Trip A: City Two, Day One

 Introduction:

     Let me first say Paris was always a city I wanted to visit growing up... I mean Tommy Pickles and the gang had a blast, so of course, I would! However, after visiting it 22 years later, I am not a HUGE fan. It very well may be my least favorite city in Europe. Paris is expensive and depending on the airport you fly in or out of, hard to navigate. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check which airport you are flying in or out before you book the plane ticket. Flying into Charles de Gaulle or ORLY are not the end of the world, but using the Paris-Beauvais airport is a sure fire way to make your trip start off or end in an odd scramble. While not the end of the world, you will have to ride a bus from the weirdest station I have ever experienced for over an hour to the airport... pay the extra money and fly into Charles de Gaulle. 

Flying from Madrid to Paris:

    Unlike in the United States, flights within continental Europe are not overly expensive. In fact a flight from Madrid to Paris is only $62. (It would be even cheaper if you didn't have luggage or was flying into Orly or Beauvais!) The best part of this flight is it is only 2 hours long!

Getting from the Airport to the Hotel:

    Just like Madrid, Paris is well connected by a metro system and for around $12 USD, you can ride the train from the airport to the hotel. 

Accommodation:

    Staying in Paris is not cheap, there are hotels and hostels that will be much cheaper than the option I am going to talk about. I am an All-Accor member which gives special rates for the Ibis brand of hotels, my preferred hotel chain in Europe. My recommendation is to stay within walking distance to the Eiffel Tower which keeps you close to public transportation and not relatively hard to find anything you may need. The Ibis Paris Eiffel Cambronne 15th meets these requirements, plus you will have a view of the Eiffel Tower from your window! A double room with a view of the Eiffel Tower is $236 per night, for a total of 3 nights, is $708 USD. And personally, as someone who has been to Paris already, I would probably stay somewhere further out of the tourist area closer to Place de Bastille in the 11th Arrondissement. You can easily find a cheaper accommodation there and still be really well connected to the public transportation system. I found a hotel with a shared bathroom for $90 per night in just a simply search. which cuts the cost almost in half if necessary!

View from the Ibis Paris Eiffel Combronne 15th 

The Language Barrier:

    While English is widely spoken in most of Europe, Parisians tend to be taken as rude to Americans specifically. However, this was not my experience at all. I was visiting in March 2022, France had just opened its borders post COVID-19 and I think folks were excited to see tourists again. This also meant, I was traveling to Paris for a much cheaper price than what I have listed here. I think the room with the view of the Eiffel Tower was only $85 a night back then. My best advice when traveling to any non-English speaking country is to learn some basic phrases: Hello, Thank you, Where is the bathroom?, Please" and my favorite French term, "Je ne parle pas Français" meaning, I do not speak French.

The Food: 

    The French are known for their cuisine, however, I do not have the budget for a $500 meal, so I am looking at small places with a good price point and might have one mid-point meal on the trip. For my first meal in Paris, I highly recommend going to a little bakery or grocery store and getting a baguette, some French cheese, and prosciutto and going to the Champ de Mars right under the Eiffel Tower and just have a little picnic. It is inexpensive, you can people watch, get some great pictures for the 'Gram and people watch.

My first night in Paris... after an 8 hour flight and a 4 hour layover in Portugal.

Day One Activity: 

    While I have said "Paris is an expensive city" there are plenty of things to do for free. Walking around the city is an amazing thing to do, there are little boutiques you can browse, maybe a bookstore or two, and the architecture. The buildings in Europe all have a charm about them, probably because they are so much older than many buildings we have in the United States. Just looking at the intricate designs in the marble and limestone is amazing. 

Square Franck Bauer in Paris.