Sustainable and fun hotspots in Paris

Past week I’ve been to the city of love, Paris. It were the four most amazing days. Paris is definitely a hotspot and it close by the Netherlands. I have to say: four days were not enough. A month might not even be enough! But right now a month off doesn’t fit in my agenda haha! But I can say that I want to visit it again someday. And so this blogpost is never finished. Every time I discover something new the list will be extended. For now I present to you: sustainable and fun hotspots in Paris!

The Travel

Thalys

As you might know, flying by plane is very harmful for the environment. Even if you compensate your flight. And so, if you visit Paris, go by train. I recently read that they want to make sure the prices for train and plane will me more aligned and that’s good news. I went to Paris by train. The outward journey cost me 35 euros from Rotterdam to Paris (and from Enschede to Rotterdam was free since students can travel for free in The Netherlands on weekdays).

The return cost me 87 euros, but that was because I had to be home Saturday night. If you are flexibel the return may cost you 35 euros as well. And if you take your own food and drinks with you on the train this journey is zero waste and low in emissions! The journey from Rotterdam to Paris takes only 2 hours and 38 minutes.

Subway

In Paris you can travel easily by subway. A single ride costs 1,90 euros. We bought a 10-rides card, which is cheaper overall. If you buy one ticket, you have one ride. In theory you can travel for 1,90 euros from one part of the city to a complete other. The ticket gets invalid when you check-out, not when you transit. My boyfriend and I bought a 3-day ticket for 30 euros. 10 euros a day and we could travel unlimitedly. I think this was the cheapest option for us, you easily make more than 6 rides a day and so the unlimited ticket was worth it. When traveling by subway in Paris you don’t need a physical map. There is an app available, RATP. No paper waste needed!

Sight-Seeing

La Fayette

La Fayette is a shopping mall. Maybe you wouldn’t expect a shopping mall as a sustainable hotspot. I wouldn’t suggest you go shopping there at all! The building itself is beautiful and so that’s what I recommend. You have to see it, especially the dome! The pictures below are beautiful, but I wouldn’t want you to miss it if you’re in Paris. It is so much better in real life.

Notre-Dame

I have to confess, I haven’t been inside of the Notre-Dame. I only saw it from the outside. But just that outside was beautiful! We visited it by night and I think that’s the best moment to visit. With the lights it looks spectacular! The plaza around it is quite impressive too. Maybe next time I’ll go inside of the Notre-Dame too.

Museum Du Louvre

If you’re in Paris, this museum can’t be missed. That’s why we’ve been there. I’m not a gigantic fan of museums, but I liked this one okay. I’d rate it a 7. It is amazing, but it is too massive for one visit. We only went to the museum for one day. At a certain point it’s just too much because there is so much to see. If you go, spread it out over a number of days. This way you can enjoy it more! Fun fact: my boyfriend and I got in for free since we’re under 25.

The Eiffel tower

Of course there is another thing which can’t be missed in this list. You were probably wondering when it was going to show up. The Eiffel Tower! And it was a lot of fun. Paris is beautiful from that height. You can go with the stairs or elevator to the second floor and then there is a special elevator which goes to the top. When we were there the top was closed due to the weather. But, we did take the stairs to the second floor! It saves you money (walking costs only 5 euros), takes less energy (like the elevator does) and I consider it quite healthy too! 700 steps but it is doable! I think most people consider the Eiffel tower one of the most fun and sustainable hotspots in Paris.

Champs-Élysées (and the Arc de Triomphe)

Another beautiful place to visit! My boyfriend and went again at night and I like Paris by night a lot. The Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe are beautiful at night with the lights. Beautiful, just a beautiful must see!

Food and Drinks

Hank Vegan Burger

This is a tiny vegan fastfood restaurant. Very cozy and cute. Ik ordered a burger (I believe it was the La Touriste) and a cookie. Hmmm, so good! Vegan junk food is the best thing ever if you’d ask. The burgers cost about 8,50 euros and the cookie I bought was 2 euros. The food is amazing but the restaurants does serve a lot of waste. The person at the counter asked me: take away or eat here? I said we were going to eat there but that didn’t matter as it turned out. You still get single-use packaging.

Maybe you can consider asking if they can serve it without waste when you visit. The cookie I got was waste-free and they have drinks in glass too. But there is another thing. This restaurant is not well accessible for some people who are disabled. They only have stairs. But concerning good food: this is the nr. 1 place I can recommend for dinner in Paris!

Cloud Cakes

I just said that Hank Vegan Burger is the nr. 1 for dinner and this place is the nr. 1 for lunch. Vegan cake! That’s amazing. But besides the amazing cakes they also serve some vegan bowls. I couldn’t choose and so I picked both haha. The food was soooo good! I love the combination between cake (which usually does not have so many vitamins) and the bowls which are full of vitamins! Not that we have to compensate for eating something, but I just love having both personally. And concerning waste they also did very well. Very little waste. But! This has a big but since it’s not accessible for some people who are disabled. The door step is very high.

Mexi and Co

This was another highlight on our trip to Paris. A small restaurant in a student area in Paris. It was veeeery tiny and crowded, but cozy. They unfortunately don’t have vegan dishes. The menu was Spanish but I managed to order nachos with guacamole and crême fraîche. I thought it only said guacamole but mistakes happen sometimes. I also order some Le Peche together with my boyfriend. It is some sort of tequila drink which I can really recommend. I managed to order it without a straw using Google Translate haha! Eventually we used our knive to mix the drink (as you can see on the picture). Even though they have almost no vegan food it is a very fun place!

To be named (I can’t remember it unfortunately)

I ate such delicious Lebanese food in Paris! Amazing! It was in a tiny restaurant near the La Fayette shopping mall but I can’t seem to find it on Google Maps. I forgot the name as well. I’ve always had a love for Lebanese food and this was delicious. The Lebanese kitchen has many vegan options. They used reusable dishes and that made me happy too. If I lived in Paris I’d be here every single week. It’s heaven. Tabouleh is my favourite dish, which is the salad on the picture. This definitely is both sustainable and fun, one of my favourite hotspots in Paris.

Shopping

Episode

Episode offers secondhand clothing. If you like the style of clothes Episode has to offer, you’re good in every city. That’s a huge benefit but also a negative thing. I like variation and Episode doesn’t always offer it. Yet somehow, I almost always manage to find something I really like. It’s a matter of taking your time because the shop can seem a little overwhelming sometimes.

These are the hotspots in Paris I have found so far! Do you know any more sustainable and fun hotspots in Paris?

Yours sincerely,
Romee