Rue du Commerce
Paris is famous for shopping and we wanted to visit not the touristy shopping streets , but something the Parisians usually visit. We had heard of a the shopping street named Rue du Commerce which is famous among the Parisians and we wanted to give it a try as it was on the way back from Palace of Versailles .
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| Rue Du Commerce, Paris- A great Shopping street |
We took the RER back from back from Versailles Rive Gauche station and got down at Champs de Mars RER station. We exited the station and walked to the Bir Hakeim Metro station. We took M6 towards Nation and got down at La Motte-Picquet – Grenelle.
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| Take exit 1 at La - Motte- Picquet- Granelle Metro Station |
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| Our first views of the Eiffel Tower as we walked to Rue du Commerce |
Shopping at Rue Du Commerce :
Below are some of the shops that we visited at Rue Du Commerce. This shopping street is a one stop shop with a large number of shops lining the street. A good place to do some shopping at affordable prices and spend 2-3 hours.
Some of the shops that we visited for clothes shopping in Rue du Commerce :
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| H & M shop at Rue du Commerce |
So after some clothes shopping I was looking out for the Sephora showroom which I had read was present at Rue Du Commerce. So after a good 10 min walk we reached the Sephora showroom.
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| The collection at Sephora Rue Du Commerce , Paris |
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| Sephora at Rue du Commerce, Paris |
Check out things I bought from Paris HERE..
So after spending sometime in Sephora we just wanted to walk to the end of the street to check out the other shops and ran into this little gem ( Maison Gosselin ).
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| At the end of Rue de Commece is this small shop |
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| Fresh Strawberries- Really yummy- Could not stop eating |
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| Really colorful shop - A treat for the eyes |
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| Fresh oranges- They were really tasty |
Champs Elysees
No visit to Paris is complete without a visit to the world famous Champs Elysees for some window shopping and walking the street to reach the Arc De Triomphe .We walked the length of the Champs Elysees and there were some really interesting shops on the way. If you are really into high end shopping Champs Elysees is the place to be.
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| A quick pic at Champs Elyesees |
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| Louis Vuitton - Champs Elysees - You just need to go in atleast to take a look |
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| The famous Lido show at Champs Elysees Paris - The tickets are not cheap though |
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| So after a long walk we were hungry - Macarons from Paul - Really yummy and a must try |
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| Mercedes showroom- Champs Elysees- Really amazing |
Arc De Triomphe
The Arc De triomphe stands at one end of the Champs Elysees and is really a majestic sight to behold. Constructed in the 19th century this monument has become synonymous with Paris like the Eiffel Tower.
We wanted to climb to the top and view the whole of Paris. Unfortunately there was some renovation going on at the Arc de triomphe and visitors were not allowed to go on the viewing point on the top.
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| The Arc De Triomphe - Paris |
Tip : Read in a few blogs that view from the top is majestic especially at night as you get to see the whole of Paris along with the sparkling Eiffel tower. So if you are planning a trip , try to make it after sunset.
Tips for Navigation while in Paris :
Though this seems obvious, take a sim which will enable you to use mobile data also. This was something that we did not do and it was a mistake.
We had taken a postpaid sim from Matrix India with a plan where the call rates back to India were very nominal, which was something we were looking for. But we did not realize that the mobile data rates will be exorbitantly high.
So after the trip our suggestion is please take a sim which will enable you to use the mobile data also at nominal rates, so that you can use google maps, if you get stuck anywhere.
Though we had planned well in advance and had taken the route maps with us beforehand, we found it a little difficult to navigate while in Paris . When we got stuck ( on the way to some attraction ) we found it a little difficult to get help due to 2 reasons :
- Number of people speaking English was quite limited.
- Even if they did speak English, the way the French pronounce certain words is different. So if you are looking for to find a place / street it might become a little difficult to make them understand. For ex , Rue de Montorgueil is pronounced as Rue de Mon-tor-Gei ( This is what a Parisian told us ) . So if you are stuck somewhere and are asking for directions it is better to write down what you are looking for , than taking a chance with the pronunciations.
Tip : Do learn some basic French words as it can be really helpful. A simple greeting ( bonjour ) can go a long way in breaking the ice.
A myth that we would like to put to rest is that “ French People are not friendly “ “ French people are rude “ etc. From our experiences we never encountered any such behavior and infact some people even went out of the way to help us.
Dinner at Gandhiji Paris :
So after a full day of eating European cuisine we were dying to eat some Indian food and we had read some good reviews of Hotel Gandhiji Paris, which was like a 5 minute walk away from our hotel.
