Paris in Summer 2014

We’re coming up to the end of May now, which means one big thing to any hot weather hunters out there - Summer is almost here.  We’re really excited about this change of seasons, but we’re also really excited about launching our Trippa Paris app in the next couple of weeks.  So when we were trying to decide on what we should write about this week, we decided the best thing would be - the top five things to do in Paris this summer.

Parks & Squares

Paris is a surprisingly green city, with an abundance of public parks for you to talk a leisurely summer stroll around.  We personally would recommend Luxembourg Gardens as the best place to go and have a wonder in a Parisian sun.  If public squares are more your thing, Paris has got plenty of those too. Place Concorde is the largest and possibly most historically important square in the capital, sitting on the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées, it attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Seine River

Either walking alongside it, sitting on a boat ontop of it or taking photographs of the bridges which cross it, the Seine River is a source of hours of enjoyment in Paris.  River tours are really reasonably priced and offered by a number of operators, the bridges are all free to cross and The Pont de l'Archevêché is a famous bridge for it’s love locks which hang all across the width of the structure.

Cafe Culture

Sit outside a cafe with a coffee and a croissant for a true french experience.  There are an abundance of places to sit and watch the world go by as you sample some of France’s finest treats.  Especially popular in Montmartre, you’ll feel particularly bohemian as you pay €5 for a coffee and hustle for space in a prime people watching position.  

Shopping

Although Paris is known for being a city full of department stores and having some of the world’s first shopping malls, there’s an abundance of outdoor shopping areas for you to check out during your stay in Paris.  No trip to the city would be complete without a trip to the Champs-Élysées, probably the worlds most famous (and expensive) street, but we’d also recommend heading to the less well known, but equally good Rue de Passy or Rue de Rennes

Get High

Paris is a beautiful city at ground level but on a clear day, the view from above is fantastic.  Head to either the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral or the top of the Basilica perched atop the butte Montmartre for some of the best views of the city.

So those were our top recommendations of things to do in Paris Summer 2014, the Trippa Paris app will be launched very soon so make sure you keep our eyes out for it.  In the mean time why not take a look at one of our other Trippa guides, including Trippa Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Cardiff, Helsinki, London, Marseille, Palma, Oslo, Seville orStockholm. 

Foodies Festival, London

Summer is definitely upon us in the UK now, especially if the weekend just gone is anything to go by.  When the temperatures are up and the sun is shining, what better to do than relax outside with some good food and drink.  Of course doing this in your garden is an excellent place to spend the day, but if you’re in London and perhaps don’t have a garden or just want to do something a little bit different, check out Foodies Festival. Taking place at a number of locations over summer, this weekend you’ll find it at Kenwood House.

Billed as a weekend full of good food in a beautiful setting, it’s sure to be right up anyones street on a warm summers day.  As well as featuring a BBQ area, pop up restaurants and a live music stage for you to pass the day by; pop along to the chefs theatre to hear talks from Natalie Coleman (Masterchef winner 2013), John Waite (Great British Bake Off winner 2012) and  Adam Handling (Masterchef: The Professionals finalist 2013 and current Head Chef at The Caxton Grill) to name but a few.

If you’re more of a drinks fan than a fine food fanatic, there’s plenty for you to get involved with as well, with the new Real Ale and Cider Farm being set up, complete with hay bales for visitors to relax on, drinking some of the best beers and ciders while striking up a conversation with expert Melissa Cole and other drinks lovers.  On top of this, there’s also a drinks theatre where Melissa and Charles Metcalf will be giving talks about beers and ciders, while local mixologists will be showing off their skills at making hand crafted cocktails.

If you can’t make it along to the Kenwood House event this weekend, the festival will be at Clapham Common the first weekend of June, along with a smattering of other dates for the rest of the year, for full details about the rest of the dates on the tour and to buy tickets, click here.

If you’re planning on making the trip to London for Foodies Festival this weekend, make sure you download Trippa London, the best travel guide to the English capital.  If you’re not going to London but fancy getting away this weekend, why not take a look at one of our other fantastic guides like Trippa Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Cardiff, Helsinki, Marseille, Palma, Oslo, Seville or Stockholm.

Barcelona in Photos

Every now and then, aside from researching the best places to go for our travel guides, we occasionally like to revisit some of the places we've already written guides for and soak the culture up again.  After spotting a deal on a flight and a hotel room for a couple of days, a trip to Barcelona had to be done.

If you're thinking about making the trip to Barcelona soon, here's just a few of the things you should think about getting up to (along with some of our Instagram photos to match).

La Sagrada Familia

Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, you can see the cranes lifting blocks, gradually crawling closer to completion.

The view of the ceiling from inside, the attention to detail is breathtaking

The view from the top of one of the facades, overlooking one of Barcelona's many green parks.

Parc Guell

Don't be deceived by how close it looks to La Segrada Familia on a map, Parc Guell is a good 45 minute walk, up quite a steep incline, you would be best getting a bus to visit here. Once you've got inside though, the park is a breathtaking example of Gaudi's genius in all its forms, rather than just bricks and mortar.

Barceloneta Beach

The most famous and well formed beach in Barcelona, it's actually only about 20 years old.  The building you can see in the distance is the luxury W hotel, a modern day icon of the city.

Tapas

Not so much a specific thing to do, but make sure at some point in time you sample as much as you can muster from one of the many tapas restaurants in Barcelona.  This photo was taken at El Quim De La Boqueria, located inside La Boqueria Market, just off La Rambla.

That was just a couple of the things we got up to in Barcelona on our latest journey there, if you'd like to see more details about all of these places and more, download Trippa Barcelona today for iOS and Android.  If you're not planning a trip to the Catalan capital, but you are thinking about heading away for a break, why not take a look at one of our many other fantastic guides like Trippa Athens, Berlin, Cardiff, London, Helsinki, Marseille, Palma, Oslo, Seville or Stockholm