I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived in Paris. I knew the city was known for their countless, famous landmarks, outstanding macarons, and incredible shopping, but I didn't know what the city would be like. After spending a week in Paris, let me tell you that the city lives up to all the hype. I fell in love with Paris after only being there for two hours. There is a lot to see in Paris so I made a list of my top six spots to see in Paris.
1. Musée de Louvre
Going to the Louvre is a must, even if you’re going just to see the glass pyramid. I went inside, grabbed a map, and realized just how huge the museum is. I spent about two hours there and I didn’t even see half of the museum! Although, the artwork I did see was so impressive. I would recommend getting to the museum right when it opens because as it gets later in the day it gets busier and busier, especially in front of the Mona Lisa. I got there early and was able to walk around without there being too many crowds. While you’re there, I would recommend checking out the "Mona Lisa", "Napoleon III Apartments", "Winged Victory of Samothrace", and "The Rebellious Slave".
2. Arc de Triomphe
I got to the Arc de Triomphe around 9 PM, which was the perfect time to go up to the top of it. I was able to watch the sunset over the city and stayed up there until 10 PM to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It was the best of both worlds and the views were spectacular. The views are worth the 284 steps up and the 284 steps down.
3. Musée d’Orsay
The building that houses the d’Orsay museum is impressive alone. The building used to be a railway station that the French government eventually turned it into a museum. This makes the museum all the more unique and fun to explore. The museum is home to many impressionist and post-impressionist works of art, which includes pieces from Monet, Van Gogh, Sisley, Manet, Cézanne, and many more. If you like impressionist or post-impressionist art, I would highly suggest visiting this museum.
4. Galeries Lafayette
Galeries Lafayette is every fashionista’s dream. It’s a huge, French department store that is more like a mall than a department store. The building matches the elegance of the stores inside by having exquisite architecture. It’s filled with small boutiques from every high end fashion designer you can think of. It wasn’t the place for a broke college student to go shopping, but it was still so much fun to walk around and window shop at the different boutiques.
5. Musée de l’Orangerie
Another impressionist and post-impressionist art museum that is home to Claude Monet’s eight "Water Lilies" murals. These murals are huge and each one takes up nearly the whole width of the wall. Monet’s murals are breathtakingly impressive and so is the rest of the museum. The lower level of the museum displays works from Cézanne, Picasso, Sisley, Renoir, and so many more. It’s another museum I would recommend going to if you like impressionist or post-impressionist pieces.
6. Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is something that you can nearly see from every point in the city, but actually going to it is something that every tourist has to do. I went up in it and the views were spectacular as you can see the whole city below. If you’re brave you can walk up the stairs. I opted to take the elevator up and the stairs down so I'd still be able to say I walked the stairs of the Eiffel Tower. Overall, the whole structure is breathtaking and I loved every moment that I spent there.
