I looked up trains from Frankfurt to Paris in the DB app. The fast train took four hours but cost €100–125, and FlixBus was over €40. I thought about taking buses through Luxembourg and Brussels, but that wasn’t cheap either. Then I downloaded a few French train and bus apps and found a €24 BlaBlaCar Bus, alongside carpool rides at all sorts of prices. I wasn’t ready to try carpooling. By the time I bought the bus ticket, it was almost €30.

My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 1
I landed at 6 a.m. and spent nearly an hour getting through immigration. I wanted a German sausage, but there was no time. The bus stop was between Terminals 1 and 2. I hadn’t checked, so I took the shuttle to Terminal 1 and made it back just as my bus arrived.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 2
The bus was clean, the driver was friendly, and we left on time, despite all the complaints I’d read in the group. The one thing that was dirty was the toilet :)))
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 3
After eight hours on the bus I was cold and tired. Luckily I had sticky rice from the flight and some food I’d bought in China.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 4
I bought a Paris public transport day pass on the bus. I barely used it that day, so single tickets would have saved me a few euros. I just couldn’t be bothered working it out. You can buy several single rides at once and use one each time you tap in. There’s also a weekly pass that needed a French or European phone number when I went.

We were about five minutes from the final stop when the police pulled us over. We sat there for around 45 minutes. I felt a bit sorry for the driver :)))

My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 5
I walked to Gare de Lyon to get the train to my hostel. Most Paris stations seemed old, and the card readers often didn’t work. When I got to Lyon later, the stations felt newer and looked lovely.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 6
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 7
I checked in, lay down for a bit, and went back out. There was a Picard frozen food shop right below the hostel. After I paid, the cashier pointed me to another branch that had a microwave and somewhere I could sit and eat for free.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 8
The church in Montmartre.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 9
Taro milk tea. I recognised the Taipei 101 tower and knew it was a Taiwanese place. The tea was too sweet for me, though 😇
I took the train to the Arc de Triomphe. I used to see it on TV during the Tour de France.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 10
I wandered over to the Eiffel Tower. This was why I’d come to France, and it looked straight out of a film.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 11
The lights sparkled at 10 and 11 p.m., five minutes at a time. I went round and round finding only exits. By the time I found the entrance, I didn’t feel like paying for a ticket and went back 🥹 The next day I found out it was free to go in. You only paid to go up.
My first evening in Paris, out to see the Eiffel Tower — photo 12
I was starving on the way back and bought a €5 sandwich. It looked stuffed with meat until I took a few bites and realised there wasn’t much in it. Still tasted good 😅
From the trip France & Italy. Read the Vietnamese original on Blogger