Paris in Spring

Granville: Polaroid

Who doesn't love a bit of Paris? I think everyone knows Paris inside out by now but as I am lucky enough to have a boyfriend who is studying there at the moment and between the two of us (and many hours of internet surfing) I think we have found some original and different, non cliche things to do if you find yourself in the city of lurve as well as the down right cliches.

Notre Dame and other islands:

I will start with my favourite! I actually think the Notre Dame is my favourite Paris building- yup, take that Mr Eiffel. The area is just beautiful, and I love that every time you look at the Notre Dame you notice something different. It also has the best ass I have ever seen on a building. We rented an apartment right next to the Notre Dame- seriously, the bells shook the house, thankfully it only rings 8am-8pm.  The Island next to the one with the Notre Dame has numerous shops that sell the BEST ice cream ever. Berthillon make unique flavours and their flavour board changes daily. Try the chocolate though. Anyone who is as into chocolate as me will empathise with how upset I get by normal ice cream which is just brown colour- no chocolate taste. Many cafes sell Berthillon but the original is at 31 Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île, 75004 Paris, France. The flower ice cream was a, Berthillon is closed on a Tuesday, but I NEED ice cream  fit of madness- it was pretty but just not as good.

Sainte Chapelle:

8 Boulevard du Palais.

So very pretty! Always worth a visit. It is tucked away so you need to know where it is!

Marché aux Oiseaux

Place Louis Lépine, on Île de la Cité, 75001, Paris - See more at: http://girlsguidetoparis.com/insider/view.php?list=shops&shopID=132#sthash.6xbnrqBH.dpuf

Place Louis Lepine, on Ile de la Cite, 75001, Paris

Place Louis Lépine, on Île de la Cité, 75001, Paris - See more at: http://girlsguidetoparis.com/insider/view.php?list=shops&shopID=132#sthash.6xbnrqBH.dpuf

On everyday bar a Sunday this is a flower market. Come Sunday it is a bird market. Now, it is a sight to see, it did leave me with a funny feeling in my stomach that this was a little cruel for the birds. If you are touchy about animals and cages maybe give it a miss, but it is worth seeing and it is beautiful!

Catacombs:

1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris

To counteract all the cutesy cherry blossom- creepy skull filled underground tunnel. I went not really knowing the reason why it was there- I assumed a creepy cult/ mass murder thing. But it was made to house all of the dead from churchyards- which makes it a little less creepy in my opinion. It was shocking to see so many bones, especially when the walls upon walls were made of femurs- two  of which make a human= a lot of dead people down there. Pretty long queues to get in, and if you are claustrophobic I wouldn't give it a go, also wear waterproof shoes- it's wet down there.

Musee d'Orsay

1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris, France

I hate art museums. My kind of art is cats or 1960's women looking pretty. Picasso just doesn't rock my boat. But for the amazing building the art is housed in or for the  Alexandre Charpentier Dining Room Panelling it is worth the visit.

Sacre Coure

The area is horrible. Pickpockets galore. However, if you go away from the main tourist routes to and from the Sacre Coure it is very pretty. Go up some of the backstreets, they are empty but full of flowers and interesting things. If you are in the area go to Café des Deux Moulin, which is the Cafe Amelie worked in for the film. They have a homage to the film with a wall of memorabilia and they give you popcorn with your drinks. They also make a mean mojito.  Find at 15 Rue Lepic 18eme Arrondissement, Paris.

The Marais:

Get off at Metro Saint-Paul

If you have an afternoon free and fancy finding some unusual shops head over to the Marais. It is easy to get lost, but when everything is as pretty as this it really does matter. My favourite things to do in the Marais is eat THE best falafel known to man:  L'As du Fallafel- 34, rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris, France. Do not be tricked by the two other falafel shops on the street claiming to be the best, this one is the best- persevere through the inevitable queue, or make your companion queue while you pop into the cheapest vintage shop in the world. Three doors over, and everything is 5 euros but still cute. The Marais became my boyfriends favourite area and I quickly saw why. There are not many tourists here, it's like a little secret.

