Last updated: 29 July 2023
I’ve been to Paris a few times. I love the city itself. It’s romantic, full of fairytales and it’s the fashion capital of the world.
I like to think locals can make or break a place. Some of my best experiences have been so because the locals went out of their way to show me their home. Sadly, I can’t say the same for Paris.
My french is school-girl poor. It’s not bad for an Australian who attempted to learn French as an adult, so in that, it’s better than most Aussies. When comparing to almost anyone that was European educated, it’s really basic. That being said, I try. In Paris, I try very hard, but sadly it’s never enough.
Buying tickets and ordering from a menu I would preface just about every conversation (in French) with ‘hello, I don’t speak much French so please be patient’. I used to hope this disclaimer would buy me some forgiveness and some perhaps someone would meet me halfway and reply in English. Nope, it couldn’t have been more the opposite. Guidebook in hand and an offline electronic translator got me mostly around Paris although I ate a lot of sandwiches because they were the words I knew.
je ne regrette rien
The city itself is much bigger than you expect. As much as you want to wear your very best outfit, walking shoes are a necessity for exploring Paris.
Catch cabs if you need to, however I quite enjoy trekking across Paris via the Metro system. Like most major cities, it well organised & the map is relatively easy to read. Buying tap & go cards or ‘Navigo Carte’ similar to London’s Oyster Card is probably the cheapest & easiest way to get around. If you choose to buy this its 5 Euros for the card and you need a photo ID to put on the card, so pack a spare passport photo if you have it. You can then just load more money on the cards as you need to.
Patience and perseverance is the key in Paris. You will get there in the end but don’t expect many people to help you along the way.
