A 5-Day 4-Night Lazy Itinerary for Paris + Energy-Saving Hacks

First off: Visiting Paris again after years—why does it feel so much cleaner and safer, especially the metro? Is it because of the Olympics? If it’s not just my imagination, I gotta say: New York, step up! Your buddy’s making progress! 😓 How to explore central Paris without getting worn out? This time I brought my mom, so the focus was on relaxation—no "special forces" mode! So‼️ I strongly recommend the BigBus 1-day ticket‼️ You can ride the bus around all the main Paris spots, get on and off whenever you want, and the views are super photogenic 📷. We got off at Notre-Dame, the Seine, and the Musée d’Orsay. The bus even has Chinese audio guides, which is great for older folks. 🎫 Tickets are €49 per person, unlimited rides within 24 hours—you can buy them at BigBus stops by searching "BigBus" on Google. Energy-saving tips for the Louvre + Palace of Versailles 📍 Louvre Museum: Strongly suggest hiring a Chinese guide. They’ll take you straight to the highlights and help you get in quickly—another plus for ！We booked through Fliggy; the guide took us for 2 hours, and we had time to wander on our own after. Our guide was amazing—10/10 recommend 🧡. 📍 Palace of Versailles: Definitely book in advance! We found a guided tour last-minute on 👟🍊 and only got to see the palace. We were gonna buy garden tickets separately, but after peeking at the gardens through the palace windows, we figured that was enough—no need to force a check-in. ⚠️ Versailles is in the suburbs; the metro ride takes 40-60 minutes. With a guide, we covered the highlights in about 2 hours and were back at our city hotel to relax 😳. Shopping routes 📍 Rue Saint-Honoré: A street with niche luxury brands and designer stores. It happened to be July 14th (French National Day), so lots of shops were closed—such a bummer! But I stumbled upon Christofle’s high-end silverware (super pricey though). We passed Goyard (huge line!), and at the end of the street, there’s a square with other big brands: Chanel, VCA, Patek Philippe, etc. 📍 Galeries Lafayette: Great for souvenirs + La Rochère bee glasses (affordable, recommended by our Louvre guide). Accommodation recommendation: Personally, I say just book a hotel in the 1st arrondissement—your travel efficiency doubles! When you’re tired, you can pop back to the hotel for a nap and head out again. We stayed at Hôtel Louvre Piemont for 4 nights: 5-minute walk to the Louvre, opposite Merci (we bought tons of little things there on day one). The area has everything—concept stores, cafés, Chinese/Japanese/Korean food, brunch spots, milk tea shops. Lots of restaurants have lines, especially Kodawari Ramen (Tsukiji). The rooms are decent size with elevators, and the soundproofing is okay—only downside is the street outside the hotel is under construction, so it looks a bit messy. Restaurant recommendations : 🍽️ Au Pied de Cochon: The pork knuckle and pork chop are amazing—order without hesitation 😋. 🍽️ Le Louis: Had frog legs in Paris for the first time—surprisingly good! #Paris #ParisGuide #ParisTravel