The National Museum of Natural History:

 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France

Kinda breathtaking in a boney way. It was a good place to bring my boyfriend after a day of squeeing at small french dogs and slowly walking past every flower stand. Maybe my boyfriend is just into bones and anatomy though.I enjoyed it too, just some advise, if you are of weak heart and soul, avoid the back cases on the ground floor for the conjoined, pickled, fluffy kittens alone.

Tour de Eiffel:

Everyone goes, but my advice is stroll around the streets around the tower. It is so unexplored by tourists. 200 meters away from the base is a pretty garden full of Parisians lazing in the sun. It's amazing what you can find.

Jardins:

All the Gardens are lovely in Paris, but Palais Royal Paris Jardin and the Luxembourg Gardens are my favourites. If you are in the Luxembourg gardens around lunch head to de clercq and buy a kilo of chips- for the novelty alone- I do recommend sharing though. The Chicken burger is also amazing.

Lourve and Love lock bridge:

This is the original lock bridge. There are many copies in Paris, I assume because this one is full to the brim. I added a lock two years ago on a pretty empty section that looked at the Eiffel tower. Two years on I spent 15 minutes trying to find it without a hope in hell of finding it. I love reading the locks, from the overly cutesy messages to #fucktards, it's all good. 

Days out:

Fountainebleu:

Very cute, like a mini Versailles. They have some beautiful rooms and it is not busy at all. So much more relaxed and peaceful, it's like a secret Versailles. It's in a cute village too, so worth a visit.

Versailles:

Marie: Antoinette: I Want Candy

As my previous song for this post has most likely timed out let's move on to Bow wow wow. I have a distinct fascination for Versailles. I am not sure if this is the fact I am a history dork (The treaty of Versailles was signed here y'all) or if I wish I lived in Sofia Coppola's version of Marie Antoinette- if you have not seen it, go watch it now. As such I can't stop going. It is a day out but I would add a day to any trip to Paris to come to Versailles. Just don't eat the Mont Blanc from Angelinas- it's disgusting. Also, if you are a student, just queue to get in and flash your ID as you get in for free. They also don't care if you bring food to eat in the gardens, we had three knives in our bag and the guy on the metal detector either didn't care or I look like a peaceful knife collector.

Versailles Jardens
 

Marie Antoniette's estate is maybe my favourite places in the world. Versailles is so chaotic with all the manic tour groups it's nice to escape. If I could go into the Chateau of Versailles or the Jardins only, I'd pick the Jardins every time (unless it was raining and I was wearing white). Eat your stealthily hidden picnic by the lake watching boys try to impress girls with their rowing skills. Then wander to Marie Antoniettes house and farm, just keep on exploring until you feel like the dancing wicked witch and you can't continue. It is so worth the sore feet.

Food:

You would be hard pressed to go into any bakery in Paris and be disappointed but I still have some favourites, all of which are pretty far out near Dugommier (where boyfriend is living) so I doubt anyone will make it out this far BUT if you get horribly lost and end up in this area you will be well fed. Maison Marceaux sells great bread- get the Italian baguette, which seems sacrilege being in Paris. But it is a cute pinstripe baguette with a shortbread crust and the softest interior.

Le Petite Rose makes the best cakes, both breakfast goods and fancy pieces. A lot of the french cakes are style over substance but these are beautiful and taste amazing, move over Laduree and Angelina. (31 Boulevard de Reuilly). I have had nightmares about the Angelina Monte Blanche, but dreams about the chocolate frangipan twist I had at Le Petite Rose. I was legitimately upset when my boyfriend came back with fancy la Maison du Chocolate Macaroons because all I wanted was a 1.50euro pastry. I'm so selfish.

Tips:
1. Take ID- most musuems and chateau's offer students/ people under 26 free entry
2. Shop at Supermarkets to get more reasonably priced food and try Pago- Strawberry juice. Delicious.
3. On the weekend those under 26 get a reduced day fare on the metro- Euro 3.75
4. Try to walk places, everything in Paris is much closer than you think, it's nice to know what is near what.
5. Actually look at things! Don't just take pictures. I self banned myself inside the Notre Dame and I saw so many beautiful things I wouldn't have noticed if I was running around with my camera in the air shoving fellow tourists out my way

With love from,

Emma x