Is there anywhere in the world as perfect as Paris? Lmk. From it’s picturesque buildings, flowing river, to the grandeur of the buildings, it’s safe to say that Paris ranks as the most beautiful place I have ever travelled to. I was beyond amazed at how the history has grown with the city and enriched everyday life (that is, until I went to Italy and saw things from B.C. haha) Even still, buildings from the 1400s to 1600s are all over the town’s landscape. I mean, the Louvre? Come on. It’s not even fair.
PARIS DAY ONE
After a quick flight from London Heathrow, we landed at Charles de Gaulle. We quickly made it through customs and were disappointed to find that it would take an hour to pick up our bags from the baggage claim. In a hurry to meet family friends at a friend’s Paris photography show, we were saddened to find how long it took to get out of the airport. Our original plan was to drop our stuff at the hotel and change quickly, heading out the door in less than five minutes. However, once we finally got our bags, we knew we had to change in the airport instead. Our taxi stepped on it and took us to the address we were given, but it was too late. Once we arrived, the show was over 🙁 Deciding to not let this experience dampen our trip to Paris, we headed to our hotel, the Quartier Latin. We LOVED our hotel. The cutest part is how there is an innkeeper sitting at the front desk at all times to let you in. This had me at peace, especially with everything crazy going on in the world right now, including Paris. The room was quaint but clean and charming. Plus, you couldn’t beat the location, in Paris’s beautiful St. Germain area.
Our first night we headed out from the hotel in hopes of getting dinner since it was 10pm. Although, for Parisians, this is a completely normal time to eat dinner. We ate at the Paris Cafe where we enjoyed a lovely meal. On our way there, we found that Notre Dame was a few blocks from our hotel, making us lucky enough to get to see it every single day. There was nothing like the first time I saw it, though. Golden hour lit up the cathedral, showing each and every intricate carving and detail. We walked across one of Paris’s famous bridges to get a better look and it was truly remarkable. Once over the bridge, we were absolutely shocked to run into family friends that we didn’t even know were in Paris. It really is amazing how small of a world it really is. Sitting down to dinner finally, we ordered sparkling wine and delicious food. Although, pro tip, if you are going to Paris and sitting in the cafe seating (facing the street), you and your food will be covered in cigarette smoke. My parents were laughing at how shocked I was by this (eventually, I got used to it). After a lovely stroll on the Seine, we headed to our hotel to get some rest.
I’m wearing:
Rebecca Minkoff Avery Crossbody
Kendra Scott Elisa Gold Pendant Necklace
Romper from T.J.Maxx (old)
Mom’s wearing:
Kendra Scott ‘Lee’ Small Drop Earrings
J.Crew ‘Signet’ Leather Crossbody Bag
Scarlet Floral Ruffle Maxi Dress Loft
PARIS DAY TWO
On our first full day in Paris, we headed out early in the day to get to the Louvre before the lines got too long. I loved seeing the glass modern triangular structure mixed with the gorgeous old structure of the Louvre. I was definitely warned that this might happen, but it was crazy to me how underwhelming the Mona Lisa was. The painting is certainly beautiful and advanced given the time period it was painted in. But the crowds surrounding the painting are shocking. The only thing I can compare it to is pushing through at a concert to try to get closer to the stage. The worst part is that everyone has their phones out and is trying to selfie with Mona. Admittedly, I did the same. I understand that people take pictures with Mona Lisa because they never know if they will be fortunate enough to return to Paris. My theory is that if everyone just put their phones away, we would all get to take the painting in and actually see it in person. As much as we wanted to spend time at the Louvre, my parents warned me that we could spend an entire day in the Louvre. With our limited time, we figured we should take in the big sights at the museum and move on to other destinations. Fun fact: according to Trip Advisor, if you spent 8 hours a day looking at each object in the museum for 60 seconds, it would take you 75 days (!!!) to get through the museum. So we moved on to see the Venus de Milo. Venus was created in 101 B.C., giving me my first really ancient history experience (I’d find out that Rome is on a whole new level). Seeing the statue that inspired so many famous artists was amazing to me. By far my favorite of the “big three”, was the Winged Victory, created in 190 B.C. Though Venus is technically older, I was taken aback by the age of the large statue and the pristine condition of it, despite restorations. Seeing these three important art pieces was something I will never forget. Though I was amazed by all of the art I saw, I was enamored with the architecture and beauty of the physical museum. I really think I could spend days in that museum.
After the Louvre, we walked around the beautiful gardens of the Tuileries. My one regret is that I wished we could’ve spent more time in these gardens. One really funny thing happened here though, and that was goats. Goats were running around in this little ditch in the Tuileries. My dad and I were laughing about the surprising sighting of goats and two Parisian men saw and were also shocked by it. Truly amazing experience, haha. After realizing how much the restaurants in the Tuileries will rip off tourists, we headed to Paul, a little bit outside the Tuileries. As I mentioned in my London post, we LOVE Paul. Picking up Croque Madames and Macaroons, we found these steps to sit and have our “take away” lunch on. “Take away” lunch is very common in Paris as you can consume an amazing meal but experience the beautiful sights while doing so. While sitting on these steps, my dad decided check online where we were. Turns out, one of the most important battles of the French Revolution occurred right in front of the very steps we were sitting on. History is EVERYWHERE in Paris.
