We have no shortage of tips for what to see and do in the French capital, but how should you go about it and what should you avoid?
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00:00Welcome to Paris, the city of love, the city of light, of art and fashion and
00:06beauty. There are thousands of guides, blogs, videos available telling you
00:11everything that you need to do in the French capital, so today I'm gonna tell
00:15you what not to do.
00:16So are you ready to explore this magnificent city with me?
00:21Let's go!
00:25Starting the day with an early morning trip to the Sacré-Coeur at Montmartre.
00:32This area gets so busy during the day and especially at sunset, so if a quieter
00:38scene is more your thing, I'd recommend rather coming in the morning. The light
00:42is beautiful and you have the place more or less to yourself.
00:46This is the second most popular attraction after the Eiffel Tower, as is
00:51evidenced by the increasingly growing crowd of tourists here, even first thing
00:56in the morning.
01:00Probably should have come here an hour ago.
01:05Lesson learned, come at 8 a.m. not 9 a.m.
01:11Gorgeous!
01:16If you thought I was gonna tell you not to go up the Eiffel Tower, don't worry.
01:20This is one of the most visited landmarks in the world for a reason. Of course
01:24it needs to be on your Paris bucket list.
01:28If long queues aren't your thing, just book your ticket online in advance.
01:35The Eiffel Tower is a masterpiece of engineering design and part of the
01:40UNESCO World Heritage.
01:43I'm meeting Eiffel Tower welcoming agent Ammar El-Bouchary for some insider tips.
01:49To come during the sunset, because you know sometimes people come for the day
01:53and then they come for the night, they want pictures during the day, pictures
01:57during the night. They come during sunset, just before sunset, so it's beautiful
02:01because how the light changes, but if they really don't want to do the line,
02:05the best thing is to come in the morning.
02:07In terms of actually getting around, don't bother with cars or taxis. The roads
02:12are busy and they're expensive. The public transport system is very well
02:16connected and the bike lanes are great if you'd rather cycle or try out a
02:21riverboat.
02:25Time to try some French pastries. Looks like if you want a croissant in a café,
02:30don't wait until 12 p.m. Take away it is.
02:33Flaky, buttery, chocolatey, straight from the source. You can literally see them
02:39making them right there. So fresh.
02:44Back to the cultural sites.
02:51Welcome to the Louvre, one of the biggest and most visited art galleries in the
02:56world. The Louvre is one of the world's largest art galleries.
03:01One of the biggest and most visited art galleries in the world. My same tip of
03:06booking in advance definitely applies here because it also gets super crowded.
03:10But the main thing I'd recommend you not to do here is to just rush through to get
03:15a selfie with the Mona Lisa and then leave again. Take your time to really
03:19appreciate some of the most incredible works of art in the world.
03:25The Louvre is home to some of the most well-known pieces of Western art.
03:29So of course, take your selfie with the Mona Lisa at the start.
03:38But there are around 35,000 works of art to see in the Louvre. So take a proper look around.
03:48My tip would also be not to book too many things into one day.
03:52Don't be afraid to take a nap.
03:55Walking along the River Seine is so magical. And of course you'll cross the
04:00Pont des Arts Bridge, the famous meeting point for lovers. You've probably seen
04:05pictures of the bridge covered in locks left there by lovers from all over the world.
04:10But don't do that because it's actually now forbidden to put love locks on the
04:15bridge because in 2014 a part of the bridge railing collapsed under the weight
04:20of all of them. But it's still a very romantic place to come and visit.
04:24My final tip for you guys is not to shy away from the local food.
04:29Yep, I'm talking about snails.
04:36Oh, they're XXL.
04:51Mmm.
04:55You know what? That's actually pretty good.
04:58It's garlicky. Tastes almost like chicken. Definitely tastes better than it looks.
05:04I'm glad that risk paid off. I hope you trust me enough now to follow my advice
05:09about what not to do when you're visiting Paris.
05:12And I hope you've enjoyed this journey through the French capital as much as I have.
05:16Cheers!