In the springtime, the autumn, the winter (when it drizzles) or the summer (when it sizzles!), this romantic city seduces every moment of the year.
This post is gonna be wordy - for pictures, check out the four Paris Visuals blogposts i have below!
This trip was sponsored by Air France!
Shopping Spree Specials now on!
Fly to Europe from S$1198.
Book by 31st July. Travel from 1st Sept to 30th Nov.
CLICK HERE!
A reader (Shin) shared this list of things to do/places to go in Paris! It'll be useful if you're going to Paris so bookmark it!
PLACES TO EAT AT
l'ile Maurice (French Cuisine)
61, rue des Dames, 75017 Paris
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (for the Best French Cuisine)
5,rue de Montalembert, 75007 Paris
Les Cocottes (French Cuisine)
135 rue Saint Dominique 75007 Paris
Frenchie (French Cuisine)
5 rue du Nil, 75002 Paris
La Creperie de Josselin (for the Best Crepes)
67, rue du Montparnasse, Paris
Berthillon (for the Best Ice Cream)
31 Rue St.-Louis-en-l'Ile, Paris (Hôtel-de-Ville)
Leon de Bruxelles (for Mussels)
63 avenue des Champs-Elysees, 75008 Paris
Le Relais de l'Entrecote (French/Steakhouse)
101, boulevard du Montparnasse, Paris
Patisseries/Bakeries
-Jacques Genin for the Tarte au Citron, Mille Feuille, Éclair
-Sadaharu Aoki (it’s a really good fusion jap patisserie!) for the Earl grey and green tea macaron, black sesame éclair, bamboo cake, green
tea mille feuille
-La Patisserie des Reves for the Saint Honore, Paris Brest, millefeuille, pear tart and tiramisu
-Des gâteaux et du pain
-Un dimanche a Paris
-Pain de Sucre
-Jean Paul Hevin for chocolates
-Hugo &Victor
Markets and Others
-Sunday food market at Bastille
-Shakespeare and Company (which sells really lovely books!)
-Disneyland
-Moulin Rouge (at night)
Shopping
-Champs Elysees (for brands)
-Latin Quarter (Student area so loads of funky stuff)
-Galleries Lafayette (for brands - all under one building so it's easy to find the brands you want but the price is a little bit more expensive than shopping at the boutiques outside)
-Rue du Rivoli/St Honore (for brands)
Getting around Paris was not as simple as i thought. The road names were difficult to read and pronounce cus i don't know how to speak french. Most of the time we just took a taxi. Yes, the taxis are expensive but we didn't want to waste time getting lost. We wanted to get a van to bring us around but it was too expensive. All of us werent fantastic with directions so taking the subway would mean we'd keep getting lost. In fact, everything in Paris is expensive to me. A cup of coke in a restaurant is around EUR$6 = SGD$10. A simple meal costed us at least EUR$30 = SGD$50. Make sure you are prepared with lotsa cash when you come to Paris! But of course, the branded shopping is much cheaper than the rest of the world. Then again, it's branded shopping, you're paying thousands for a bag - but you also save thousands if you get it from Paris, haha.
One thing which made us not so happy was the service. It was like everyone was rude to us and it was really disappointing in such a beautiful city. 8/10 of the sales assistants in the shops we went to were not very friendly. But of course we met the 2/10 of them, who were extremely nice especially the guy in the Christian Louboutin - Saint Honore boutique. :)
Still, i would go back to Paris again for the shopping. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD. I am going to stop buying stuff i don't need, save up lotsa money and go crazy in Paris again. Oh and the next time i go, i'm going to do more stuff like visiting the museums and markets. We spent too much time in the city shopping during this trip!
Here's how you can make your shopping even more worth it!
How to claim Tax Refund in Paris!
Sadly, for Chanel (and i think Hermes too), everyone is limited to 1 bag and 4 accessories so people don't buy and sell in SG. :(
This trip i am so happy to get to know the bloggers/vloggers better! Let me share with you a little bit on them.
Like what a Tom Boy Mae is. I've known Mae for a pretty long time and she's not your usual girly-girl BUT I DIDN'T EXPECT HER TO BE SUCH A TOM BOY. LOL! It was like hanging out with a boy but except, she's really pretty so no one would think of her as a boy. It was so fun because she's the most tom boy girl EVER AND SO REAL AND I LOVE IT.
This trip i also realized Kay Kay is super petite, skinny AND SHE HAS THE MOST PERFECT FOREHEAD. I wish i had a high forehead too! When she buns up her hair, IT'S JUST PERFECT. I felt super inferior beside her?! I also felt like a big fat giant cus she's so small and cute - i cannot believe i didn't know that till this trip. I've been to Bali with her and the words in my mind when someone says her name is "hot" and "pretty" but then now i have to add in "cute" too. How can a girl be everything?! Lol.
Also, i have never met a guy more excited in Disneyland than Boy Thunder?! Learnt that he is a huge fan of Disney, specifically, Stitch and those who have seen his car are like "omg it's a Stitch shrine man!". He sure doesn't look or act like his age! It's great cus most people his age are all stressed up and uptight but he seems so happy-go-lucky and relaxed! #foreveryoung
There was this thing Jian Hao said which made Mae and I go "(O.O)". JH is a proud fan of Justin Bieber! Not that i hate Biebs or anything (i used to be such a fan but he's getting more and more arrogant and full of himself so.....yeah), but it's shocking cus i don't know any guy in SG who's a fan of JB? That boy is also pretty witty and can do a very good HongKong accent! Right after this imma go check out his vlogs on Youtube! I am not very updated when it comes to the Youtube scene in Singapore despite being on Youtube so much. But after the conversation with him in the subway, i learnt that Singapore actually has pretty good vloggers who should get noticed!