Getting started: About Paris
Before moving on to the Paris highlights, a few notes about the city:
- According to the Global Destination Cities Index released in 2019, Paris is the second most popular city in the world after Bangkok.
- From Victor Hugo to Ernest Hemingway and from Moulin Rouge to Midnight in Paris, Paris is a city of promising lights, integrated with fantasies.
- Paris, the capital of France and the center of the Ile-de-France region, is also the country’s most populous city, with a population of 2.1 million.
Turkish Airlines offers direct flights from Istanbul to Paris every day. You can check the link for a Paris flight ticket.
When to visit Paris
Spring is a legendarily delightful time to visit Paris, but the city is enjoyable throughout the year. Parisians tend to take their vacations in August: while the city may have fewer local residents in that month, it still hosts thousands of tourists. Paris is beautiful in the autumn, and it glows in the winter with Christmas and holiday markets. In truth, there is no bad time to visit Paris.
Rainfall in Paris is distributed evenly throughout the year, so consider packing a rain jacket or an umbrella. The average temperature in the city is around 8 degrees in winter and 25 degrees in summer.
Places to visit in Paris
Museums and historical sites in Paris
Orsay Museum (Musée d’Orsay)
Among the more than one hundred museums in Paris, the Orsay Museum stands out. Set inside a restored Beaux-Arts railway station, the Museum’s splendid collection focuses on works by French artists from the mid-1800s to the early 20th century, including paintings, sculptures and decorative arts. To visit this first stop on our list of places to visit in Paris, you can get off at the Solferino metro stop and follow the directions.
Louvre Museum
Set in a former palace, the iconic Louvre Museum is considered the largest art museum in the world, built on an area of 73,000 square meters. It hosts an average of ten million visitors annually and is the most popular museum not only in Paris but also in Europe. Its collections cover almost ten thousand years of history, and masterpieces from all over the world are exhibited in its galleries. The entrance courtyard features a monumental glass pyramid designed by I. M. Pei.
Luxembourg Gardens
Extending across an area of 25 hectares, the Luxembourg Gardens are the second largest park in Paris. Visited daily by Parisians of all ages and profiles, the Luxembourg Gardens also host the Luxembourg Palace, where the French Senate convenes. We strongly recommend that you add the park to your list of places to visit in Paris and enjoy a coffee in the open air.
Tuileries Gardens
Adjacent to the Louvre is the Tuileries Garden. Now a public park with gardens, a carousel and cafes, the Tuileries Garden was designed nearly five hundred years earlier for the royal family.
Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris)
Although the interior of the Notre Dame Cathedral has been closed to visitors since the 2019 fire, the majestic 12th-century Gothic building remains one of Paris’s most iconic structures. The Cathedral is scheduled to re-open to the public in 2024.
Popular places to visit in Paris
Eiffel Tower
Visited by six million people every year, the Eiffel Tower was erected to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution. While not terribly popular among Parisians at the time, the Eiffel Tower rapidly became a tourist attraction and, over the years, has become a potent symbol of the city. Visitors can ascend the Eiffel Tower and enjoy panoramic views of the city.
The Champs Elysées
This stately boulevard in the heart of Paris is referred to by many as “the most beautiful street in the world”. Stretching almost two kilometers, the Champs Elysées is lined with celebrated restaurants and cafes, theatres and high-end fashion brands.
Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris is Europe’s most-visited theme park: opened in 1992 and the second Disneyland to open outside the United States, the Park offers shopping, dining and entertainment complexes on an area of 19 square kilometers. Disneyland Paris is located in the east of the city, on the borders of Marne-la-Vallée.
Shopping in Paris
For shopping in Paris, you can visit the addresses below:
- The iconic French retail store that drives fashion, Galeries Lafayette
- The Champs Elysées for high fashion brands and luxury boutiques
- Shopping malls on Rue Saint Honore and Hausmann Boulevard
- Two famous flea markets: St-Quen and Marché aux Puces de Vanves
Dining in Paris
As one of the most important gastronomic centers in the world, Paris offers almost limitless dining options. Since we can’t list them all, here are a few of our favorites:
- Coffee and a croissant or pain au chocolat for a typical French breakfast
- Baguettes – at any time
- Escargot (snails) with a sauce of butter and parsley
- Cuisses de grenouille (frog’s legs sauteed with butter and garlic)
- Tartare de boeuf (raw, spiced ground beef)
- Camembert and Morbier cheeses (or, really, just about any French cheese)
- Crème brûlée for dessert
Transportation in Paris
- The fastest and easiest way to get around Paris is via the metro and Paris RER trains
- The city also has an extensive bus network
- There are a number of taxi companies in Paris. In addition, there are services such as G7 and Uber.
- If you want more flexibility, you can rent a car in advance and adapt the plans yourself
Practical information about Paris
Official language: French
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Socket type: E
Important Phones
Area Code: +33
Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport: +33 1 70 36 39 50
Emergency Aid: 112
Turkish Consulate General in Paris: +33 1 80 14 63 35
Smartphone apps that will come in handy in Paris
Paris Metro Map and Routes: A handy app for metro networks and routes in Paris
The Fork: You can review the restaurants in the city and make reservations through the application
