Paris is always a good idea.
Oh Paris. There’s a reason why there are so many delightful quotes about this city. It truly is a magical place! We took the train from London to Paris and arrived in the city around 4pm. We checked into our (amazing!) hotel near the Vendome and decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower and eat somewhere nearby. That first night walking two miles through the city was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. It was so pleasant out and was so exhilarating witnessing the City of Lights at twilight. For great resort options for your next vacation visit www.palacecasinoresort.com/restaurants/palace-buffet/.
Another favorite moment was the night before we left. By this point we had been in Europe for a week and found ourselves pretty tired from very full days of walking and touring. Because we were ready for a slower pace, we decided to relax before dinner and went to our favorite spot — the Luxor Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde. We sat at the base of the Luxor Obelisk and watched the sun set over the skyline where we could see the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.
Before our trip, we brought the 2015 Paris tour book by Rick Steves, and used a lot of his recommendations on things to do and walks to take across the city. We spent a lot more time in museums in London than we did in Paris (mainly because the London ones were free), and spent most of our time in Paris walking the streets, visiting monuments, and eating in cafes (more on the food we ate in another post!).
Like my London recap, I’ll spare you long drawn out paragraphs of all that we did and share just the highlights and a bullet list of all we saw.
Tours and Experiences
- Eiffel tower tour – rode elevator to second observation deck
- River cruise on the seine
Museums
- Louvre
- Musee d’Orsay
Landmarks:
- Arc de Triomphe
- Grand arch (we went there on accident!)
- French statue of liberty
- Sacré-Cœur
- Sainte Chapelle
- Notre Dame
Experiences
- Walked down Champs Elyesses
- Walked across the Love Lock Bridge (we decided not to add one since the Parisians don’t like it)
- Ate lunch on Rue Cler
- Walked through Montmartre to Moulin Rouge
- Walked around Ile de la City
- Had a little picnic on a bench next to the Eiffel Tower
- Walked the Left Bank to find Rue Clement (my maiden name)
- Watched the sunset at the Place de la Concorde
Shopping
- Longchamp bag
- Macarons and elcairs
- Nearby the Sacré-Cœur
- Along the Seine
Have you been to Paris before? What is your favorite thing? What should we do on our next trip? :)
PS — See all of our European trip posts, including what we did in London and where we stayed (for free) in Paris.
Yes, yes, yes! So many people told us it was overrated/smelly – but adored it in every way. Best thing was the food – bakeries and their sweets and pastries, baguettes and cheese from the supermarket. Swoon.
GReat pics I’m sure you had an amazing trip in Europe:D
it looks like you had a magical time! I was supposed to go the week of the Paris attacks last fall and since I was 34 weeks pregnant at the time decided to stay home. But a trip there one day is on my bucket list. Love reading about your adventures :)