18 FEATURE


Paris In A Day


If you were granted a day in Paris, where would you go and what would you do? Perhaps the important question is, how would you get there? That’s a cinch. Eurostar. But banning the use of public transport or maps upon arrival, what the...?!


There we were, two girls from London, thrust into foreign land with not so much as a miniature pop-up map between us. Our combined level basic GCSE French consisted of ‘L’addition, s’il vous plaît?’ and ‘Où est la piscine?’ This did not bode well.


But whatevs, we’re from London – from one capital city to another, how hard could this be?


Stop One – Gare du Nord. Stop Two – Maccie D’s outside Gare du Nord (Free Wifi). Ah, and there was our first hurdle. No assistance from directions or public transport now also meant no Google Maps.


With a pout on her face and a grump in her step, I dragged my reluctant pal from McDonald’s and off we went, using her excellent homing pigeon skills from a recent trip to the city a few months prior. To Notre Dame we go!


Twenty minutes later we stood at the bottom of Notre Dame. ‘Wow, impressive,’ I said, ‘Only you know this is the Sacre Coeur, right?’ ‘Oh.’


Oh, indeed.


At a time like this, when a whole nine hours of unknown exist ahead of us, only one thing will do. Some good Parisian coffee. After a quick mooch around Not-Notre-Dame, we fell into the artists market – J’ADORE! Art, culture AND coffee. We holed ourselves up in La Boheme, a cute, if somewhat touristy cafe on the corner of this Montmarte square, supped delicious café au lait and watched the market revellers outside.


Once refreshed, this happened – Artists Market to the Palais Royal to the Louvre to Jardin des Tuileries to the Champs Élysées, with a bit of getting lost in between.


On our way to the Louvre we stumbled upon our biggest (and most fun!)


time waste of the day – a courtyard full of different sized black and white striped columns. Now this may not sound like much, but there’s something rather freeing about jumping from column to column at the grand old age of twenty-nine!


But whatevs, we’re from London – from one capital city to another, how hard could


this be? Anyway, to conclude here are some HOT tips for your 24 hours in Paris: Don’t use public transport – WALK! It’s the best way to discover the hidden gems of the city and to really embrace the angsty essence that exists at its core.


Stay away from eateries and bars near Gare du Nord – Utter junk.


Absolute must sees - Artist's Market, the Louvre (exterior at least), and Jardin des Tuileries.


Venture off the beaten track and explore – yes, there are drunkards and homelessness is rife, but we knew that from George Orwell, didn’t we?


• Words: Rebecca B Images: Parv Roopray


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