A couple months ago my husband and I traveled to Europe for a week – we started in Paris then spent a few days in Granada and one day in Madrid. It was the absolute best! The only downside to visiting three different cities in a week was the amount of time we spent getting to/from the airports and flying in between each location, but we both agree it was worth it to experience the three different cities and cultures. I will do guides for Granada and Madrid next, so stay tuned for those!
Since we had limited time in each place we crammed as much as possible into each day – there is SO much to see and do, it’s just not possible to do it all on such a short visit. I spent plenty of time researching each city and made priority lists of what we wanted to see and do in each one. The one thing I did not research was restaurants, and that’s because I love to just wander and look at street menus to different places before deciding on where to eat. I did keep a list of where we all ate though and I’ll share that below. I’ve actually been to Paris quite a few times – I spent a semester abroad in the South of France back in college, so I’ll include some of my other recommendations that we didn’t have time for on this trip. I’m going to start with a breakdown of what we did each day, and then list everything out afterwards to make it easy to refer back to.
Day by Day:
Day 1: Our flight arrived Monday mid-morning and we took a taxi to the hotel. Our room wasn’t ready, so we dropped our bags off and set off to find lunch. We found a cute little pizza place called Cantina di Luca and split a margherita pizza – I have been missing European pizza since I’ve been there. It’s SO much better!! We were planning to visit the Louvre the next day (our full day) but luckily we looked up the hours while at lunch and saw that it’s closed on Tuesdays, which meant that our only chance to visit would be that day. After lunch we walked the Champs Elysees (and did a little shopping of course 😉 ) Then we went back to the hotel, checked in, quickly changed and set out for the Louvre. We spent a couple hours exploring (/ getting lost in) the museum – it’s truly one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been and never gets old. By the time we made our way out we were pretty exhausted (not to mention jet lagged) so we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries and found a cafe called Le Carrousel to sit outside and have a drink. After that we walked through the Tuileries Christmas market, which was conveniently right next to the cafe! We hopped on the metro and went back to the hotel to freshen up and get ready for dinner. We walked to restaurant Chez Francis for dinner and I would highly recommend! The service was terrible, but the food was great (I got the scallops and mashed potatoes) and the location was incredible. The restaurant has an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower – try to get a table outside and you can have dinner while watching it sparkle! After dinner we walked back to the hotel and went to sleep early!
Day 2: We woke up early and walked over to the Eiffel Tower – it was raining and windy, so we opted not to go to the top (I have been before and the wind is on another level up there.) We had breakfast at a nearby cafe called Bistrot de la Tour Eiffel and ordered crepes, a croissant, and quiche – all of the must haves! We walked through the gardens and hopped on a metro up to the Montmartre area, which is probably my favorite part of Paris! Such a charming area with cobblestone streets and tons of cute cafes, but be prepared for stairs!! The district is on a hill, so there are lots of stairs (I felt bad for people with strollers.) We walked up to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, which is located at the top of the hill with great view of Paris! It’s free to go inside, and I definitely recommend it; the basilica is beautiful! We decided to go up to the top dome (which cost 7 euro per person) but at the top you get a 360 degree view of Paris which was SO cool, even on a rainy day! I will warn you – it was another 300+ stairs up and down a very narrow tower which had me feeling pretty dizzy by the end, but it was worth it! After that we had worked up quite the appetite, so we found a cafe nearby called Les Oiseaux and stopped for lunch. I had the onion soup and it was amazing of course! After lunch we hopped back on the metro and headed over to the catacombs, which I’ve never been to before. Unfortunately the line was crazy long (probably a 2 hour wait) so we decided to pass on that. We headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit before dinner.. the jet lag was hitting pretty hard by then. We set out for dinner and ended up just wandering for a while, which is one of my favorite things to do in Paris! We ended up eating at an Italian restaurant called Cafe di Roma which is on the Champs Elysees. We sat on the second floor by the window overlooking the Champs and I had lasagna – so good! After dinner we walked all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe before heading back to the hotel. We had a 5am taxi pickup the next morning, so it was another early night!
