I'm guessing most of you after reading the title would be thinking, "Oh great, another sappy romantic dose of places or things in Paris crap", but I promise this has nothing to do with romance at all. Yes, you read right. The city being called the City of Love can be explored with no lovey dovey routine involved whatsoever. So without any further ado, lets jump onto a few things you can do when in Paris.
1.
The Bakeries
I don’t even have to say why this is on top of the list. When in Paris
no one can ever say no to anything that comes out of the ovens in those
bakeries. Except if you are diabetic. The French will never disappoint you when
it comes to baked goods. Be it the tiny little macarons or the good old pain au
chocolat, you’re sure to be in dessert heaven with all those sugary orgasmic
delicacies causing an explosion of satisfaction in your mouth.
2.
Walk around
Walking around the city will give you a view that you won’t get in a
tour guide scheduled exploration of Paris. Go take a stroll around Place de la
Concord, the largest square in the French capital and make sure you go to
Jardin des Tuileries.
Sit around the small pond and enjoy a nice evening
watching the sun set and the sky throwing colors behind the Eiffel and indulge
your inner child to a carousel ride in the garden. I took this photo in the
garden and the view was magnificent; the lens couldn’t do justice to all the
colors.
Another good place to enjoy a walk is Notre Dame. If you are lucky you’ll
find some people doing stunts on skates like I did (check them out in the following link), and if you are hungry you can always pick up a sub from the Subway near the cathedral.
Moving on from Notre Dame you can always walk along the banks of Seine
and marvel on the beauty of the cathedral and look over the lock bridges with
all the love dangling over the river, locked in those locks of love or artists
on the street sides with beautiful sketches and paintings of the city for sale.
The city in the night is a beautiful sight to see with the river reflecting the
city lights.
3.
Ride around the city
Since I mentioned walking around the city, I cannot keep riding around
out of this list. You’ll find the city’s bicycle sharing service Vélib’ very handy with bike
stands spread almost everywhere around the city and easy to issue DIY card services
along the stands.
While I was in the city I rode almost 30
kilometers around the city to go see one of the 7 wonders of the world the city
hosts; and let me tell you, nothing beats the feel of the wind while riding
around the city with autumn winds getting ready to sway those graying leaves of
the trees.
4.
Riding around in the subway
Yes it sounds stupid to be riding around in the subway, but Paris metro
is something to be experienced. You’ll not just find way too polite people
holding the door for you, which let’s just say is a wonderful gesture of French
people; or hearing people say thank you just for holding the door open for them (I heard more thank you in the subway in one day than I had heard all my life, another
gesture you’ll experience), you’ll find awesome graffiti all over those tunnel
walls. How people go on those tracks in the dark and draw awesome stuff is
beyond me, but it sure isn’t something I am used to seeing every day.
5.
Disneyland Paris
Just the mention of this place brings a huge smile on everyone’s face. For it’s a place full of happiness and magical rides that even the
adults enjoy. Being in Paris and missing out on going to Disneyland is like
taking a pass to possibly the best day spent in your life watching the Disney
parade and all those rides. The roller coasters with those 360 degrees turns are
sure to not just turn you upside down but your sour and depressed mood as well.
6.
Climb one of the seven wonders of the world
Not forgetting the Eiffel, go climb it and feel like being on top of
the world and discover how many scientists made it on that giant tower (the
three Ls of math world Lagrange, Laplace and Legendre are a few to name). The city
looks amazing from up there with the river flowing through it like a serpent
cutting through.
Do wait till sundown for the light show and break the cliché of
romantic kissing photos in front of the Eiffel by taking a bad ass photo of
your silhouette with the tower in the background.
There are
probably a lot more places to explore in the city that I didn’t cover which you
can explore on your own and make awesome memories to look back to. So go out,
explore that city people talk so much of being all about love and
prove them wrong. Make memories, eat French cuisine, go places no one ever
tells you to go to in all these blogs about travelling. The city has so much
more to offer than just a love stop for couples. It’s you who can find out what
it has to offer and take it all with you and keep it fresh in your memory
palace to revisit anytime.