Next stop was the Musée de l’Orangerie. This museum was one of the places I was most excited about seeing prior to coming to Paris. Seeing Monet’s Water lilies was high on my bucket list, and they did not disappoint. With 360 degree views of the paintings stretched across the walls of the Orangerie, you can take in every brush stroke. My favorite thing to do was view the paintings up close and seeing the impressionistic art strokes create the landscape from far away. We spent about an hour at the Orangerie, just taking in the beautiful work of Monet.
Our next stop was the Arche de la Défense. Our cab driver was curious as to why we wanted to go here, as it is not really a tourist attraction. Apparently, this building sat abandoned for many years until very recently. Now, the building has been renovated and somewhat revitalized. Upon arrival, a glass elevator shoots you up many stories. Here, we met two of our oldest family friends, at the site of the art show we were supposed to see the previous night. Luckily, the art show was open for the next two months, so while we missed the opening, our friend was still able to show us around her lovely exhibit of her amazing photography. After walking through the gallery with her, we headed to the roof of the Arche. Tourists, listen up! Don’t pay to go up the Eiffel Tower. Go here if you want to see the breathtaking sights of the city of Paris from a bird’s eye view. I loved seeing Paris from this view and would definitely recommend it to anyone.
After the Arche, we headed to one of my favorite places, the Champs-Élysées. Here we saw the Arche de Triomphe and the most amazing shopping area. From Dior, to Prada, Hermés, and more, this area boasts some of the most premiere luxury shopping in the world. While we did not buy anything (because lol), we walked around Louis Vuitton, taking in the beautiful store and location. We walked around a few more stores and headed to, you guessed it, Ladurée. The macaroons were even more amazing than I could have ever imagined. Like, actually life-changing. Now, I understand why Chuck Bass flew to Paris to pick up Ladurée macaroons for Blair Waldorf. Honestly, I get it.
After so many years of imaging it up close, we headed to the Eiffel Tower (!!!). It was even more amazing up close than I could have ever imagined. We picnicked with a bottle of wine and our amazing macaroons while looking up at the Tower. I think this is where I peaked. It was one of those moments where all you can do is take it all in. I will never forget the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, no doubt.
Paris Day Two Outfit:
Brandy Melville Beccah Top (old but available on Poshmark)
H&M Ripped Jeans (I don’t know exact style)
Same Rebecca Minkoff Bag
Same Kendra Scott Necklace
Converse Chuck Taylor All Star High Tops White
Everyday rings from Alibisia (in Tampa) and Etsy
To end our day, we headed to a very French dinner with our friends and a French photography curator, a friend of our friends. The dinner was lovely. We went to Pierrot, which I would highly recommend for authentic French food. Going to dinner in France with a French person proved to be very helpful, as we didn’t have to stumble through the menu like American idiots as we did everywhere else. We enjoyed wine, duck confit, burrata, and more French treats.
PARIS DAY THREE
The next morning we woke up early to head out for a Parisian bike tour. I will admit, I struggled a little bit with this. I am not great at riding a bike and it was at times difficult to maneuver through the streets on a bike for me. My parents loved, loved, loved this experience though and would definitely recommend it. I think this is a great way to get the lay of the land in Paris and see tons of sights you may not have gotten to experience otherwise. We booked our tour through Bike About Paris. My parents have also done their Versailles tour and highly recommend it. Taken from the website, the tour covers: Hotel de Ville, The Marais, Place Des Vosges, The Bastille, The river Seine, Notre Dame, Ile St. Louis/Ile de la Cite, Sainte Chapelle, The Latin Quarter/St. Germain, Pont Neuf, The Louvre Museum, Museé D’orsay, Tuileries Gardens, Les Halles, The Pompidou Centre, and views of the Eiffel Tower on the horizon.
Through booking our bike tour, we received a voucher for a free boat tour on the Seine. We did a river cruise in London and absolutely loved it. This was a great way to see the city from a different angle and light. We were also able to gain knowledge about each of the many bridges of Paris.
After our river cruise, we decided to just walk around Paris and take it all in, on our last day there. We stopped in little shops, walked the bridges, went to Starbucks (lol), and just took in the French experience (except the Starbucks haha). After walking around Paris for a bit, my parents asked my what I wanted most to do on my last night there. I really wanted to just go and sit in front of the Eiffel Tower again. I had enjoyed sitting there the day before so much and just knew I wanted to take in the experience as much as I could before I left Paris. We sat in front of the Eiffel Tower for the next few hours, just enjoying the view, taking it in not knowing when we would return to Paris. After that, we had a lovely dinner (I unfortunately forgot the name of the restaurant) and headed back to the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle up close. Pro tip: it sparkles from 11:00-11:05PM and 12:00-12:05AM. This was one of my favorite sights of the whole trip. Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle is such a surreal experience and it just made me realize how lucky I was to be in Paris.
I’m wearing:
Rebecca Minkoff Avery Crossbody
Kendra Scott Elisa Gold Pendant Necklace
Free People dress (old)
Mom’s wearing:
Really cute romper (not sure where from)
Same Kendra Scott earrings
Necklace from local boutique
Thanks for reading my Paris travel guide! I hope that you are lucky enough to visit Paris and that I will be lucky enough to return someday. A huge thank you to my parents for making the trip of a lifetime possible!
