I have always been an advocate for traveling because I understand its power to give you fresh perspectives and transform your life.
But why Paris?
Is the Eiffel Tower enough reason for the average Filipino to spend his life savings on a plane ticket?
We all have different values and while a trip to Paris is often seen as a luxury and an extravagance, I can guarantee you that going to Paris is a priceless experience that cannot compare to buying a house or a car.
The things that you buy will wear and tear, but a beautiful experience is yours alone which no one can take away from you, not even time.
While packing to leave again, I thought nostalgically about all the things that made me fall in love with Paris.
And here are 7 reasons why you should visit Paris:
1. Paris is one of the cheapest European cities you can fly into from Manila.
If a trip to Europe is in your ultimate bucket list, then entering Europe via Paris is one of the cheapest ways to do it.
A bulk of the expense of any European trip is the plane fare.
There are a few countries in the Schengen region/EU that the Philippines has direct flights to. But if you’re coming from Manila, most flights will make a stop at Dubai, Doha or Kuwait.
The average round trip plane ticket fare from Manila to Europe is Php60,000 to Php80,000, but flying from Manila to Paris can be as low as Php25k (one way), and maybe even cheaper in some months.
Peak season in Paris is in the summer months between June to August, this is also the hottest.
As you can see below, the one-way fare to Paris in October 2024 could be as low as Php15000 via China Eastern and just under Php30k with Etihad.
It is important to know that the airline you choose will dictate the stop that you make.
So if you’re flying with Emirates, you will always make a stop at Dubai; with China Eastern you stop at China; with Turkish Airlines you stop at Istanbul, and so on.
And the great thing about knowing this is you can play around with the stops that you make to find the cheapest combination.
2. Paris is one of the best jump-off points for other European countries.
I have thought this through.
At some point, I planned a trip to Finland and realized that flying directly to Rovaniemi, Finland from Manila would cost Php70k or more. But if I flew to Paris first and then took another flight from there going to Rovaniemi, I would save a third on the cost.
This is also true if you want to visit places like Prague, Austria and Brussels. It’s more cost-effective if you fly to Paris first and take a connecting flight from there.
And it’s not just the cost. Paris is in Central Europe, which makes it easy to move from one Schengen country to another.
Paris to Brussels in Belgium is an easy 1.50-hour train ride, and Amsterdam is only 3 hours away by train.
And if you fancy having a cup of tea in London, hop on a train in Gare du Nord, and it’s only a 2-hour train ride away.
You can literally have breakfast in Paris, lunch in Belgium, dinner in Amsterdam, and be in three countries in a day.
3. France is one of the easiest countries to get a Schengen visa from.
The Schengen area in Europe comprises 27 countries, including France, Spain, Switzerland and Italy, among others. You can visit all 27 countries with just one visa and there are no border checks for traveling within the Schengen area.
I have applied for a Schengen visa twice, both via the French embassy. And in both instances, the processing time has always been 48 hours.
The French visa application site will say it may take 2 weeks or more, but this has never been the case for me.
France has been the most visited country in the world for the last 30 years, and Paris is France’s most visited city.
And while the Eiffel tower draws millions of crowds every year, a good explanation for the millions of visitors is also the visa approval rate.
My take on this is that the French embassy in Manila gets hundreds of applications every day. And like any office, the SLA for reviewing all applications is the same day. This is to avoid applications from piling up.
Now, this doesn’t mean they are more relaxed with the rules. The French embassy tends to approve and also deny applications within 48 hours.
I have made a separate article on how to get a French Schengen visa in 48 hours. The process is straightforward and relatively easy.
4. Planning an itinerary in Paris is one of the most affordable.
Putting the cost of the Navigo card for trains and buses aside , I can easily plan a 7-day itinerary in Paris without spending a single thing on attractions. But even the Navigo card only costs Є30 for unlimited rides the entire week.
Paris is filled with parks, squares, museums, and historical landmarks that are free to visit.
