

@mrseventeen Thank you. Have a great new year's eve in Paris.

Wow!!! Amazing photographs! Great post @chaithrabhat.
I've never been to Paris, but surely it's on top of my bucket list.
Hoping to see more great posts from you.

Amazing!! Good to see you back on steemit

That's some serious advices you posted here, well done! I am totally amazed by the sunset shots of the Eiffel Tower, it looks crazy like a mix of Paris and a tropical sunset!

PS: next time you come and visit, you definitely need to add Montmartre to your bucket list :)

Lots of love from Paris!

Tim - photographer in Paris

@tim-moore Thank you for the comment. We were lucky to get that perfect weather in Paris when we visited. Btw, I assume that you haven't read my another article about Paris where I have shared photos and views about Montmartre, we couldn't miss that! :) check out the link below

https://steemit.com/travel/@chaithrabhat/paris-trip-to-beguiling-city-of-lights-part-ii