Carly I have always wanted to go to Paris so I had some pretty astronomical expectations of what I wanted Paris to be like. It bested all of them. Paris was by far the highlight of my summer and sets the bar pretty high for future travels.
Where We Stayed:
Hôtel France Eiffel http://en.franceeiffel.com
I found this hotel by sheer luck just browsing around on Google maps. This hotel happened to have a summer special going on that made it incredibly affordable considering it was not even a mile away from the Eiffel Tower; we could see it from our room! The room was small (typical of rooms in Europe in our low budget price range) but had a private bathroom (not typical of rooms in Europe in our low budget price range). The room was clean, you had the option to opt out of the breakfast which I would suggest considering the abundance of cafes around Paris, and you dropped your room key off with the 24 hour concierge which was nice because we never had to worry about bothering with the key while we were out. The hotel is also conveniently located between Dupleix and Bir-Hakeim making it easy and simple to take the metro around the city.
The only problems we had were very minor. They do not supply complimentary bath products like some of the higher end hotels will, but there is a market down the street that you can grab what you need. They also require a city tax to be paid either at the beginning or end of your stay. It is only a couple euros so it’s not going to break the bank but, since most of Paris takes card, we didn’t carry any cash. The hotel requires any sum under £5 to be paid in cash. So heads up for that.
When We Went:
We went in late July and I found it to be perfect. Apparently it was the weekend after the summer school ended in London, so it was difficult (expensive) to get from London to Paris but while there, the crowds weren’t really a problem. The famous landmarks in Paris are relatively spread apart so I am not sure it would ever be so crowded to be uncomfortable.
What We Wore:
The weather was perfect for us. I was able to wear jeans/flowy pants with a short sleeve/no sleeve top and be more than comfortable. While Paris being spread out is great for crowd control, it makes for a TON of walking; more walking than I did in London for sure. Comfortable shoes are a must. If you are like us and love taking pictures, make sure you are paying attention to the thin line between fashionable and comfortable. Your feet will not forgive you for making the wrong choice.
What We Ate:
There is absolutely no shortage of quaint cafes all around Paris. We stopped wherever we got hungry and were very pleased with every meal.
As a Cajun seafood enthusiast, I couldn’t wait to try escargot. I got it twice at two different restaurants and, while I never thought I’d say this about snail, I loved it! We also tried beef bourguignon and Crème brûlée. Of course we couldn’t leave without macaroons either. Before leaving, I looked for places to go and, while there are plenty of famous (and expensive) places to eat, we didn’t eat at any of those places and were very pleased with our food experiences.
The better question was what did we drink! Again, there are plenty of famous wines to drink in France, but the house wines were still devine for us. We had wine at every meal along with a bottle of still water that always cost more than the wine. We also got boxed wine from the market by our hotel to sip on. Because drinking in public is allowed, we took our boxed wine to the Champ de Mars and had a romantic night sipping wine, admiring the Eiffel Tower.
Tip: This is Europe meaning water is not served complimentary at restaurants. You have to order water if you want it and you will have to specify ‘still water’ or they will likely give you sparkling water.
What We Did:
We almost didn’t stop as we had so much we wanted to see in only a couple of days. We managed to see most of the famous landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Champs-Élysées, Champ de Mars, the Jardin de Tuileries, and, of course, the Siene River. To save time, we didn’t go in the Louvre or go up the Eiffel Tower. We also accidentally went the same weekend as the end of the Tour de France (I really don’t know how we didn’t know) so, even though navigating the streets were difficult, we stumbled on the finish line just in time to watch a Brit win, which was a big plus for my British beau.
One thing we did make time for, and it was by far my favorite Paris experience, was the catacombs. We knew ahead of time that we really wanted to walk through the catacombs so we bought our tickets ahead of time online. There is no doubt that we paid more for our tickets, but being able to walk past the line right into the catacombs made it well worth it.
What We Would Do Different:
Considering we stumbled on the Tour de France, I would have liked to have done a little more research on events in the city so as to plan a little better.
Geaux or No-Geaux?
I could not recommend Paris more. In fact, we have plans to go back. I feel like we did so much, all of which we can’t wait to do again, but also have so much more we’d like to do.
Overall, we loved Paris for the history it holds and the romance it insights. It baffles me to think that almost everything there is decades older than the United States and still holds such rich culture. Paris is indescribably magical and, be warned, once you go, you’ll always long to go back.
What did you love most about Paris? Did you go somewhere that I didn’t? Tell me about it in the comments! I’d love to go next trip!