Where we stayed:
We stayed at the Melia Paris Tour Eiffel and liked it a lot! We actually stayed at Melia hotels for this entire trip because we had points through their rewards program. The hotel was in a great location – walking distance to the Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Seine river and more. It’s an older hotel with a boutique feel, which I loved! The room was clean, spacious, and the bed was comfortable. Some rooms have an Eiffel Tower view, but ours did not. It would have been nice, but we were hardly in the room so that wasn’t important to us. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, which we’ve always experienced at Melia hotels. The hotel is known for their impressive breakfast buffet, but we opted out of that since I wanted to find a local cafe. Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel – just make sure to request a room with an Eiffel Tower view if that’s important to you (it will probably cost more) or request a room on the top floor for the best street view!
Things to see and do:
- Eiffel Tower: Whether you go up to the top or enjoy it from a nearby park, it’s definitely a must when visiting Paris.
- Champs Elysees: One of the most famous streets in Paris, it leads up to the Arc de Triomphe and is full of shopping and restaurants.
- Louvre museum: The most visited museum in the world, and home to some of the most iconic pieces of art.
- Arc de Triomphe: Another famous monument – you can climb 300 stairs to the top (great sunset view!)
- Catacombes: The massive underground ossuary – I recommend booking tickets in advance
- Sacre Coeur Basilica: Beautiful church located on a hill – it’s the 2nd highest point in Paris (after the Eiffel Tower.) You can climb to the top dome for 360 degree views of Paris.
- Notre Dame: The most famous of the Gothic cathedrals – it’s temporality closed. Reopen date TBD.
- Seine river cruise: Seeing the city by boat is a great way to see many of the famous monuments all in one tour!
- Jardin des Tuileries: Beautiful public garden located next to the Louvre
- Moulin Rouge: The famous cabaret – you can have dinner and watch the vibrant show of singing & dancing
- Montmartre: Charming neighborhood up on a hill, known for its cobblestone streets & artwork.
- Musee d’Orsay: Originally built as a train station, this museum is home to a great collection of Impressionist art & more
- Luxembourg Gardens: Large public garden, great for picnics and people watching
- Le Marais: One of the oldest & trendiest neighborhoods of Paris, known for the fashion & shopping.
- Christmas markets: If you happen visit around the holidays, the Christmas markets are definitely worth a visit!
How to get around:
From Charles de Gaulle airport you can take a taxi, Uber, or RER B train into the city. Taxi or Uber are the more convenient options, but will cost around 50 euro. The RER train is only 10 euro per ticket and pretty easy to figure out (more info here.) Either option will take around 45 minutes. In the city, there are tons of ways to get around: the metro, taxi/Uber, boat, bikes, buses, and of course walking! If you have the time and are able to, I recommend walking as much as possible – it’s the best way to experience the city and culture. The metro is a cheap and easy way to get around quickly, and you can buy day or week passes (more info here.) We used the metro quite a bit on our trip since we were short on time. It’s pretty easy to figure out, but if you’re directionally challenged (like me) you can always use Google maps and it will tell you which metro lines to take to get somewhere!
What to wear:
You can’t go wrong with neutrals and if you’re visiting in the fall or winter, I recommend layering as much as possible. We visited in November and while it was chilly outside, everywhere inside was VERY warm (museums especially.) I packed a lot of mix and match basics: faux leather leggings, black tights, mini skirts, turtlenecks, sweater dresses, scarves, a puffer jacket, over the knee boots and sneakers – I’ll link below to what exactly I brought. I wore these boots every day and they were surprisingly great for walking!
Shop what I packed:
If there is anything I didn’t cover, feel free to leave a comment below! I’m happy to answer any questions that you have about Paris or traveling in general. Additionally if you have been to Paris, I would LOVE to hear what your favorite part or if you have any travel advice you’d like to share!
Shop my travel essentials:
