Paris, uhh… Strike! 🇫🇷🥖

I stayed at a place called The People located right by the Nation station. Paris is massive, and wouldn’t you know it—I arrived just as they updated the ticket system! 🎫

🚇 Quick Survival Guide: Transport & Costs

• Metro: €2.55 per trip (valid for 2 hours).
• Bus/Tram: €2.05 (valid for 1.5 hours). You can transfer, but you can’t take the same line back! 🚌
• Pro Tip: Ticket prices for major attractions have also gone up. If you’re staying central, walking is your best friend. For long trips like the Palace of Versailles, the train is definitely the budget-friendly move. 👟
• Shoutout: A kind local gentleman helped me navigate the app while I was busy crunching numbers to find the cheapest route! 📱👴

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🍳 Breakfast Views & Tips

I kicked off my morning with the hostel’s breakfast buffet. I’ll admit, I was a bit baffled when I was asked for a tip before the meal… for a self-service buffet? 🤔

However, the food was actually great—especially the bread, which tasted like a delicious egg cake! 🥯 Plus, the balcony view was absolutely spectacular. ☕️✨

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🚩 The “Monday Strike” Pivot

I was happily heading to the Louvre when I heard the news: Strike! 🪧 Since the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, striking on a Monday effectively gives people a 4-day weekend. I get it, Mondays are hard, but it meant a sudden change of plans! 😅

I turned my day into a “Speedrun of Central Paris” to see as many spots as possible before my 90-minute ticket expired. 🏃💨

⛪️ Notre-Dame & The Pantheon

Notre-Dame de Paris sits on an island accessible by beautiful bridges. The old prison (Conciergerie) is also right there. I then swung by the

Pantheon before hopping a bus back toward the Louvre area.

I finally caught a photo of the Louvre from the bus on my last day—when they weren’t striking. Maybe next time I’ll actually get inside! 🏛️

🌳 Gardens and Squares

In front of the museum lies the Tuileries Garden—a lovely spot with free green chairs where you can relax by the pond. ⛲️

At the end of the garden is Place de la Concorde. It’s famous for its Egyptian obelisk, but history buffs know it as the site of the guillotine. From here, you can see the Eiffel Tower peeking out in the distance! 🗼

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🎭 Sightseeing & Cinema

I walked the Champs-Élysées, visited the stunning Palais Garnier, and reached the Arc de Triomphe. 🏛️

Funny moment: I saw two influencers playing the song “难忘今宵 Nanwang Jin Xiao” (Unforgettable Tonight). It suddenly felt like I was back at Shanghai Jiao Tong University! 🇨🇳🎶

I also spotted a poster for a new film, Le Mage du Kremlin, which seems to be about President Putin. 🎬

🗼 The Eiffel Tower

To be honest, there isn’t much to “do” right under the tower. There’s a massive garden, but most of the benches were removed.

However, I found this sculpture out front hilarious—it looks like someone sneaking out for a midnight bathroom break! 😂🚿

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🍷 Dining at Chartier

For dinner, I went to Bouillon Chartier. My AI buddy Gemini told me it’s perfect for solo travelers, and it was right! The meal was delicious.

The atmosphere felt very formal—it made me feel a bit under-dressed in my casual clothes! 🍽️🍷

The evening lights on the Parisian buildings are just so elegant. ✨

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👑 The Grandeur of Versailles

The next day, I headed to Versailles. Despite having a 9:30 AM ticket, I faced a “comedy of errors”: getting stuck in ticket machines, taking the wrong direction, and ending up on the wrong train! 🚂 (Pro tip: The L-line has many branches).

The train cabin was beautiful, though, and the window view was worth the struggle. Even though I was an hour late, they still let me in! 🙌

In winter, many rooms are closed, so I spent most of my time finding “meme-worthy” paintings. 🖼️

Hot Take: People often compare Versailles to the Forbidden City. Honestly? The Forbidden City is a whole city of multiple palaces; I still think it’s the more impressive visit. 🇨🇳🏯

🤳 AR & The Gardens

Near the exit, there’s a fountain where you can play an AR game via the Versailles app (made by Snapchat). It’s a fun modern twist on a historic site! 📱🎮

Warning: The gardens are HUGE. Don’t be like me and walk it all by foot—take the shuttle! 🚌 I visited the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, which actually have some Eastern architectural influences.

The Petit Trianon reminded me of the Summer Palace (颐和园) in Beijing. Both were built as “royal playgrounds” where monarchs could pretend to live a simple life while remaining in total luxury. 🤴👩‍🌾

The day I leave, I passed by Hugging Face’s HQ. There is a screen showing the AI generated street view in real time.

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🤖 Tech & Tintin

On my way out of the city, I passed the Hugging Face HQ! They have a cool screen showing real-time AI-generated street views. 🤖💻

I also spotted some Tintin street art. I found a matching one in Brussels previously—together they tell a little story. It looks like he’s having a great time with the Captain! 🐕🚢

🚄 Departure

I caught my OuiGo train at Montparnasse. Be ready: the platform only appears 20 minutes before departure, and the ticket checks are intense! Because it took so long, they eventually just rushed everyone on board—it felt very much like a busy station in Asia! 🚉🎒

Au revoir, Paris! 🇫🇷👋