I planned my solo, 10-day trip to Paris for months. I made lists, saved tiktoks, and built myself mini-schedules.

But even with all that prep, there were things that I realized too late that I should have booked sooner, gotten to earlier, or educated on myself on more thoroughly, before arriving. I’m hoping sharing my story will help you avoid any of my mistakes!

The Louvre. Yes, I booked a ticket ahead of time; but I realized halfway through my trip that, as much as I was looking forward to my visit, I wasn’t going to be able to see everything it had to offer. It’s said that if you wanted to experience everything the Louvre has to offer, it would take a full 13 days. So I tried to see if I could purchase a ticket for another day, and when I couldn’t, I thought I’d chance it and get there early on a day I didn’t have a ticket. Surely they hold some back from walk-ins, I thought—turns out, I was wrong. If you’re worried you won’t get to see everything, planning a second Louvre day is a good idea!

MiniMeLand. I thought you could walk up and get a same-day appointment to cut and sew a custom top flap bag based off the deadstock Chanel fabric that they sourced. No such luck, especially on a holiday weekend—definitely book ahead of time if this is something you’re interested in! I wrote about how this place really inspired me creatively, I’m still disappointed I didn’t walk away with a piece of art from their studio.

The Bibliothèque Mazarine library. I didn’t realize that the beautiful, duck-egg blue dome room—the real draw for this beautiful structure—is only open on the first Sunday of the month. I didn’t get to see inside it, which was a bit of a bummer—but I did get to visit the main room, which was stunning!

Sainte-Chapelle. This one actually has a happy ending, so I saved it for last. I didn’t pre-book a ticket to Sainte-Chapelle; I just walked up at 10am (which I thought was early enough) there was a line down the block and around the corner. I didn’t want to spend a half-day waiting in line, so I walked around for a bit—then, after some research online while I had some breakfast, found out that a special ticket to the Conciergerie would get me into the shorter line at Sainte-Chapelle. So not only did I get in to see the attraction I wanted to, but the Conciergerie also ended up being really cool—a jail that held everyone from paupers to royalty, including Marie-Antoinette. Had I planned better, I might have gotten to see it

Are there times when not planning worked out for you? Let me know in the comments—and as always, happy travels!