Will two full days be enough to discover Paris? Definitely not! The city is a tourist hotspot. Even a week would probably be too short. There is so much to see and experience.
Paris was not heavily destroyed in the last wars, so it has a lot to offer in terms of historic buildings alone. But of course, Paris is not an open-air museum.
Approximately 12.8 million people live and work in the Paris metropolitan area. The traffic is immense, so I can only advise everyone to leave their car behind.
In addition, public transportation is well developed. In addition to buses and trains, there is an extensive metro network. By the way, it is one of the oldest in the world. The first line was opened in 1900 for the World Exhibition.
At some places, you can feel the age of certain metro lines. The ride in these trains is reminiscent of a ghost train, not because of the darkness, but because of the bumpy ride. The door handles here are also quite nostalgic. They are small levers that you have to turn and push down at the same time to open.
But there are also very modern trains and tracks. However, you need to be good at walking everywhere because the paths to the exit or to another line are long and involve a lot of climbing stairs. People with mobility impairments would have real problems here.
By the way, we bought a weekly ticket. The Navigo pass costs €22.80 and is valid from Monday to Friday. For the initial issue, there is an additional €5 fee and you need a passport photo. However, the pass can be recharged for 10 years. Since we definitely want to come back, we found that worthwhile. In addition, with this ticket, you can also travel to more distant destinations like the airport or Palace of Versailles.
Day passes or 10-ride tickets are also an option, but they do not allow long-distance trips.
By the way, there is also a wonderful app that I can recommend to future Paris visitors. It's called 'Next Stop Paris' and it not only provides a good metro schedule but also a lot of information about the sights of Paris. And that's exactly what my next report is about...
