How To Prepare For A Trip To Paris 2019 - Budgeting + Planning + Itinerary
Photography by: Paris Photographer | BRUNO B.
There are so many ways to travel and to prepare for a trip and so many things you can do while you’re visiting a new place, but how do you narrow it down so your trip is enjoyable and not an incredible source of stress? Friend, if you’re wondering how in the world to plan a trip to Paris, we’ve got your back!!! God gave us an incredible trip and we would love to share with you the insight and knowledge to make your trip a wild success!
Doug and I are here to serve you! We believe that some of these tips will transcend the Paris aspect of this post and can help you with any destination!
DOUG’S TIPS: (He has this incredibly amazing mind that thinks of logistics and details like mine can’t; so I sat him down to tell me everything he did to make our trip so magical! Thank you, boo!
How To Prepare For A Trip To Paris - Budgeting + Planning + Itinerary
We saved for two years to make this trip a debt-free reality! So we would love to offer this as the first tip. Save up your $$! It’s been a huge blessing to travel now to two BIG trips in our life with a well- saved-for, envelope! Nothing beats enjoying a trip as much as knowing it’s already payed for.
The more in advance you decide to have your trip the better you can save $ and plan for airfare, hotel reservations as well as planning the big memorable places you want to see, like The Eiffel Tower ( we bought our tickets 2-3 months in advance ) Give yourself a good amount of time to plan is a great starting point and you’ll feel confident in your itinerary!
Commit to learning the metro system! You will have a very successful trip because you’ll feel confident to get around in Paris.
Get a weekly metro card for the metro it really saves time and money and gets you where you need to go in a jiffy!
Research what it is you want to do and make a list starting with the most important to least! Now figure out what days and times you’ll visit those. A lot of the major attraction places have different times of being open. You can find insight as far as how crowded things are typically on certain days.
Learn some key words of the language. A little bit of research on the language really goes a long way! We were met with smiles as we sounded out in unison, “Bon Jour!” everywhere we went. A little effort goes a long way! Duolingo is a great app to help you!
Learn about the money system and how it’s converted. We also advise you to learn how to get your tax refund if you’re purchasing a big ticket item! Luxury brand shopping in Paris is a lot less expensive than in the states!
Get yourself a toilet plan! Make sure that you utilize, les toilettes, when you’re eating or buying something some place with a bathroom! We always made it a point to go when we had one available and these adorable bathrooms was one of my favorite aspects of Paris! The bathrooms are so cute! I even saw one with glitter, a glitter potty! However, if it’s an emergency, they do have fancy public potties through out the city that you can pay to use!
Rick Steve’s Guide to Paris (Doug started reading it 8 months before we left for our trip)! Doug learned so much beforehand and was an amazing tour guide for me!
Rick Steve’s app provides a plethora of podcasts with a lot of great information as well!
Make an itinerary based on the most important things for you to see and batch the things that are near each-other in the same day, so you maximize your time!
Download the RATP (travel) app, it will help you navigate the metro!
Notify your bank of your trip before you leave! And make sure to figure out what your daily ATM allowance is so you’ll have plenty of cash available if you’re into the cash system.
Make photocopies of your ID’s and passports and also have them digitally available!
Look on Yelp for reviews and apple maps for restaurants you’d like to try! You can peak at my Paris Eats, highlights on my instagram if you’re interested in seeing what we ate!
Figure out your cell phone plan before you leave! We suggest budgeting the cost into your trip to be able to use your phone at full capacity while you’re there! We loved having full access at $10 a day, per phone, with our Verizon plan!
We never felt fearful of pickpocketing but we were wise about making small adjustments to carry our money and information. Doug wore this belt through out our whole trip and he said it was convenient and quite comfortable!
Save money by going into a Monoprix (like a Target or little grocery store) for daily essentials!
If you love museums, you’ll really benefit from getting the museum pass . We used the 6 day pass and used it in 9-10 different places. Not only did we save money but we also saved time because we didn’t have to wait in the general lines. Make sure you research which ones you’re interested in because some times they have special hours and free times to visit!
Know that if you’re going to be walking a lot. so you need a great supportive shoes! We walked over 80 miles in the 10 days we visited. This place is really filled with cobble stone streets and lots and lots of stairs to go to the bathroom and any other places. In and out of the metro is stairs, so be ready for lots of action on your little footies!
Be prepared to also have adventure. As much as you can plan a trip there will be some curveballs thrown at you but you’ve got this and God will be with you no matter where you go!
Tis all my beloved friends! I hope this post was helpful to you and your traveling questions!! If you’d like to tag us on instagram when you visit we’d love to see your posts!! Have a wonderful week and we’ll see you very soon!
