Hi! I know this is kind of random, but I’m actually going to be traveling to Paris with my boyfriend for a few days in a couple of weeks. Since you’ve been there for a while, do you have any non-touristy recommendations for sights to see, or cheap food to eat? We’ll be staying in an apartment in the 11 arrondissement, and neither of us speaks French. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Oh, I’m glad you asked! I mean, I don’t know if my advice will do you much good but here’s what I think:
- You should go to the canal St. Martin (it’s pretty close to the 11th - Google map it to get a good idea of where it is) it’s a nice place to walk along and hardly any tourists go there.
- If you like falafels and shwarma, you should try to eat at L’as Du Falafel on Rue du Rosiers in the Marais (which is in the Jewish quarter of Paris - the 3rd or 4th arondissement, I believe) because it’s awesome (they speak english, no worries).
- Then while you’re in the Marais, if you go, get yourself a delicious treat that hails from Normandy (that’s a region in northern France) called a kouignette. You can find them in Maison George Larnicol which is found on 14 Rue de Rivoli (one of the main streets in that neighbourhood). I recommend FOR SURE the caramel one - it’s beyond amazing and I’ve tried the other flavours, they just don’t compare. So it’s called “caramel beurre sale” and they are quite sweet so you might even just want to split one between the two of you.
- If you want to just relax a bit, I would recommend this fabulous park just north of you called the Parc des Buttes Chaumont -it’s AMAZING. Filled with hills and interesting trees and water and hundreds of sunbathing locals, it’s the place to be on a warm afternoon and this park, unlike many of the higher end parks, allows sitting on the grass which is lovely.
- You can drink in public in most place in France so why not take advantage of it? Try grabbing yourself a cheap wine (even the 6-8 euro bottles are great) at Nicolas - a liquor store chain - and sitting down along the Seine at midnight. Everyone does it and it’s quite the fun atmosphere, you can even go sit on the Pont des Arts - a romantic little student bridge with the tradition of lovers attaching locks to the railings with their initials and then tossing the coin into the river! It’s far from where you’ll live, though, over more in the 7th or 6th arrondissement I think. But don’t hesitate to take the metro in the evenings - just make sure you know what time it closes that day!
As far as cheap meals go, I don’t know of that many good restaurants for that (Paris is VERY expensive) but I will recommend this: go for set menus as often as you can. They will save you money for sure and almost every restaurant offers them. Also, try eating out at lunch (cheaper menus) and then for dinner go to a Monoprix or a Carrefour (grocery stores) and pick up ingredients for a picnic that you can enjoy in a park - it will save you oodles of money. Also, don’t forget that tips are including in the bills here (15% mandatory) so no need to leave any more money than you see on the bill - seriously, don’t.
One final word of advice is this: I don’t know what days of the week you’ll be in Paris, but you should note that many places are closed on Sunday and/or Monday. The French like their breaks and they will take them even when it’s inconvenient. Don’t even try to find an open grocery store on sunday afternoon, haha. And many museums are closed on Monday. Also! Always travel with ID -student ID if you have it - as many places (movie theatres and museums) will give you a discount for being a student or even just under 26 years old.
Hope that helps! You can always google the things I mentioned if you want more information on them as I was kind of brief.
