One of the combined bank/post office locations where you will actually not wait in line too long,…read morenot just due to long opening hours, unusual for La Poste, but because of the high number of multilingual automated machines and staff that will help you work them that leave waiting in line for only the most complicated cases (or for those who are tech-averse).

The French Post Office is fascinating. First thing is there is a bank in there. Yes - a postal…read morebank. Seems logical, honestly. They also sell cell phones in there. So there are machines against the walls and windows - some for packages, some for letters. You go there and prepay for your postage. There are no translators on the machines so you need to know everything or at least know enough French to make your way around. And don't expect someone to come over and help you either. Not how it works here. Once you've gotten your postage you can either put your letters directly in the box or if you have a package you need to bring it up to the desk. Don't forget your customs forms if you are mailing something out of France. You will need to ask for a customs form for each package you are sending. On one visit I left one of my bags in here and they had it for me in lost and found when I came back the following week to ask for it.

The guy here were super nice and helpful! I had to send some letters and postcards, but was…read morecompletely clueless about how much postage I needed and they made it very painless for me. By the time I had all my mail prepped to drop off at the front, there was a giant line. He spotted me and put the mail into the box for me so that I didn't have to wait in line again!

A fairly large and well run La Poste just about 100 m from the Boucicaut metro station on line 8…read more The staff manage to keep the lines moving even in peak hours.

Long line, just like the U.S.! The clerk who helped me mail a package was very accommodating and…read morespoke a little English, she made the long wait forgivable.

Excellent service!! As a tourist, who is not very fluent in French, the people at la poste were…read morevery friendly and helpful!!! My parents got their postal 4 months and they were happy! So thank you!!!

Sacré-Cœur rewards the climb with one of those views that make Paris seem almost impossibly…read morebeautiful. Walking up through Montmartre is good exercise in its own right, with the staircases near the top providing a wonderfully direct final approach as the white basilica rises above you. The surrounding neighborhood is beyond charming, and reaching the summit feels like a fitting culmination of exploring one of the city's most distinctive quarters. Once there, the sweeping view across Paris is spectacular, particularly from the broad steps beneath the basilica. The Romano-Byzantine architecture is striking up close, while the enormous gold mosaic inside gives you another reason to step away from the panorama and enter the church. Few places capture Paris quite so completely: beautiful architecture, a lively neighborhood, and that extraordinary city unfolding beneath you.

I've been to Montmartre a few times over the years and can't quite say whether I've been inside the…read moreSacré-Coeur. If I have, it was well over a decade ago, and I have seen many churches in the intervening years. What I do know is that I've stood outside it several times, to admire the church as well as the iconic view of Paris from its front steps. We had intended to go inside the basilica on our recent family visit, but we had a sick child and the line was long and exposed to the sun. There were a ton of people up there, as dense a crowd as we saw all trip, everyone trying to enjoy the same viewpoint. Luckily, there was plenty of that to go around. We spent some time admiring the city and taking pictures (my father-in-law's one souvenir was that we send him a family photo from Sacré-Coeur), then wound our way downhill through charming Montmartre. Maybe next time I'll venture into the church, but it's worth going just to walk around outside.

One of the closest post offices to Gare de Lyon if you need to send some mail right before getting…read moreon your train.