PARIS No.2 ~ Ten places to go in Paris if you've never been

I feel like you can't go on holiday - especially to Paris - without doing a cliche travel post about where to go but I want to recommend some places to see so we can all just pretend I'm some sort of Paris guru now... Yep? Okay good. Seriously though, out of everything to do in the city there are some overpriced tourist traps and there are places you should go but only at a certain time of day etc etc. So I thought I would give you a nice little mix. 5 tourist places that ARE actually worth going to and when you should go and then 5 places that you wouldn't usually jump to but are completely worth it and won't be filled with tourist groups waving umbrellas around in 30 degree heat and taking a dozen photos that now include some random part of your body (Some guy from a Chinese group full on has a photo of me walking past his view of the Eiffel Tower. I turned around at the wrong moment and stared straight down the lens. Bit awkward. Enjoy that shot of my resting b*tch face then okay.)

FIVE TOURIST ATTRACTIONS WORTH IT

1. Galleries Lafayette (and the roof terrace more importantly)

Heads up if you didn't know it's not a gallery. It's the most beautiful department store in the world. And no, you don't need to be into fashion or makeup or handbags to appreciate it either. Its actually made up of a few buildings but the one you definitely need to see it its central one; six floors, the most beautiful decor and everything is so French its incredible. I mean there is an entire floor of designer baby clothes?? Only in Paris will you find people genuinely browsing through baby-grows that cost as much as a high end Zara coat. Also, the FOOD HALL. Even if you hate fashion with a passion please just go and see some of the patisseries and cheese and wine. Scattered with little bars and restaurants you can sit and eat down there as well (Think the ground floor of Selfridges but ten times classier and no god damn sushi bars). If none of that appeals...just go up to the roof terrace. There's a free viewing deck with gorgeous views of the city or a seriously aesthetic rooftop cafe/bar. Think white sofas and plants and canopies...aka perfect insta territory.

2. Musée d'Orsay

I'm not a big art gallery person but this one is worth it I reckon. It has all the well known Van Gough and Monet paintings but aside from the basic tourist attraction its genuinely just a nice place to walk around, especially if the weather isn't amazing or if its too hot and you need a break before you burn to a crisp - which was us in this scenario. Would recommend going when it opens just to get out of the queuing situation or get tickets through an app or booking that lets you skip the line. Oh, and check when it opens because it doesn't on Mondays so don't do what we did which was plan our day around going and realising after a half an hour walk, it was shut. Round of applause for us.

3. Batobus

Never thought I'd be including this one in a million years. If someone said "Lets go on the batobus", as my mum did to me, I would have laughed and made a salty joke about how middle aged they are and how I'm not 18 going on 80. I did. She wasn't happy. However, she forgave me because she managed to prove me wrong. It is literally the most convenient thing in the world, especially if you've been doing a lot of walking or you're fed up of the metro which can be gross in summer when its so warm. You can get on at one tourist place and do the entire circuit and just go for a boat ride or you can just hop up the river to a new place and get off. If you're going to sit inside with all the mums and young kids and middle aged men...there's no point no one wants that. But on every boat there's a huge open platform at the back and that's pretty nice (and makes great photo ops too).

4. Eiffel tower

It has to be done. I couldn't not include it. This one will be short and sweet but from my experience when you go to see it or go for photos go to the 'Jardins du Trocadero' instead of the Champs de Mars, It's ten times quieter has some lovely gardens and fountains and also you can walk up to the building's platforms and get some photos. I stole this ledge idea from a blogger I had seen doing the same, although she makes it look a lot easier and less scary because the other side of this is like a 40ft sheer drop and I'm not into that, just saying.

5. Louvre

Go but DON'T PAY TO GO IN is my one tip. If you really want to see some specific art or you're really into it go for it. But if you're like most people and you kind of just have the urge to go inside the glass triangle it's very overpriced for what it is and you can see all the architecture, have a nice drink in another aesthetic cafe and see all the prettiest parts without paying a penny. Also, if you want photos without people milling around behind you, MAKE FRIENDS. I found two girls who had found this photo spot and I took some photos of the two of them so they let me have it after them and suddenly it looks like I'm the only one there. Magic.

FIVE MORE YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT

1. Tuileries Gardens

So, you might know about this one. It is a well known site but what we didn't realise is that its right next to the Louvre and takes you all the way up to Place de la Concorde. There's a fountain and free chairs everywhere to sit and enjoy and is in the most gorgeous location with all the city centre buildings surrounding it. If you're lucky they also have, in Summer, Amorino gelato stalls. [Side note: if you haven't had Amorino gelato in London or Paris or anywhere you NEED it in your life. There's a million little shops across Paris and they do gelato and sorbet and will put it in a cone and make a flower out of it. I'm obsessed. It's so pretty.

2. Le Brebant

Just the nicest restaurant I have ever been to. It's in the 9th arrondissement and you can't miss it because of its decor. Think bulb fairy lights everywhere, plants draped across the balcony and the canopy, wrought iron and glass everywhere and cute Parisian tables and chairs and benches. The waiters are lovely - and no, I'm not just saying that because there was one cute guy that kept coming back to serve us whenever we went - everyone is so nice. The menu is proper french food but also has more classic things on it (would recommend the risotto over anything oh my god it was incredible). Oh, and they have very wine and lots of free bread. What more could you want?

3. Montmartre

If you have a spare morning or afternoon take an hour or so to walk or bike up to Montmartre. This place is so pretty. We went early in the morning, not quite sunrise time but we left our hotel at about 7am and the walk up through all the smaller streets and food markets and stalls and hidden cafes was so different to main stream Paris its gorgeous. Also, if you go early you don't just miss the tourists when you reach the Sacre-Coeure at the top, you see everyone getting on with life. Taking the kids to school, walking their dogs (which is a thing in Paris because until then I hadn't seen a single dog so that made my day) and you can just pick a cafe and people watch.

4. Musee parfum

We found this genuinely by accident and it literally means perfume museum, which is rather random but it was actually it the most beautiful square with a little cafe and has a shop to DIE for its so beautiful in there. It's one of these places that only exists in Paris they don't sell in anywhere else in the world. So we went on a little tour - a lot more interesting than my attention span thought it was going to be - and I came out genuinely tempted to spend my remaining money on this perfume. Sadly, we had to settle for duty free because most of my money had gone on the wine at Le Brebant... They don't do aftershave though so, sorry lads, you might want to give this one a miss.

5. Favst

If you want lunch by the Seine, outside with a glass of wine and a view of the river and the royal palace, under a canopy, with matte black coffee tables and bread baskets...this is your place. If you don't want that, why are you even in Paris? We were walking up the river when we found this and it was full of people just sitting enjoying a bottle of rose or lunch or coffee. It's actually a club I found out (good to know) but during the day they set up this gorgeous lunch tent. It wasn't too expensive either because it wasn't aimed at tourists which is always nice...

XXX