To appreciate the beauty of Paris, you don't have to climb the Eiffel Tower
Don't jostle around the Mona Lisa
Every day, 25,000 people visit the Louvre, and it seems most of them first rush to admire the famous Mona Lisa. In fact, the portrait is much smaller than it seems after looking at reproductions in magazines and images on the Internet. Just one person standing too close to the painting can almost completely block it with their head. Naturally, under such conditions, seeing anything, let alone enjoying it, is hardly possible.
Instead, go against the main flow of visitors and enjoy the remaining thirty-five thousand treasures of the palace. The apartments of Napoleon III, the incredible Egyptian Gallery, and the structures from the original Louvre building dating back to the 12th century deserve your attention much more. Thanks to Da Vinci's talent, you can admire all this splendor almost alone.
River cruise combined with lunch
A river cruise is, in principle, a great thing and well worth the 12 euros they charge. If only because it allows you to see the city from a different angle. And in hot weather, being on the water also provides some pleasant coolness. But as soon as food on board is mentioned, the price of the trip immediately skyrockets by 5-7 times. The only thing you'll get is dinner with a fairly limited choice of dishes amid a noisy crowd of people.
There is no reason to eat poorly in the culinary capital of the world, which is home to a huge number of Michelin-starred restaurants. Unfortunately, not all of them fit the definition of "mid-range budget," but in any case, it's better to spend 60-70 euros on visiting them than to eat something on a rocking boat. For example, a tasting dinner at the oldest restaurant in Paris, Laperouse, costs from 45 euros.
Don't go up the Eiffel Tower
Another iconic must-visit place is the queue for the Eiffel Tower elevator. Actually, there are as many as seven queues: one for each elevator, one for the controller, and one for the ticket office. Meanwhile, inside, Gustave Eiffel's creation looks nowhere as enchanting as from the outside.
If the main reason to go up is the desire to see the city from a bird's-eye view, then it's better to admire the lattice structure from the outside and go somewhere else. An excellent panoramic view opens from Tour Montparnasse and even from the Arc de Triomphe. And, by the way, then the main symbol of Paris will be in the frame...
Don't go to the Bastille
It's not that going there is absolutely not worth it. But it doesn't make much sense either. The fortress was completely destroyed during the Revolution, and tourists emerge from the metro station of the same name only to discover, to their disappointment, a busy intersection and, if lucky, a commemorative plaque.
If the desire to learn about the city's history is strong, it's better to go to the Carnavalet Museum.
Following the locations from the film "The Da Vinci Code"
Any such tours, for the most part, are just an expensive scam for tourists. They show you few sights: they just drive you around on a bus, making you get off each time when you see another location featured in the film.
Better to spend money on a proper informative tour of the city, according to your interests. Here, at least, you'll hear real, not made-up, stories about Paris and learn something new.
Coffee in "famous" cafes
As soon as something noteworthy appears in the history of a cafe, it is immediately occupied by crowds of tourists, prices skyrocket several times, and the quality of the drinks and dishes served rapidly deteriorates. Such are Café de Flore or Deux Magots — favorite spots of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Or the Café des Deux Moulins, which played a significant role in the film "Amélie".
Better to look next door. Most likely, you'll find a great establishment there, whose owners, striving to survive competition with the nearby "star," keep reasonable prices and pay attention to quality. An additional pleasure will be, while slowly sipping coffee at a table by the window, watching the queue at the place where you wisely did not go.
Don't go to Nice
For unclear reasons, most travelers wanting to see something in France besides Paris automatically think of Nice. Yet the only thing they find there is a crowded, bustling city with ugly pebble beaches and a sparse history. You can point your finger at almost any city on the map of France (except perhaps Marseille), and it will be clearly nicer than hyped-up Nice.
Better to consider other options. For a beach holiday, Bordeaux is perfect, where you can watch windsurfing competitions and where the largest dune in Europe, Dune du Pyla, is located. From its top, you get a breathtaking view of the Atlantic, the surrounding pine forests, and the chain of the Pyrenees. However, you don't have to go that far from Paris at all. The Loire Valley is just an hour away, and its historical, cultural, and gastronomic attractions can occupy you for a week or even a month.
Flying into Beauvais Airport
There are many interesting places around this airport, but it would be wrong to count Paris, located 90 km away, among them. The cheapest trip to the French capital will cost at least 13 euros, which will eat up a certain portion of the budget "saved" on buying a ticket from a low-cost carrier. If the arrival or departure falls at night, then there will be no savings at all, since sleeping at the airport is prohibited and it will not be possible to use public transport to get to or from it.
Better take advantage of special offers from airlines flying to Orly or Charles de Gaulle Airport, from where you can get to the city inexpensively and much faster.
Based on materials from Turist.ru