I spent 15 days exploring Europe, with five of those days dedicated to Paris. I made the most of my time in the city, staying busy and on the go throughout my visit. Here’s a detailed breakdown of my experiences to help you make the most of your time in this incredible city.
Where to stay:
We chose to stay in the Latin Quarter, and I highly recommend this area to anyone visiting Paris. It felt extremely safe and was conveniently located within walking distance of many iconic landmarks, including Notre Dame, the Louvre, Luxembourg Gardens, and the Pantheon.
Our accommodation was at Le Lapin Blanc: https://www.hotel-lapin-blanc.com. I cannot recommend this hotel enough; it truly exceeded my expectations. The staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating, and they all spoke English, which made our stay even more enjoyable. They even were able to give you the best directions to navigate around Paris and where to eat.
What to Do:
- Seine River Cruise– This is a really fun experience that lets you float down the Seine and see the sights of Paris from the water. There are many different tours the one we did was a dinner cruise. If you do a dinner cruise you are able to see the Eiffel tour lite up at night.
- Day trip-There are so many different day trips you can do from Paris: Versiellas, Giverny, Normandy, Disneyland Paris, Mont-Saint-Michel and many more. We went to Versailles and I highly recommend it was the highlight of Paris.
- Explore/ sight seeing– Paris has so many iconic sight that you need to see. My itinerary lets you maxine your time the best you can.
- Walking tour– I recommend using Guruwalk it is an app that allows you to find walking tours in the city. The tours are FREE, you just have to tip the guide.
- Moulin Rouge/Crazy horse– Both of these are Cabaret shows. I didnt have time to squeeze it into the trip but I have heard great things! Moulin Rouge website, Crazy horse website
- Shopping – Paris is one of the top shopping centers in the world! There is so many designer shops to explore such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior and many more. I wanted a Polene bag (I got two :)) but there was about an hour and a half line that I had to wait in so keep that in mind its like that at other stores as well. But If you are a US citizen you can get a VATs tax refund. Big brand items are most of time cheaper in Paris then the US and on top of that you gets a VATs refund. Just make sure you have your passport with you when you go shopping and you can turn you paperwork in at the airport. It is very easy.
- Soccer game/sporting event– While I was in Paris the paraolympics were going on but a lot of the times you can find a soccer game to attend.
- Explore all the amazing restaurants– Paris has some amazing food especially pastries. They were some of my favorite food I had the whole trip.
What to see:
- Versaille– Absolutely a must-visit during your trip! There’s an abundance of sights and activities to experience. The architecture is stunning, and the gardens stretch endlessly, featuring a lovely pond where you can enjoy rowing boats. I highly advise making a reservation for your visit to Versailles, but it’s quite straightforward to do. You can easily take the RER C train to reach the Palace! Versailles website for tickets.
- The Louvre– The biggest museum in the world and the location of the Mona Lisa. I recommend booking tickets in advance and checking out Napoleon apartments. (website)
- Arc de Triomphe– You can ascend to the top for a stunning view of the city, including a fantastic perspective of the Eiffel Tower. The ticket to access the top costs approximately $17.
- Trocadero– This is the area located right in front of the Eiffel tower where you can grab a bottle of wine and enjoy the views.
- Eiffel Tower– This is one of the most iconic sight in Paris! You can reserve tickets to get to the top of tower. You can go to the second floor or the very top of the tower. The tower sparkled a few mins before 10 while we were there and didn’t sparkle earlier then that. website
- Grand/petit Palais– A gorgeous museum that will awhile its guest to visit for free.
- Sacre-coeur– This is a stunning church situated atop a hill, offering breathtaking views of the city. Entry is free, but keep in mind that church services are held on Sundays. The church is open from 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM.
- Place du Tertre– This is looked only a few streets away from the Sacre-coeur and has many cafes and many street artiest and souvenir shops.
- Notre Dame– This famous church is currently going under construction but will be done soon. You can see the church from the outside.
- Catacombs Paris– If you are looking for something different you can check out the catacombs. It is about $10 books 7 days out. It is an underground burial site.
- Panteon – Located in the Latin Quarter. It is about $17, if you dont have a lot of time in Paris I think you can skip this building. It is a very pretty building just not much to see.
- Luxembourg Gardens– When you finally need time to sit and relax, this is the place to go it! The Gardens are amazing and a great place to just chill and enjoy the vibes. There are many chairs located around the garden to use.
Where to eat:
Le consulat– This is a famous French restaurant that is very well known.
Polidor– Our tour guide recommended this to us and says this is her favorite restaurant.
Papilla– A very yummy restaurant that is located in the Latin quarter, walking distance from our hotel with pizza and Italian food.
Creperie elo– walking distance from out hotel and the crepies were to die for! But I think crepies any where in Paris are going to be great.
Cafe Jade– Located in the Latin quarter. I recommend check out this place if you are in the mood for a good dinner.
Bo & Mie– These are the best Croissants I have ever had and they had so many options that all looked amazing.
Itinerary:
Day 1:
- Landed in Paris, went through customs and got a taxi. You can follow the signs in the airport to the taxi. There are multiple lined up and there is a set price to get you into the city. It cost about $65 to get into the city. It took us over an hour to drive into the city so just keep that in mind when planning any excursions.
- Then we did a walking tour that showed us: Place Saint-Michel, Norte Dame Cathedral, Cite island, Saint Michel Bridge, Place Dauphine, Equestrian Status of Henri IV, New bridge, Louvre Museum Pyramid, and Tuileries Garden.
- Then we came back to the hotel and eat at Papilla (Italian really yummy)
Day 2:
- Woke up ate at: Creperie elo.
- Took the RER C. All the way to verisalle super easy!
- Stayed at Versailles all day! There is rowing boats behind versialle that you can rent.
- Took the RER C back to the hotel.
- We went and got dinner at Cafe Jade which is located in the Latin quarter.
- Then walked to the Louvre to see the pyramids light up at night. The olympic torch is located right across from the Louvre. I am unsure how long they will keep the torch lite but it is a must see at night!
Day3:
- The next day we woke up and did the Louvre. You can spend the whole day here. I recommend trying to see the Moulin Lisa first and then explore everything else after. This is always a very long line to see her.
- Then shopping and going through the luxury shopping area.
- Finally walking up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to find the amazing views of the city.
- Went to a sport eventing to end the night.
Day 4:
- Woke up and took the metro to see Sacre-coeur.
- Walk to the Mouline Rouge from the Sacre-coeur and Place du Tertre.
- Then took the metro to Pantheon
- Enjoy some times to relax at the Luxembourg Gardens.
- Finally went to see the Eiffel Tower.
- Had dinner on the Seine river cruise.
- Finally ending the night watching the Eiffel tower sparkle a few mins before 10!
What to Know:
- Book things in advance! This is very helpful for a lot of the biggest attractions. You don’t want to waste all your time just standing in line.
- Try to take walking tours the first day you are in the city. It lets you see what’s around you so that you have a better understand of where to go. Guruwalk app is my go to.
- The locals were exactly very nice to us but always remember to be respectful and learning a little French is helpful but almost everyone we spoke English.
- Have a plan on what you want to see it makes the trip flow much easier.
- When splitting expenses with your friends or family I recommend the splitwise app its free and very easy to use.
Transportation:
- You can use the metro, bus, uber or taxi to get you around the city. The metro or bus is going to be the cheapest out of all these options. The Metro is very easy once you get use to it I like to use Apple Maps (I know hot take) or citymapper app. Just type in the destination it will tell you which metro number to use and then it will tell you which way to go on the metro line baseline on the next destination the GPS tells you to go
Up to the Sky 
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