If you are thinking of a solo trip to Paris but is fed with many well-intentioned warnings from family and friends that Paris is not safe for solo travelling, this post would give you the perspective of someone who went through the same thing.
I will be sharing about my research and experience of where to stay, things to do, what to eat and how to keep safe suitable for a solo female traveller or a first-time visitor to Paris.
Where to Stay in Paris
The City of Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements (arr.), which are labelled using the postal code of each districts.
The single digit arrondissements is the city center and where the major attractions you would likely be interested in. Most people recommend first-time tourists to stay in 1st, 8th if you want the best connectivity, or 7th arrondissements if you want a view of the iconic Eiffel Tower.
The circular district zoning is also mirrored in the Paris metro zoning, where city center is zone 1. You can buy a day-pass called Mobilis at €7.50 (as of 2022) for unlimited travel within zone 1-2. Hence it is the most time-efficient and lowest transport cost to stay within zone one, though hotels are more expensive.
I stayed in the 1st arr. region and found it reasonably convenient to walk to many destinations, then sometimes taking a bus back if I am tired. There were also plenty of good food options within walking distance till late. It is also within the shopping street of Paris so it is also a good area to stay if you want to shop and put down your stuff in the middle of the day before continuing.
I also stayed in the Bercy region for one night to store my luggage as I was planning to take a night-bus to Paris. It looked like the less glamorous part of Paris, and felt a little unsafe. I would walk around the region in a heightened-alert mode. I would not recommend this area nor the Paris-London night bus for an inexperienced solo traveller.
I also read from multiple sources that tourists should generally avoid the North-Eastern area (18,19,20th arrondissements) as they are deemed as more unsafe. I would just follow such advices because there is no point taking any unnecessary risks especially as a solo traveller.
Things to Do in Paris
Eiffel Tower
The iconic architecture not to be missed by a first-time visitor to Paris. You can go up the Tower either by the elevator or the stairs.
Arc de Triomphe
An impressive historic monument built in the 1800s in the orders of Napoleon to honour the soldiers who fought in the French Revolution.
Montmarte and Sacré–Cœur Basilica
I read that Montmarte is a unique neighbourhood with authentic Parisian character. You can also visit the Sacré–Cœur Basilica up the hill while you are there.
Cruise on River Seine
This is a great way to take a look at many of the major highlights of Paris in an hour or so. Some cruises offer dining on board too. I think most cruises are similar, so you can choose one depending on which one fits your schedule. I bought a combo ticket together with Arc de Triomphe entry.
Louvre Museum
The Louvre Museum is worth a visit for both the pyramid architecture and the artwork collection. The Tuileries Garden right beside is also a nice place to enjoy some greenery and peaceful moments.
There are more than 480,000 artworks in the museum, you can easily spend x days looking through each one of them (I have seen x = 60, 75, 200 etc). I spent about 4.5 hours in the museum, taking several breaks in between.
It is a good idea to allocate at least 3 hours to visit the Louvre Museum, and know the few must-see highlights during your visit. I followed a list like this during my visit.
Where to Eat in Paris
I asked my hotel for recommendations of good food places, and they gave me this list. I checked out and dined in some of them and I felt that this list is worth sharing. Most of them have quite good reviews on Google and Tripadvisor, but they are mostly near my hotel.
Traditional French Cuisine
- Le Boissy d’Anglas
- Bistrol François Felix
- Chez Monsieur
- Lazare
- Le Griffonnier
- Madeleine 7
- Paris/London
- L’Ecluse
Trendy / Fancy Places
- Le Village
- Mad Men
- Le Costes
- ZO
- Le Contraste
Theme Restaurants
- Bugsy’s
- A la Châtaigne
- Crêpe Avene
- Chez Ly
- Sam Sushis
Business Tables
- Grand Cafe Fauchon
- Maison De La Truffe
- Le Cafe M
- Lucas Carton
Gourmet French Cuisine
- Epicure
- Le Grand Restaurant de JF Piege
- Lasserre
- Akrame
- Le Laurent
- Mimosa JF Peige et Cafe Laperouse
Fast Food
- Cojean
- Lina
- Starbucks Coffee
- Pegast
- L’Entre Deux
- Pret A Manger
Here are some food that I enjoyed very much during my short stay in Paris.
Additional Tips for Paris Tourists
- It is possible to go cashless in Paris. Credit card payments are accepted everywhere.
- The train CDG airport to city costs €10.30 and can be bought conveniently at the Airport station. No need to buy online.
- Google Maps may not give the most optimal metro routes. I would take reference from Google Maps and check the Paris Metro Map directly. For example, sometimes Google Maps may ask you to walk to another station when you could just take one more stop to do a direct transfer. It matters when you have luggages.
- VAT is 20%. Tourist tax refunds is possible but most luxury stores gives 11-13% tax refund.
- I would try to do the tax refund at the airport before checking in the luggage, in case of a physical sighting spot check. I have heard of stories of tourists being rejected of tax refund because their items were checked in already.
- Tipping in restaurants is not required or expected. However when you pay in coins or if you round up to the nearest dollar it may be taken as tips. You can still choose to tip a waitress whom you think provided exceptional service.
- If you are considering the overnight bus to London, I do not recommend it. My bus (Blablabus) did not show up and the staff unapologetically said that it was rescheduled, but there were no official notice. I bought Flixbus at a highly inflated price at €69.90 out of desperation. The 10-hour ride is not uninterrupted. You need to carry your luggages down for customs and you need to leave the bus during the 2-hour ferry ride. A very uncomfortable and tiring journey.
Have fun in Paris, I hope some of the information shared here helped you in some way. The information were from my Paris trip in Sep 2022.
Yohuifang 