Now that I’ve shared my post on what I packed for Europe, I can finally start sharing my travel guides! In case you missed it, my husband and I recently spent 3 weeks traveling to France, Spain, and Italy. Since we had already been to Spain and Italy on previous trips, France is definitely the destination that we spent the most time planning for. So first up is my Paris travel guide! I’m so pleased with how our time in Paris turned out. We truly got to see all of the highlights in only a few days. I’m sharing below some helpful tips for getting around, where we stayed, and our daily itinerary.
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Navigating Paris
If you’re not familiar with Paris, the city is broken up into 16 arrondissements or districts. I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with these districts before visiting. I downloaded a map of the Paris arrondissements, and while researching I wrote myself some helpful notes or highlighted places we definitely wanted to visit on the map. This also helped us narrow down which district we wanted to stay in. We also did some research on how to get around while in Paris. Uber is available and we did use that a few times, especially for getting to and from the airport. However, the metro system was easy to navigate with fares much cheaper than Uber. Google Maps is great for telling you exactly which line to get on and how to get to the station.
Where We Stayed
After researching the area, we decided we wanted to stay in the 8th arrondissement near Champs-Élysées. This location had many great hotel options and was centrally located to the main attractions we wanted to visit. We stayed at the CitizenM hotel and absolutely loved it! What drew us to this hotel chain was its high tech features. I have never stayed in a hotel quite like this! Everything in the room could be controlled by the hotel app on your phone, including the TV, temperature, shades, and lighting. The hotel was immaculately clean and the staff was also friendly and willing to offer suggestions of where to eat. On any trip we go on, we always try to ask for local restaurant recommendations to avoid going to tourist traps! The hotel features a rooftop bar, which I’m sure is even more enjoyable in the warmer months.
Day 1:
I’m calling this day 1 even though it was technically only a night! We arrived in Paris around 1 pm after a long day/night of traveling. By the time we arrived to the hotel from the airport, we had just enough time to settle and get ready for our first night in Paris. Even though we were jet lagged, the best thing you can do is stay awake to get accustomed to the new time. We also didn’t want to waste any time in Paris! We had dinner at Le Chat Blanc, which was a recommendation from the receptionist at our hotel. It was a truly local spot and the food was delicious!
After dinner, we headed to a cabaret show! This was definitely something on our bucket list of things to do in Paris. We had a hard time choosing between Moulin Rouge, Lido, and Crazy Horse, which seemed to be the most popular shows. Since all 3 had similar reviews, we ended up going to Lido de Paris because it was within walking distance of our hotel. Of course I can’t compare it to the other shows, but I can tell you that we had a great time! The show lasted even longer than I thought it would and the performances were very entertaining.
Day 2
For our first full day in Paris, we booked tours for two of our must see places – the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum. We booked these ahead of time via Trip Advisor. Before heading to our Eiffel Tower tour, we stopped for breakfast at Le Drugstore Restaurant in Champs-Élysées. This is a well know restaurant in the area. The food was great and the views of the Arc de Triomphe were even better!
Our next stop was to the Eiffel Tower. We booked an 11:00 am tour with access to the summit. I definitely think if you are making a trip to the Eiffel Tower you should experience going all of the way up to the top! You can buy tickets (at a cheaper rate) directly on the Eiffel Tower website. When we were booking our tickets, they were already sold out for our travel dates on the site, so we did book a tour with City Wonders through Trip Advisor. We met up with our tour guide and learned some of the history of the Eiffel Tower before getting the opportunity to explore the tower at our leisure for as long as we liked. Fun fact… When the Eiffel Tower was first built it was painted red! It gets repainted every 7 years and was actually getting painted while we were there.
After exploring the Eiffel Tower, we took an Uber to the Louvre Museum. Home to the famous Mona Lisa, this was another bucket list destination of ours. We booked skip the line tickets via Trip Advisor. We chose not to have a tour guide in order to explore the museum at our own pace. There are many different companies and options when looking for activities on Trip Advisor, but I would just recommend reading some of the most recent reviews before booking. Aside from the Mona Lisa, the Louvre has SO many other types of art to peruse. It was so impressive! We looked around for hours and still didn’t see everything the museum has to offer.
