YouTube – Travel Guide — Paris, France
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any local boulangerie for a sandwich jambon beurre
The best place in Paris to get a picture of the Eiffel Tower is not at the Tower itself but rather across the River Seine at the Trocadero. Take the Metro stop of the same name and arrive just before sunset for the most fabulous photos of you and your friends and the entire tower. When it gets dark and they turn the lights on, you can get some great night shots with the Tower lighting the background.
If you are a student and you have a student identification card from pretty much any school, you can get discounts at almost all museums if you go on a weekday. Try the Orangerie, the Musee du Moyen Age or the Musee Picasso for a few off the beaten path.
For cheap eats, try a shwarma sandwich on Rue St. Denis or hit any local boulangerie for a sandwich jambon beurre. If you go to school in Paris, you can also go to the Cite Universitaire via the RER and get a full meal for less than half of what you would pay elsewhere.
The next time I go, I’m going to be sure to try the best croissants in Paris at Pierre Herme (rue Bonaparte).
Paris – the cool areas
I have visited Paris twice in the past few years, and it is one of my favorite cities in the world. I saved money on my hotel by booking at the beginning of the August vacation, when many French citizens have time off from work. I stayed with a friend in the Montparnasse area, which is very central, and we took the subway everywhere. The subway is amazingly efficient and easy to use. We also skipped pricey restaurant meals and ate at least one meal a day in our hotel, with groceries from a local market. We would also have a few drinks out at a bar or cafe and then finish the evening with a few inexpensive store-bought beers in our hotel. You can rent city bikes for a few Euros, and they’re very convenient (you can pay by how many districts you’ll be traveling through or by the hour). We asked people working at bookstores and cafes where the cool hangouts were, and that definitely pays off. Try the Marais area for cool art galleries, shops, and nightlife, and avoid the touristy neighborhoods (say, around the Eiffel Tower) whenever you’re looking for a meal or a drink. I also recommend stopping by the lesser visited art museums; the Louvre is lovely, but so are the Picasso Museum, the Georges Pompadou Center, and of course the can’t-miss Musee D’Orsay. And for those who like a drink during the day, don’t forget that open container laws generally don’t exist in Paris. So buy a bottle of wine or a beer and, brown bag or no, you can take it with you on a scenic walk. Two birds with one stone!