As summer is here and many of you may be off somewhere new to explore, eat and eat some more, I thought I would share with you what I do to plan and hopefully give you some tips along the way. I'm off the Paris in August and I'm really excited and eager to fit in everything that I want to do in only a few days so heres how I'm planning on doing that.
Write an itinerary...This is very important and will ensure you have time do to everything you want. You don't have to be super strict with timings ect but make sure you do leave enough time to get to your destination, and of course for food too. As I've only been to Paris for one day before there's a lot of the touristy things I want to do and doing one or two a day is good for me. If you find that there's an area which has a few landmarks or places you want to visit schedule them all in the same day so you don't have to keep going back and fourth.
Blogs over travel guides...Travel guides are obviously great for the tourist bits, but for where to eat and shop, blogs are best. They tell it to you straight, offer great reviews and normally give you a better insight into local restaurants and cafes which may to be an obvious first choice. I've already found so many great places I want to eat in Paris through reading various blogs and the recommendations keep rolling in. As far as shopping, we're bloggers, we will find the shops and the best Sephora, it's in our nature, so be sure to take in their recommendations for nice places to drain your wallet.
Be weather prepared...If you're going on a city break it's more than likely you'll be outside most of the day and you don't want to be in shorts and a tee when it's pouring with rain. Keep checking the weather in advanced and make sure to pack things like an umbrella or jumper for the evenings even if you think you won't necessarily need them. Cities in Europe can be unpredictable with rain so don't get caught out. Also bring comfy shoes if you're wandering around all day!
Shop around for good deals...If you're booking a hotel don't always go through the typical sites, there are so many more websites out there which have great deals on hotels and look out for restaurant vouchers/discount codes too, you can save a few pennies this way! Lastminute.com normally have some good deals on for hotels and Air BnB do some nice places if you want to go down the more self catering route.
Note down places you like the look of...If you have a notebook where you write down ideas for your trip as you go, you'll be sure to not miss anything out. I always have a note saved on my phone where I write down restaurants or other areas of Paris which look nice and I want to visit so when I write a plan of action I know exactly what I want to do and where to go.
Get your maps at the ready...If you've never been somewhere before it's more than likely you won't have a clue where to go and may get lost one or two or maybe even 20 times...there are some great apps such as City Maps 2Go which don't require internet, you just download the map at home before you leave and it'll be there whenever you need it. Never reply on your standard Google/Apple maps in time of need as the internet may not be in your favour! And there's nothing wrong with brining a good old map with you too!
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