After a day full of sightseeing, we received another recommendation for Le Sens Unique. This was a small restaurant full of locals and the food was amazing! We knew it must be legit when we noticed they didn’t have an English menu like many places do. The staff was accommodating with trying to help us translate and order.
Day 3
On our 3rd day in Paris, we stopped by Starbucks for a quick coffee before enjoying a morning of exploring on our own. We looked over the map the night before so we could plan our day in the most logical order. The first place we stopped by was the Arc of Triomphe. Since it was right by our hotel, we had already seen it a few times in passing. But it’s extremely breathtaking to see it up close. From there, we took a quick metro ride to the 9th arrondissement to view the famous opera house, Palais Garnier. Within walking distance of the opera house was Galeries Lafayette. This is a huge department store that is very popular. We sipped another coffee while admiring the magnificent Christmas tree display.
From here, we took an Uber to the 18th arrondissement. We were very excited to visit this arrondissement (also known as the area of Montmartre) because it’s considered a very charming and romantic area within Paris. This was the furthest point we would visit in Paris, but it still only took about 15 minutes by car. We first visited the Sacré-Cœur, a notable basilica. The basilica is situated at the summit of Montmartre, the highest point in the city. The views surrounding the basilica were breathtaking and you could see many people picnicking and enjoying the view. The cobblestone streets are very charming and there were several small shops in the area to visit. I also recommend stopping by the Wall of Love, a mural containing the phrase “I love you” in every language.
After visiting Montmartre, we made our way back to the 7th arrondissement for our river cruise! We quickly stopped by Rue de l’Université for an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower to take some epic pictures! We then enjoyed a glass of champagne while cruising along the river. It was great to get pictures of the Eiffel Tower at sunset and at night. However, it was extremely cold sitting outside to get the best views, and inside it was a little harder to see all of the sights. It was also hard to hear the information the tour guide was sharing. I’m sure this would be even more enjoyable during the warmer months!
Following the river cruise, we took a metro to the 11th arrondissement. When doing prior research, I read that this location was an up and coming place for trendy restaurants. Our first stop was to Septime Cave for some drinks and appetizers. This was a hole in the wall place and we truly loved it! The staff was friendly and we were able to try orange wine for the first time. Septime Cave is actually an extension of Septime, a popular restaurant that is difficult to get a reservation for. We had planned on visiting another place for dinner but it ended up being very crowded. On our way back we did stop for a beer at Les Cuves de Fauve. It was so fun to see craft breweries in Paris similar to the ones we love at home.
Day 4
Our last day in Paris was another day of exploring on our own. The last places we wanted to visit were surrounding the Latin Quarter, or the 5th arrondissement. We utilized the metro to make our way there, and stopped by Notre Dame and the Pantheon. After that, we took it fairly easy and spent time strolling through many of the Christmas markets lining the streets.
Two of the highlights of our last day in Paris were the exceptional meals we had for lunch and dinner. For lunch, we stopped by Le Chalet St. Michel, a Savoyard fondue restaurant. We had spotted several fondue restaurants during the course of our stay and decided to try one out. Fondue and raclette are very popular in France and we enjoyed the food and experience!
Now let me tell you, dinner was simply phenomenal! We had a difficult time deciding on our last dinner in Paris, but ended up choosing Miss Kô. It’s a modern sushi restaurant that the reviews really sold us on! I would go as far as to say that it was the best sushi I’ve ever had! The decorations and overall vibe of the restaurant were also so fun.
I know this was a lengthy post but we put a lot of work into organizing and planning for this trip and I wanted to share it with you. Aside from a delayed flight and lost luggage, this trip was an absolute dream! I hope you will find this travel guide helpful should your travels lead you to Paris in the future! To see more of my travel guides, click here.
