A few weeks ago, between one thing and another, I decided to try and get away for a short trip. I found a string of open dates on my work calendar and a round-trip ticket to Paris for $470. I jumped on it and let my cousin know about it, too, and she booked the same ticket a couple days later.
I already had an idea of what to do in Paris, but sat down with ye olde Rick Steves to plan each day. I also found this link explaining the arrondissmentes (neighborhoods) of Paris which was helpful. And here is what we did!
Monday
Our Air France flight landed in Paris about 6:00 am. After passport control, we took the RER train and a metro to our hotel in the Marais. This all took awhile, and we arrived around 8:30 am.
Thankfully, our hotel let us check in to our room even though it was so early. We took about a two hour nap and then headed to Korcarz. It was cold out but not bitter and we were bundled up and ready to take on the day. We had a lovely brunch of pasta and hot drinks.
Then we followed a modified version of the historic Paris walk from Rick Steves. We saw Notre Dame, the Deportation Memorial, Seine booksellers, old squares and narrow streets. We were pinching ourselves that we were actually in Paris! The city looks just like it’s supposed to; I’d have known it if I was dropped there. We ended our walk at the Luxembourg Garden and sat for a bit in the sun.
From there, we went to Le Bon Marche, a high-end department store. It was nice to be indoors and I enjoyed browsing baby clothes — Jacadi, Petit Bateau, etc. (while my cousin actually shopped). We were there about an hour and then went to Marceau Café for a bite. Because it was so late in the day (about 3:30) and we were off schedule, we ended up ordering from the “teatime” menu and had pancakes with maple syrup and hot chocolate.
From there, we took the metro back to the Marais and visited the Holocaust Memorial. This free museum is compact and so beautifully done. I highly recommend a visit. My cousin was ready for a rest and headed back to the hotel while I followed the Rick Steves Marais walk. It started at the Place de la Bastille (site of the Bastille, which no longer exists) and led through Place de Vosges and the Pletzl (Jewish neighborhood). Then I went to the Pompidou Center (modern art museum) and bought and activated a 48-hour Paris museum pass. I was in the museum for about an hour.
Finally, I walked to the famed L’As du Fallafel for supper and had a falafel in a pita stuffed with the works. And then it was back to the hotel and bedtime!
Tuesday
We had breakfast at Korcarz, then took the metro to the Orsay Museum (a bucket list item for me!). We spent about two hours there and it was so lovely. I definitely hope I can visit again.
From there we parted ways; my cousin took it a bit easier as she was more jet lagged than I, and I walked to the Rodin Museum. On the way, I stopped at Deyrolle, a lovely shop selling taxidermy(!), which I enjoyed browsing. At the Rodin, I mostly wanted to visit the The Thinker which is in the garden, but also wandered a bit indoors. Both museums were covered by the museum pass. (I should add that both museums truly deserved much more time; this was but a taster!).
I walked from the museum all the way to our lunch spot, The Reserve, stopping to visit Place de la Concorde, Ponte Alexandre, and getting my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. (Probably my biggest surprise of the trip was how head over heels I fell for the Eiffel Tower. It is just captivating in real life). I met up with my cousin for another late lunch, and afterwards because I was in the mood for a croissant but the restaurant was out, we walked to Le XXV and bought the last two croissants in the window. Mmm.
Then, we walked to the Eiffel Tower. Along the way, we got some great views of it and it was just the most I-can’t-believe-we’re-here feeling. We did not go up the tower but enjoyed looking at it from a nearby bench until we were ready for more walking. We followed the Rick Steves walk along Rue Cler, which introduced us to charming Parisian food shops and was one of my favorite parts of our trip.
Then we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe and once we figured out how to reach the arch (via pedestrian tunnel under the traffic), climbed many steps to the top to look out at the Champs-Elysees and city. This was also covered by the museum pass. Then we headed by metro to Safrane for supper and had a wonderful meal!
Wednesday
After breakfast at Korcarz, my cousin went shopping for a bit and I went to the Picasso Museum (covered by the museum pass). I did not spend much time there as it was a bit of a disappointment; the Picasso Museum in Barcelona was one of my favorite places in Spain but I think the Paris one is skippable. Because I was so close to the free Carnavelet Museum (which is a museum of the history of Paris), I stopped by. I wanted to visit the section on the Paris of my imagination – La Belle Époque. After some wandering (the floor plan was a little hard to follow), I found it and enjoyed the gallery of paintings depicting this era in Paris — fancy hats and frilly gowns, café culture, train travel, the opening of the Eiffel Tower…
Then my cousin and I met up at the metro station to visit Montmartre. This neighborhood was a farming village long ago, and it is a lovely and charming place to visit (also very hilly with about a million steps). We followed the Rick Steves walk (but of course). From here we walked to Il Palazzo for lunch (fantastic), followed by the Opera Garnier. I did the audio tour but was admittedly disappointed that the auditorium itself was closed; however, I did get to see the door to Box 5, “the Phantom‘s box.”
After the Opera, my cousin went to Galeries Lafayette and I walked through Place Vendome, stopping by the Ritz Hotel and fancy jewelry shop windows, then wandered through the Tuileries Garden past the Louvre, along the Seine, to Pont Neuf and our boat tour. My cousin met me there. (For Betsy and the Great World fans, Pont Neuf is the bridge where Betsy asks the statue of King Henry IV for advice on how to reconnect with Joe).
We so enjoyed this boat ride. It was a bit cold but seeing the city and bridges lit up was enchanting, and the absolute headliner (and peak moment of the trip for me) was the twinkling Eiffel Tower. It twinkles on the hour for five straight minutes and made me gasp with delight.
Afterwards we took the metro to La Libanaise and had a wonderful dinner.
Thursday
We checked out of the hotel at about 8:30 am and bought treats for home at Murciano and breakfast to go at Korcarz. Finally, we got an Uber to CDG for our flight home.
Trip Notes
MVPs: my sneakers (I walked an average of 12 miles a day!) and beanie (it’s my hat era)
Favorite beverage: hot chocolate at Korcarz
Favorite food item: chicken pastilla at La Libanaise
Surprises: Holocaust Memorial (museum) – this was very special. How in love I fell with the Eiffel Tower (I always thought that Paris was something of a cliché and the Eiffel Tower the cliché on top of the cliché – but both are beautiful).
Favorite walks: Rue Cler, Montmartre
For another trip: Louvre (yes, we decided we did not have time to prioritize this on this trip!), Luxembourg and Tuileries gardens in springtime, audio guide or guided tour at Orsay, walk the Champs-Elysees, visit more specialty shops and markets
After every trip I write that I hope I’ll be back and it’s always true. But Paris – I know I’ll be back.
