Last weekend, I was able to travel to Paris. I’ve wanted to go to Paris ever since I first started studying French when I was 14 and it felt surreal. The city is absolutely magnificent and it is impossible to see it all in two days. I plan on coming back many times and exploring the city more and more with every trip.
Paris is only about an hour away from Reims and there are a few ways to get to the city of love. First of all, one can always the TGV, however, it does happen to be a bit more expensive as some tickets range from 30-50 euros. On the bright side, the SNCF, the French transportation company, offers people ages 18-25 to purchase a “carte jeune” in order to get discounted tickets. The cart costs 50 euros, is valid for an entire year, and allows the cardholder to purchase up to three other tickets for the same trip. With the help of the carte jeune, my friends and I were able to purchase a ticket to Paris for 14 euros.
Another option to travel around France is carpooling through covoiturage. Although, it seemed a bit bizarre to me at firs, it is extremely common in not only France, but Europe. Essentially, the price of gas is so expensive that drivers sign up to carpool with willing travelers for low and affordable costs. A friend of mine and I returned from Paris to Reims using covoiturage and it cost only 12 euros, compared to 25 euro train tickets which were available for purchase for our return. Although I had a nice experience using covoiturage, it is important to be careful. I would recommend reading the reviews and travelling with a friend.
Paris was even more beautiful than I had imagined. The Eiffel Tower and Sacré -Coeur were my two favorites. The Eiffel Tower looks completely different during the day than it does at night but it’s absolutely stunning. Sacré-Coeur is a gorgeous Church and it’s located in a really nice section of the city, as well. It’s located on a giant hill, so after climbing all of the steps, one has a really nice view of the city. Although Notre Dame is a beautiful Cathedral, I wasn’t as impressed with it as I imagined. Gothic Cathedrals are extremely abundant in Europe and Reims has it’s own smaller version of Notre Dame. Nonetheless, it is worth seeing.
In summary, Paris is beautiful and extremely close to Reims. Although I went for the weekend, it is also convenient to simply go for the day. Reims can sometimes feel like small, but its proximity to Paris makes it’s location perfect.
