Paris in 5 Days!

End of January, I finished my exams early and took a week off to go to Paris. Paris is beautiful. Paris is absolutely beautiful! Not only is it easy to move around, it has a seriously prestigious architecture, delicious gourmet and much more! So here are the top 8 things I loved about Paris.

1- Paris by bus and metro

Paris is very easy to move around, all you gotta do is get yourself this "Paris Metro Map". It is usually given for free at hotels; nevertheless, make sure to have one - it 'll make your life the easiest possible! Try to take metro numbers 2 and 6, they go above ground thus offering some spectacular scenes of the city such as the Eiffel Tour and La Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre. Better yet, to enjoy the city more, take the bus everywhere. This might get you in some traffic, but if you're not in a hurry, you'll enjoy it so the bus map will come in handy as well! I must admit though that maybe, maybeee, the fact that we don't have such transportation made me love metros more than one would typically do.

2- Paris is a great walk

Walking around is easy, all streets are flat and you'll get to enjoy the view, smell freshly baked bread and walk in the misty rain. It wasn't heavily raining there, so walking around seemed best!

Paris has museums and churches every 5 walking-minutes, so it's a bit pointless to take metros or buses in the same region. Just get your map and circle all the things you want to see during that day. You will only find yourself walking from one spot to another, and you'll end up walking the whole day (so make sure to have very comfy walking shoes). For example, the church on the right directly faces le Pantheon, 5 minutes away from la Sorbonne, 10 minutes away from Musee de Cluny, 10 minutes away from Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, around 10 minutes away from les jardins de Luxembourg (in the opposite direction) which is 20 minutes away from Tour Montparnasse which is 5 minutes away from les cimetieres du Montparnasse! So you see, all in all, these should, and will, be covered by walking!

Read more, and you'll see why it's good to walk around.

3- Everyone enjoys a good read!

I couldn't but take photos of people
reading in the metro, so focused!
Beirut Street Photographers would've been proud.

Whether on the bus, on the street, in the rain or on the metro, most people are always reading books, magazines and newspapers! I loved that they're totally focused on their reading.

What I loved more is the book markets! All along the Seine river, where you can find the Louvres museum, Musee d'Orsay, les bateaux mouches, and the Tuileries Garden taking you all the way to L'Hôtel national des Invalides, you can find book markets on on this street. Some even have the oldest books I have seen, and they smelled beautiful!

4- The Architecture, ouf!

Le petit palais and l'arc de triomphe!
There's a lot to see in Paris, especially if you appreciate art and architecture!
This city has a beautiful history depicted in the tiniest details of its churches, monuments, temples, buildings and towers!

Taking les bateaux mouches in the Seine river
will let you see Paris by night! It was extremely cold (hats, scarves and gloves are a must in January), but it was definitely worth it.

5- Museums, museums, museums! 

When I was researching Paris before leaving, I thought, well how many museums could one city have! Yea well think again. To have a glimpse, check this whole list of museums.

Art museums interested me most... As well as the ChocoStory, the chocolate museum, but this one will have a post of its own!

Musee du Louvres and the Seine River

I adored how Renoir drew real people
displayed in le Musee d'Orsay.

But Claude Monet is by far, by faaar my favorite artist!
I adore this Water Lilies, I even got a mini painting of it to keep!

6- Operas!

If you go to Paris, make sure not to miss their opera houses! I found 2: Opera National de Paris and Opera Bastille, where we went to see la Dame de Pique and yay was it beautiful! With live orchestra playing Tchaikovsky! I even booked my tickets before I got my visa and yes, it is not to be missed!

7- Cafe Trottoires are everywhere!

With the temperature during the day being between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius in January,
finding coffee/tea shops and creperies everywhere makes life warmer and sweeter,
one sip and a bite at a time!

8- Eating there is a bliss, definitely not to miss!

Thank God I was walking all day, because I sure needed to burn all the deliciousness I was eating! In Paris, I lived meal by meal, waiting for what I will eat next was really intriguing. Those French really know their food. From the enormous variety in breakfasts, to gazillion types of cheeses, to seafood and desserts, I couldn't finish most of my meals! And it wasn't just because I was full, it was more of gluttony. Weirdly enough, I couldn't find obese people in this city, it must be because of all the walking because the food sure makes you eat more! 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
This is the 'only' reason why I made sure to have my Frenchy breakfast!

Heavenly Chocolate and Crepes!
I couldn't resist their chocolate - Even the smell of chocolate stores was delightful!

I had a thing for seafood there, weirdly not for cheese!
I had moules frites, saumon grillee and scallops casserole and all were worth it!

The trip was delightful, carefree, delicious, artistic, educative and beautiful to the eyes! What more can you wish for from on a holiday!