Paris is one of my favorite cities in the world. While there are still many places on my list, I keep coming back to Paris. It is such a magical place to visit.
Each time I visit I discover something new, and this time was no different. Some things to note about Paris… The culture is different from America, which is one reason I love it so much. Parisians love their wine, but they’re not drunkards. It is expected for businesses to close down for lunch, with the exception of restaurants of course. They enjoy the time at lunch without staring at their phones, which is considered a bit rude. Lunch is expected to take much longer than an hour, so try to prepare your time accordingly. Parisians are pretty quiet, and you’ll likely get some stares if you and your party are loud lol. There are several other differences of course, but those are the big ones to keep in mind while traveling there.
Where to stay is always a crucial decision. Paris is extremely walkable with something special to see in each arrondissement. The 7th arrondissement is my favorite, mostly because it’s close to the Eiffel Tower and several hotels/airbnb’s offer rooms with views of the great tower herself. I have always stayed in Airbnb’s while in Paris and have had a great experience. Thanks to the pandemic, most of the airbnb’s now offer key-less entry. The one we stayed in most recently offered keyless entry using a QR code that will scan from your phone, very neat!
We stayed right here in December. It was a very comfortable apartment which came with a lift (elevator) which is hard to come by in Paris! Most buildings are older and only have stairs, which can be very steep. It’s important to keep this in mind when searching for a place to stay if you plan to bring a lot of luggage. It can be a real pain to lug your bags up several flights of stairs.
On our first day, we had zero plans. I always try to not make plans on the first day while traveling abroad. Jet lag effects everyone differently, but typically you’re very tired and may not feel up to the 6pm dinner reservation. This usually means a great day to explore. Right around the corner from our airbnb is Rue Cler. I mention this road specifically because not only does it offer several markets and stores, but it’s where we found one of our favorite restaurants of the whole trip – Le Petit Cler. I say “we”, but I mean my friend Stacey :). She spotted this place while we were exploring on our first day, and it was a HUGE hit. Not to mention it ended up being recommended by Rick Steve’s himself. They have a daily special with entrees that are unique every day, I highly recommend trying the daily specials. My favorite was the Sunday roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes.
The next day we went to visit the Louvre. The Louvre is one of the most renowned museums in the world. It has the Mona Lisa, the statue of Aphrodite, and many, many other artifacts and magnificent historical works of art. We booked tickets in advance with an audio guide. When we arrived at the Louvre there were long lines. Make sure to ask where to go if you already have tickets for a specific time. Unfortunately, I was given the wrong information and we waited 15 minutes in the wrong line #oops. Once we made it in and snagged our audio guides, we decided on the “masterpiece tour”. This was a great idea, because the tour was 90 minutes long which would end right around the time of our lunch reservation. After our tour (and getting lost a few times lol) we made our way out of the museum to go to lunch. Exiting the Louvre Is a little confusing. The way to the exit takes you through multiple souvenir stores, we made sure to follow the green exit signs and finally found our way out. We had lunch reservations at Le Café Marly. I actually stumbled upon this restaurant during my last visit to Paris. The food is a bit pricey and it can be a bit breezy in the winter months, but I recommend the croque monsieur and a glass of champagne. The restaurant offers blankets to lay across your lap if you get too cold and the views of the glass pyramid of the Louvre is worth it. After lunch and a bit of walking around, we made our way down to Galeries Lafayette which houses 6 floors of open concept stores filled with every designer you can imagine. The top floor provides access to a rooftop bar with great tours of the city :). As much as I love a little hole in the wall boutique, I also really love this mall. It’s very easy to find and navigate with most instructions written in English.
That night we had dinner at a Le Florimond which was another find by Stacey. I ordered the stuffed cabbage and still have dreams about how good it was. The staff was incredibly kind and we had a wonderful time. After dinner we made our way to my favorite bar that I visit every time I’m in Paris, Le Malabar. This little bar is cute and quaint. While I’ve never made a reservation here, I would recommend one if they allow them because it can get a bit cozy. The food and drinks here are always great. It’s a guaranteed good time.
The next day we went shopping! Most stores and boutiques are closed on Mondays, so Tuesday was the day to explore! My friend Katie and I started at the Louis Vuitton on Champs Elysees. We got there about 30 min after it opened and still had to wait in line to enter. They did offer fresh hot chocolate while waiting in line though, which was a nice touch :). Once we entered we were seated in an area where we waited for someone to assist us. Finally, we met Juliet. If you go to Louis Vuitton in Paris go to this location and ask for Juliet. We had the BEST experience with her. She gave us a tour of the store where we discovered that this was the largest Louis Vuitton in the world and she served us champagne. There was so much to see! I fell in love with many items here and fortunately LV is cheaper in Europe, plus a 12% VAT return. It was such a fun experience. I can’t recommend this enough if you’re in the market for a Louis Vuitton!
The next day, Wednesday, we took a Paris Champagne Tour to the Champagne region of France. This was my second time taking this exact tour, because I loved it so much the first time! They pick you up from your hotel/airbnb at 7am in Paris. In the van they have fresh bakery items, coffee, and water for a light breakfast. The drive is about 2 hours from Paris, which is great if you need an extra snooze. Once you arrive in Champagne you get to see the vines and learn all about the process. It is VERY chilly in champagne, make sure to bring a jacket even in the summer months! We toured a local winery and tasted three different kinds of champagne. Afterwards we made our way to Reims to visit the Reims Cathedral, which is absolutely breath taking. From there you are taken to a local lunch by a Michelin star chef from Paris, which is quite delicious. From there you take one more tour complete with another tasting. Keep in mind this isn’t your typical boozy champagne or wine tour like you get in the US. It’s more informational and historical about the Champagne region. It’s still enjoyable, with a bit less alcohol lol.
Thursday. This was probably my favorite day. We had lunch at Le Jules Verne which is inside the Eiffel Tower. The most recent Emily in Paris season mentions this as “Americans love that place”. It made me laugh, because it’s so true! haha! The lines to get into the Eiffel Tower can be long, but we were pleased to find that Le Jules Verne has it’s own line for those with reservations and it’s very own elevator. The food is very french authentic and also quite expensive. Depending on the time of day (lunch vs dinner) there are a couple of options of doing a tasting menu or A la Carte. We went with the 7 course tasting menu which is about 250 Euros/person. It is very expensive, but the views alone are worth it. The experience is next to none.
Our last full day, Friday, was another day for exploring. We ended up doing quite a bit of shopping in the boutiques, and had lunch at a wonderful little Italian restaurant called L’Italien. I got the lasagna and we shared a bottle of wine, it was so good! Katie and Stacey made their way to MonteMarte which has a fabulous view of all of Paris. While they explored, I went back to Galeries Lafayette to do a bit more shopping lol. I was in search of a NYE dress and found a cute little sequins dress and a few other boutique items for some events this year!
Paris will always be my favorite city to visit. There’s so much culture and exploring to do within Paris that you’ll never be bored.
