This article was published on JohnnyJet.com first on July 31, 2022. Read the full article on JohnnyJet.

Paris is a good jump-off city for other European adventures. We decided on three nights in the City of Light at the start of our trip and two nights on the tail end of our travels, since we quickly realized that flying in and out of the same city was considerably less expensive.

I returned to Paris after sixteen years but it was not the city I remembered. Perhaps it was because I was there in the winter and returned in the summer. I don’t remember so many people. But then again, I don’t remember so many people in London or LA either. While many areas in Paris still appear the same, there are a lot of tips I wish someone had told me before traveling there again.

Some say Paris is doable in two days but after a five-day whirlwind covering most of the major attractions, I was grateful for an unexpected extra two days (courtesy of an Air France flight cancellation!) Those days (6 and 7) were when we could slow down a bit and finally relax.

Although temperatures can reach over a hundred degrees now in Paris during summer, the 10pm or later sunsets allow you to get a lot out of those full sunny days. However, shoulder season (May or September/October) may be a better option when there are fewer crowds and more temperate weather. Parisians leave the city during July and August.