We had an AWESOME 3-day weekend in Paris! The weather was
near perfect and we got to see SO much. Here’s everything about our trip along
with a few tips and tricks if you’re planning to go yourself.
Logistics
We took the train from Geneva to Paris. The train was the
best transportation option for us for a couple different reasons: (i) it’s
pretty cheap, and (ii) apparently Charles de Gaulle airport is pretty far
outside of the city center, while the train station is in the middle of it. By
the time you go through airport security and get a taxi or something to the middle
of the city, we’ve heard that the train is actually faster than flying (the
train ride is a little over 3 hours).
What we did not previously know about the train – people are
loud and obnoxious. You know how on an airplane there’s a general understanding
that you should be quiet? I’m not sure what makes a train different than an
airplane, but this is not the case on a train (at least not this train). The
ride to Paris was a long one. BUT, we learned our lesson for the way back and had
a movie to watch with our headphones, and it was much better. PRO-TIP: Not all
trains have WIFI (ours didn’t). Make sure you download anything you might want
to watch before you get on the train.
We stayed at the Hotel Ares Eiffel: http://ares-paris-hotel.com/en/index.html
It was beautiful, very comfortable, and super close to the Eiffel Tower. We
didn’t spend much time at the hotel and didn’t eat any meals there, so I don’t
really have much else to say about it, but we were happy with our choice.
We traveled by metro pretty much the whole weekend, and I
highly recommend it. It’s incredibly cheap (EUR 1.80 per trip per person), and
we found it pretty easy to navigate. We also took an Uber one night to dinner,
which was EUR 20 for about a 25 minute ride. We had heard from friends that
cabs were too expensive, so we didn’t even try it.
Day 1
We started the day with a city bike tour with Fat Tire http://paris.fattirebiketours.com/tours/paris-day-bike-tour
. This ended up being our favorite activity of the entire weekend. It’s a great
way to see the city and get a feel for all of the major landmarks, and our tour
guide was very knowledgeable. Highly, highly recommend it!
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| Last stop on the bike tour |
After the bike tour,
we wandered over to Notre Dame and got the absolute best ice cream I’ve ever
put in my mouth. http://www.berthillon.fr/
I’m not exaggerating. Do it.
For dinner, we went to a very nice French steakhouse http://sacreefleur.e-monsite.com/
We had reservations, but it looked like they turned away pretty much everyone
who tried to walk in without one. The restaurant is very close to the
Sacre-Coeur, a Roman Catholic church and basilica. It’s stunningly beautiful,
and it’s situated at the highest point in the city, so you get a great view as
well.
Day 2
After wandering around a bit in the morning, we took a lunch
cruise down the Seine with this company: http://www.calife.com/english/Croisiere/Diner_croisiere.html
. It was very relaxing and the food was great. It was about 2.5 hours long
though, so just make sure that you want to spend a good part of your day on the
boat.
After lunch, we walked up and down Champs-Elysses and window-shopped. We
tried the macarons at Laduree, and on the recommendation of one of my
coworkers, also tried the macarons at Pierre Herme http://www.pierreherme.com/ . Both
delicious, but I think we actually liked the Pierre Herme macarons more.
We went to part of the evening mass at Notre Dame, which was
interesting but a little strange to us- aside from the service being in French
(obviously), they don’t close the cathedral to tourists during the service. So
while the priest is talking, choir singing, etc., there are tourists milling
around the chapels on the sides and snapping photos.
Day 3
We got to the Eiffel Tower around 9:30 am and waited
about 20 minutes in line for tickets. PRO-TIP: If you’re physically able, take
the stairs rather than the elevator. There are separate lines for elevator and
stairs tickets, and the elevator line was CRAZY long. It’s 669 steps up to the
second floor – you’ll feel the burn, but it’s completely doable. PRO-TIP: There
are young gypsy women walking all around the Eiffel Tower, holding papers and
asking if you speak English. Ignore them. They’ll ask you to sign their “petition”
and then charge you EUR 20 for doing so. We had previously been warned of this
so didn’t make the mistake ourselves, but we were approached several times.
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| View from the first floor |
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| An accurate pictoral representation of my marriage - orange/carrot/ginger juice for Andy, a Pimm's cup for me |
After lunch, we went to Eglise du Dome and the Musee de
l’Armee. This is where Napoleon is buried, and the museum is all about the
entire military history of France. I was done after about 1.5 hours, but Andy probably
could have stayed in there all day.
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| Napoleon's tomb - apparently he's inside 7 different caskets in there |
General tips
- Don’t plan all your meals. We really enjoyed having a couple reservations but also had the opportunity to wander around and find a café that looked good to us.
- Eat all of the pastries. All of them. Croissants just taste different in Paris…and by different I mean heavenly.
- Wear comfortable shoes. Even when you’re taking the metro, there’s quite a bit of walking involved.
