Un Séjour à Paris - Bogi Szabo guest post

Welcome to my Paris blog series, designed to help you plan the ultimate short getaway to Paris! Whether it was a flying visit on a school trip or a romantic mini-break, most people who visit Paris are here for only a short time. I want to find out what they loved, where they visited, and what they'd do differently. It'll give future travellers the perfect snapshot of a jaunt to Paris, warts-and-all!

Today's guest blogger is Bogi Szabo from Wandering Cloud Shop.

Bogi is a resin jewellery designer living in Leeds, UK. She makes colourful necklaces and earrings, and loves travelling, sausage dogs and eating Nutella from the jar with a spoon.

Tell me a few details about your trip to Paris...

I've been to Paris many times, with my family, school friends, uni friends, and friends I made in the year I lived in France! My first ever visit was when I was 17, and I organised a trip for my A Level French class at school to go! It was our first trip on our own without parents and teachers and was very exciting.

Which arrondissement did you stay in?

We stayed in Montmartre, the 18th arrondissement. We were young and enthusiastic students of Amelie - the greatest French film ever made (non?) and we had visions of skipping up and down the steps of the Sacre Coeur.

Where's your favourite place to eat in Paris?

It's impossible to go to Paris without a visit to La Creperie Josselin! They have the most authentic and delicious crepes in Paris, in my opinion! For something a bit different, I like to have a galette (savoury crepe made from buckwheat) with ham, cheese, spinach and egg.

Where was your favourite place in Paris?

I like to escape for a bit of calm & quiet when I'm in Paris, as it's so hectic! I enjoyed walking around the Montmartre Cemetery, it was cool and shady on a hot summer's day, and there are some pretty famous names buried there (Alexandre Dumas, Francois Truffaut).

What was your most-used French phrase while you were there?

I speak French fluently, but parisiens tend to take one look at you and know you're English! It was probably "Je parle francais" every time a French person tried to speak to me in English ;)

What are your top tips for a first-time visitor to Paris?

It's admirable to try and walk everywhere, but Paris is huuuuuge and the main sights are quite far apart from each other. Buy a carnet (block of 10 metro tickets) and hop on the metro! If you're only there for 1-3 days, choose which sights you want to see rather than trying to cram all of it in!

Is there anything you wish you'd done differently?

I wish I had some Parisien contacts who could have shown me some of the lesser well-tread areas of Paris. The sheer amount of stuff to do is quite overwhelming, it would be nice to find a cute cafe or bookshop to chill in next time.

What surprised you most about Paris?

The people. Parisiens have a reputation for being unfriendly and disliking English tourists, but I didn't find that to be true at all.

Any other awesome things to add?

Paris in the snow is simply magical :)