It is thrilling to plan to visit the city of love! Yes, I am talking about Paris the capital city of France. This major European city is well reputed for its beauty and romantic of all cities. Paris is the global center for art, fashion, food, design and culture. The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre Museum and The Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral are the landmark of the city .The city is rich in priceless artistic treasure and home for Designer Boutiques.

My journey to Paris started from Zurich, Switzerland. Me and my husband decided to travel by bus which took around 11 hours. It was the cheapest alternatives as we decided our tour all on a sudden. I was very keen to have a bus ride and we chose Flixbus for the first time. It was easy buying ticket for the bus by mobile app. We bought both way tickets at a time.

The time arrived very quickly to leave Zurich which was sad but at the same time exciting cause we were starting the most awaited dream journey towards Paris.  It was evening when we got into our bus. Bus was full of passengers. There was no fixed place to sit so the rule is that, if you are lucky to get in early you can choose your seat. In Flixbus the language you need to communicate is German, whether you understand or not which was annoying but we managed to communicate somehow. Human beings are smart enough to manage any situation.

As I barely found much information online about Flixbus, I think I should describe my own experience in details if it helps anyone who is planning to travel. They will scan your ticket before you get in and it is better to have it printed.  But if you miss to print and can show in digitally from email it still works but that makes some hazards if there is problem with internet connection. The bus is huge with a clean toilet inside. You can buy drinks or snacks from the driver or carry your own food. Bus stops in several stoppage where you can buy something to eat. For luggage please check the size requirement. Police check is done for passport at one point.  Wi-fi connection is something that will depend on your luck. Though they are suppose to have Wi-fi inside the bus but not all bus support this facility. I had Wi-fi that worked when I was returning back but my 1^st journey was without Wi-fi facility. There are charging points so no need to worry for the mobile phone to be out of charge. I found the journey overall very comfortable. The bus goes in a really steady speed and 11 hours journey went by nicely. If anyone doesn’t have shortage of time then flixbus is a good choice to save some money and travel comfortably.

It was morning around 6.30 am when we reached Paris. We got down and were somewhat tired but couldn’t believe we were really in our dreamland Paris!

Our plan was to roam around the city all day and return back at night but when we got down from the bus instantly we changed the plan. We already fell in love with Paris and changed the return ticket for the next day. I was happy thinking that I am going to stay the night but another responsibility was added, Guess what? That was finding a good hotel.

Though we were very tired but still couldn’t wait to see the Eiffel Tower. We went to the nearby metro station. Got the map and planned for one way trip towards Eiffel tower.  Yes! Time began for photo shoot with Eiffel Tower from all possible different angles.

The funny thing that I need to mention is the public toilet. There are toilets whenever you need and they are super clean. Because these toilets wash everything automatically after each person goes out of the toilet and locks the door. The funny part is I found people who were confused thinking that why the flush was not working and did not want to leave the toilet worrying that how to clean it. I was similarly confused as I was not familiar with it either. But this was very simple and totally computerized. Enter the toilet by pressing a button, do your work, come out and lock the door then it will clean itself!!!

Near Eiffel Tower we found out Hop-on Hop off buses which are perfect to complete the tour without taking extra burden on self planning. There are different buses but I took the offer from the bus which had different color lines. Green line, yellow and orange line provides different sight seeing routes. The rule is that you can hop on to any line from the particular stop to cover the places that is on your list. The benefit of these buses are that they stops in every sight seeing area and describe everything about that place. You will get down, see the area as long as you want and then take next bus for the next stop. You can even just sit and roam around the city. These bus tickets also includes the offer to skip the long queue in The Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower. You can also pay more to get the river cruise. If you have enough time then you can take more offers for sightseeing. These buses are open top and from the top floor it feels amazing to see everything clearly and take pictures. Prices starts from around 30 Euro per person but it increases if you add river cruise, museum tickets and so on.There are options to buy one day or two day ticket. I recommend buying two day ticket so you pay a little extra but be able to see almost everything.

Walking around the city is so much fun. I enjoyed every bit of it. Went to the Notre Dame Cathedral, The Louvre Museum, enjoyed walking around the bridge of love, Beautiful view of river, enjoyed the artistic architecture and painting along the street made by talented artists.  Capital of fashion took my heart away! Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent , Clarins …..the home of luxurious cosmetics and fashion design blew my mind.

At lunch we tried some French food which was good. What I loved is the French onion soup. Only the soup was something that I will never forget and want to try again. It was full of cheese and just sooooo good. Otherwise we tried different snacks in the roadside which were full of crowed all the time and felt like some constant festival going on. We also tried sandwiches at subway which was good. There are too many food options all over the tourist area, so enjoy different Items while in Paris but don’t forget to try French Onion Soup !!!!

At night Eiffel tower looks so gorgeous with all its lighting and the boats around the river  decorated with lights and looks amazing. The whole area looks  happening  all the time. It is very important specially during the evening to take care of your valuable stuffs because there are different people around, sometime you may see police running to catch someone and drunk people with lack of consciousness doing what so ever is not right.  So be a little extra careful to be safe.

 

 

Close to Eiffel Tower we found a beautiful hotel instantly. Just one room was vacant and we booked that right away. We stayed at Hotel Seine. We had a beautiful room which included buffet breakfast in the morning. I had best sleep at night after this hectic trip.

I did so much in Paris in two days and more stories will be in my next episode ……

Love,

Sadia