Last March, Beth and I went out to Paris to celebrate her birthday. We spent almost a week there, with a few of the days spent exploring Disneyland which I’m sure I’ll post about at some point! For the first Weekender Special in 3 years, however, we look at the city of love itself. I’ll go through what we did on our weekend in Paris.
Day 1
We came to Paris straight from Disneyland, so I’ll refer to Day 1 as the travel day. If you travel out on a Friday for the weekend, I’d highly recommend flying. The transport links from Charles de Gaulle airport into the city centre are great; the trains are comparable to London and Uber is another great solution for getting about.
Depending on the time of day you’re travelling, there’s the option of getting out and exploring today. Being able to wander around Paris on foot adds to the experience, so this is why location is key. Having a hotel as central as possible will really add to your weekend. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Leveque which was situated on the Rue Cler; a hub for fresh foods and bakeries! There are so many places to eat in Paris, which is arguably one of its unique selling points (in my eyes), so being there was spot on for our weekend in Paris. Go out for dinner. Wander the streets and find a little independent place. You won’t regret it.
Day 2
The first proper day in Paris! As I mentioned, being on foot in Paris is the prime method of transport. To fully immerse yourself in the smells and sounds really enhances the experience. here really is so much to do, but use this day to hit the sites you really want to see. We headed out in the morning for a spot of breakfast by the hotel. Then we went out for a few hours exploring the city. We walked past the Eiffel Tower from Champ de Mars, then across the Pont d’lena. This provides some great shots of the tower; it’s where I took the photo for the cover of this blog post! Once over the bridge we walked up onto Place du Trocadero. This is an open square with views out over the Seine and is flanked by a museum, theatre and loads of restaurants!
Our walking tour of Paris then took us along to the Arc de Triomphe, another of the city’s major sites. It was hard to get a good photo, with the cars rushing around the roundabout. We were still able to appreciate the monument, which was built nearly 200 years ago to commemorate Napoleon’s victories. Then we made our way along the Oxford Street of Paris (my description of it, not sure if that’s an official title) and stopped off for an afternoon snack. The number of gardens in the city is astounding and they are lovely to stroll through, especially on a nice weather day!
We slowly made our way back to the hotel to freshen up, before heading out for dinner. We decided to eat at one of those restaurants up by the Place du Trocadero. When it gets dark, the Eiffel Tower gets lit up and the lights are sparkled every hour. We spent a bit of time looking out over the tower and it really was quite romantic. A lovely way to spend a Saturday night in Paris.
Day 3
Our last day in Paris, and probably yours too! Our flight was later that night, so we checked out of the hotel and left our bags there for the day. Heading out on foot, we grabbed some fresh fruit from a nearby market and walked over towards the Louvre. We wanted to to visit a café that we had heard raving reviews about – Café Le Nemours. Their coffees and muffins were divine and I’m glad we made the effort to go! While sat there, we made a last minute decision to head into the Louvre. I mean, how often are you in Paris?! We booked our tickets online and went straight in.
We’re both fans of museums, particularly Natural History ones, but this is an art museum. While not our usual cup of tea, it was nice to wander round and see the Mona Lisa in person. She was much smaller than I expected and people were queuing to get up close and personal. We weren’t too fussed by queuing, but saw the famous artwork which is another one checked off the list. We spent several hours around the museum, seeing all it had to offer. Then we walked back to the hotel, picked up our bags and got the train to the airport.
A Weekend in Paris
Two days are certainly not enough to see everything this beautiful city has to offer. A weekend in Paris, however, is absolutely worth doing if you’ve got it in the legs to be up and about all day. While we didn’t go anywhere in particular, other than the Louvre, you can have more structure to your visit. Even if you don’t want to make any firm plans, you can still get lost in the streets, soaking up the smells, sounds and tastes. I loved our trip to Paris and would go back again in a heartbeat.