I’m really excited to interview Nikki Wang of TheWaysBeyond about Paris, France. Nikki’s tips for the best things to do in Paris are awesome because she came here to pursue her MBA and fell in love with the city. She loves how it is a city of the past, present, and future with its mix of historical buildings, modern amenities, and futuristic fashion.
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The Louvre is one of the most famous museums in the world.
Paris, France
Paris is one of my favorite international cities for its culture, history, and amazing cuisine. It is commonly known as the City of Lights and there are many iconic buildings throughout the city, such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedral de Notre Dame, and Louvre. The Louvre is home to many notable paintings and sculptures, like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and The Winged Victory of Samothrace. While many of the city’s museums have an entrance fee, Nikki says that there are many others that offer free admission.
Nikki says that the weather is fantastic in Paris from April through early November, but she recommends visiting in shoulder seasons of May and October for the best combination of weather, prices, and fewer crowds. As a leader in fashion, there are many annual events to enjoy throughout the year, including Fashion Week (4 times a year), Roland Garros tennis tournament, and Rock en Seine. And to save money during your visit, check out FeverUp for local deals on restaurants and attractions.
We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Paris, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests. The Paris Pass includes complimentary and discounted admission to over 60 attractions within Paris, including the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, and the Pantheon. Some attractions even include Fast Track entry so you can skip the lines! Passes are available for 2 to 6 days and there is a 90-day money-back guarantee.
If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.
Take a ride on Canal St Martin
Getting around Paris
The local airport is Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), which is a 30-minute drive to the city.
Nikki says that there’s no need to rent a car when visiting Paris. Paris is a walking city, but you can use the Paris Metro subway system to quickly get from one part of the city to another. You can also check out Paris by Train for longer rides. Uber and Bolt are excellent ways to get around.
If you are going to rent a car to explore outside the city, click here for the best offers from Avis, Budget, or Hertz.
Montmartre village
Places we talked about on the podcast
Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Nikki Wang about Paris, France. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.
- Red dots = best places to eat in Paris, France
- Green dots = best things to do in Paris, France
- Yellow dots = best places to stay in Paris, France
Who is Nikki Wang?
Nikki Wang is Chinese-French and grew up in an international environment, but now lives in Paris. While working in Finance, she traveled around the world for her job. Her thirst for discovery has led her to visit 35 countries already… and the number continues to grow. Nikki has been a freelance contributor to lifestyle media about art, design, and fashion. These various experiences lead her to the most exciting happenings in the City of Lights and nurtured her strong desire to share secret finds of Paris and exchange them with the rest of the world.
She loves Paris as a local but also as a passenger. Nikki has a strong passion to find the best-kept-secrets and share personal stories to the ones who are curious to discover the hidden gems and sensitive to culture and human contacts. In the summer of 2018, Nikki quit her office job to create a cultural tourism agency in Paris with her boyfriend – TheWaysBeyond. They created their own walking tours, day-trips, weekend discoveries, and tailor-made cultural voyages. All the trips are designed to show authenticity and human value, which they believe is the most essential element of travel.
Nikki is also organizing the Travel From Home Virtual Guided Tour Festival that is held on March 20, 2021. With so many people not traveling due to COVID, this free festival gives attendees an opportunity to learn about incredible destinations from around the world from the comfort of their homes. Just like this podcast, it will inspire you to travel to amazing cities when you feel comfortable traveling again.
Check out the video and articles below to learn more about Nikki’s company:
- TheWaysBeyond 2.0
- Do something you are passionate about and you are good at
- Auvers-Sur-Oise, Sightseeing With Van Gogh
You can connect with Nikki on her website and on Instagram. Nikki is also a member of the Paris chapter of Travel Massive, so big thanks to them for introducing us.
Big thanks to today’s affiliate partner – Acorns
With Acorns, you can invest spare change automatically on every purchase that you make. With your registered debit and credit cards, your purchases are rounded up to the next dollar and added to your investment account. When you shop at participating retailers, you can also earn bonus dollars, which are called “Found Money.” Acorns is a great way to build up your travel fund automatically.
I’ve been using Acorns for years, and I love how easy it is to use. For a limited time, when you sign up at wetravelthere.com/acorns, we’ll both earn $5.
Galerie des sculptures at the Petit Palais.
Stay tuned for our next episode
Harry Hall at I Fratelli’s. Photo courtesy of Zane Hall.
Listen to the next episode when Harry Hall, author of “This Used To Be Dallas,” shares the best things to do in Dallas, Texas. Harry and I talk about eating corndogs at the Texas State Fair, visiting the JFK Sixth Floor Museum, and listening to live music in Deep Ellum. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of Paris? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Related episodes
We’ve had the pleasure of interviewing multiple members of the Travel Massive community, such as:
