Paris Sightseeing: Having Fun away from the Museums
There are always ‘must sees’ for every place you travel. For Paris sightseeing, you can’t leave without visiting the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. I mean, what kind of trip would that be? While in Paris, we hit all the major sightseeing spots, and a couple you may not have heard of and should definitely see.
Eiffel Tower
The pinnacle of Paris sightseeing
My grandparents bought tickets for going to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and it was pretty insane. The elevator ride up to the top might be a little unsettling if you’re scared of heights, since the windows let you see yourself getting higher and higher. My older brother HATES heights. So I held his hand.
At the very top, there is a fence surrounding the outside, but you can still capture the view. It’s really amazing what you can see. There are telescopes on one of the floors and you can see the Arc de Triomphe. Totally reminded me of the first season of Amazing Race. We didn’t have lunch at the tower, but if you can get a table, you absolutely should.
Area around Notre Dame
Paris sightseeing above- and below-ground
After the Eiffel Tower, we headed over to Notre Dame for more sightseeing. The cathedral is huge, and you can see it from a few streets over. We didn’t go inside because the line was so long, but just seeing the outside was cool enough. It was an easy check-the-box for a must see, even if we didn’t end up going inside the building. While we didn’t go inside, there is an underground crypt right next to the cathedral, which you should really see. The Archeological Crypt is right outside the front of Notre Dame, and down a stairwell. The crypt lets you see site excavations that date all the way back to the Romans.
Also right outside of Notre Dame is this small brass plaque buried in the ground that is “Paris Point Zero” or the spot from which all distances in Paris are measured. It’s supposed to be good luck to stand on top of it, so of course we did.
Arc de Triomphe & Champs Elysee
Paris sightseeing with a side of shopping
We saw the Arc de Triomphe when we went to the Champs Elysee for dinner and window shopping. It is a really interesting location because the street itself feels very modern. It’s the “Times Square” of Paris, so to have a historical landmark in the middle of all the bright lights, is pretty cool. We didn’t go to the top since it isn’t open at night, but if you’re there in the day you should. The only downside to that is that the Champs Elysee is cooler at night. Also, if you walk through the Arc, there is a list of generals who died in one of the Napoleonic Wars on the walls.
Sightseeing by boat: Seine River Cruise
A relaxed approach to Paris sightseeing
On another night, we went on a Seine River cruise. It was fun going down the river that we had been crossing over and over all trip long. The perfect time to do the the cruise is at the end of your trip, because you pass everything that you saw throughout the vacation, and can point out all the landmarks that you’ve learned. Also, there is so much happening on the banks of the river, which was surprising. We passed a large group of ballroom dancers on the cruise. I don’t know if they were in a class, or just got together in the “usual ballroom dancing spot,” but it was interesting to see.
On a side note, near the entrance of the cruise, was the Pont des Arts bridge, probably the most famous of Paris’ love lock bridges. It was pretty cool to see. Since we were there, Paris has removed all of the love locks (I guess the weight of the locks was destroying the bridges) and they are apparently auctioning them off to help refugees. Go, Paris!
Luxembourg Gardens
Pretty Paris sightseeing (with toy boats!)
On our last day, we were pretty done with sightseeing, although we rallied and spent the morning looking at modern art in The Pompidou (here’s the link to that post). In the afternoon, we went to the Luxembourg Gardens. The gardens surround the Luxembourg Palace, where the French Senate meets. The gardens are very pretty, and you can sit, or walk around different paths. There’s a Luxembourg Museum, which we didn’t go in, and a French Statue of Liberty. We hung out by the fountain, and rented toy boats to play with. They could have possibly been meant for younger kids, but that didn’t really matter. My boat kicked their boats’ butts.
The sightseeing outside of museums (aka “the fun stuff”) was awesome, because it can be a lot to spend all day at museums, with tour guides (or your dad) stuffing your head with information. I like museums, but there should definitely be a balance. Also, the photos during these excursions made for great instagramming!
Our itinerary has links to the sights we saw and to our other blog posts about this trip.
Trip date: July 2015
Kids’ ages: Jonny 15 & Emma 13 (plus cousins ages 16 & 14)