How I Should Have Traveled During My Semester in Paris

By: Ella Stern

During my spring semester in Paris, I have been fortunate enough to travel to almost 10 different places. After much reflection, I wish I had staggered some of my traveling differently in a way that would have set me up to get the most value out of my time here. There are a lot of different factors to consider: schoolwork, weather, timing, and much more. Here is my advice to anyone planning to explore Europe decently during their semester, but also wanting to get to know Paris well during their stay:

1.  My friends and I all agreed that the schoolwork abroad has been surprisingly manageable compared to what we're used to at our home universities. Honestly, things didn’t really start picking up until March. Most of us stayed in Paris during January and February and saved our trips for the second half of the semester. That was probably our biggest mistake- we didn’t expect the workload to hit us all at once later on. My biggest piece of advice for anyone joining the program is to travel as much as you can during those first two months. The homework is basically non-existent early on, so take advantage of that! Don’t make the same mistake we did- sticking around in Paris when we had all the free time, only to end up writing papers in hotel rooms during weekend trips to Prague.
2. Weather in Paris is both terrible and amazing. Winter in Paris is brutal; there is no sun and abundant rain. However, Paris in the spring is magical. This is another huge reason to do the bulk of your traveling during the cold and miserable part of the semester, so that you can then get to spend your time getting to know Paris during its best season. 

3. In terms of timing, wait to do your trips around Paris in late March and April! The North of France doesn’t start to get nice until about this time, so take advantage of the sun and the flowers to take nice day trips when the workload starts to pick up, rather than seeing them when they’re gloomy and dead. I recommend Versailles, Giverny, Chantilly, and even Disneyland Paris as great day trips when the weather starts to get nice!

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