To get the best view of the Eiffel tower, you have to be at least a few hundred meters away from it. So there is no need to pay for the ticket that takes you inside. And this is also true for Arc de Triomphe.
Jardin du Luxembourg is considered one of the most beautiful parks in Europe and it is free for all.
If you don’t need to see the Mona Lisa painting, then a free walk around the perimeter of the Louvre museum with its beautiful pyramid glass structure is a breathtaking experience in itself.
A visit to the 18th arrondissement, which is regarded as the most beautiful neighborhood in Paris, is free. Walking around the grand basilica of Sacre Coeur and strolling around Place du Tertre while admiring street artists painting portraits is also free.
Sitting in a park like Champ de Mars for a picnic consisting of croissants, charcuterie and wine is the quintessential French thing to do while in Paris, and it’s all easy and affordable
5. In Paris, doing nothing is an art form.
Regardless of your station in life, and maybe more so if you can only afford to have a vacation once a year, a visit to Paris can do wonders for how you will see life and the world moving forward.
Maybe “surviving” the day to day and making ends meet is not the only way to live. Maybe living is not all about hustling, grinding and doing something productive.
My favorite thing about Europe, and Paris in particular, is that people don’t glamorize “hard work”.
In contrast to the “American hustle” culture, to flâneur is the Parisian way of life. It means to just lounge all day, stroll, saunter or loaf.
Parisians are laid back and have a relaxed work culture. And this is also the reason why restaurants in Paris are only open during certain times of the day, to allow employees to rest and have a siesta.
It will seem like a very foreign concept to you at first, but to have a true Parisian experience, you need to sit down in a café for two to three hours, sip coffee, do absolutely nothing, not even fidget with your phone, and just stare at people passing by.
People watching is jokingly called the national sport of Paris.
The world will not fall apart if you decide to stop everything you're doing, sit down for a while and do nothing.
This is the Parisian way.
6. Paris is cold in the first quarter of the year but it doesn’t snow very much.
If you live in a tropical country like I do where the average temperature is 33°C, visiting a place that is anywhere between 3°C to 5°C is considered a luxury and a treat.
The Europeans might hate the cold, but we Filipinos will cross continents to see snow.
And while the sight of snow is every Filipino’s magical dream, it can get very uncomfortable and can often limit your itinerary.
I remember having to go back to my hostel every 3 hours in Switzerland because the freezing temperatures were just unbearable.
But Paris is different.
You can experience negative temperatures, but the snow is light and never sticks around for long.
I told my roommates at the hostel in Paris that I’ve only seen snow twice in my entire life, and they all found it amusing but assured me it was nothing amazing at all.
Most Europeans hate the cold as much as Filipinos hate the heat.
7. Sinking your teeth into some croissants or vanilla flan in Paris is life-changing.
My sister and I are huge fans of Heart Evangelista, and she had this particular video where she explores the area near her hotel in Paris in the 2nd arrondissement.
Heart went to the oldest bakery in Paris called Stohrer and bought her favorite slice of vanilla flan to eat while she was walking to get coffee from another cafe.
And so I went to Stohrer and got the vanilla flan which Heart loved so much in her video.
And oh la, la, la…. ! It is everything that Heart described and even more.
Second to the Eiffel tower, that vanilla flan was the highlight of my trip to Paris.
Parisians take their bread seriously and there are competitions every year for who makes the best croissants or the best macarons.
Croissants, for me, seem like an average pastry. It’s not something I would go out of my way to buy.
But those from Paris are “incroyable” (amazing!), and I am now a convert.
Now everything I listed here is coming from a place of wonder and genuine love for travel, which means I tend to speak with some bias.
So, in conclusion, don’t just take my word for it. Buy a ticket and decide if everything I say is true.
And always, don’t just travel for travel’s sake. Go to Paris to seek adventure and feel alive.
Eat like Parisians do, drench in wine because it’s cheaper than coke, sit in a cafe and watch people walk by for hours, and just generally have fun.
After all, the real purpose of life is to live it for the pleasure of it.
Comments