Paris, France
I will say, my trip to Paris was not my favorite. However, this was the first trip itinerary I made and became the pilot for all future trips (I would go back and do a redo). A thing to note is, during this time of year the weather is cold and rainy, which altered our originally planned itinerary. The best part of our trip was seeing the Eiffel Tower light up as the sun set from the top on the Montparnasse Tower. This is an absolute must see and you have go on a night with clear skies. The itinerary below is our altered version to be able to see this and a few other weather changes.
Paris is divided into 20 unique districts called arrondissements, spiraling out from the city center like a snail shell, each with its own charm, vibe, and must-see spots. I tried to lump activities based on their arrondissement. We mostly try to walk to our destinations so if we stumble upon churches or other sites we can pop in.
DETAILS
When — Oct. 26 - Nov. 3, 2018
Where — Paris, France
Highlights — Montparnasse Tower and Versailles
Flights
11/3/2018
10:40am CET — 2:10pm CST: Paris to Chicago
3:50pm CET — 6:37pm EST: Chicago to -Atlanta
10/26/2018
3:25pm — 5:35pm EST: Atlanta to Toronto
7:45pm EST — 8:45am CET (arrived on 10/27/18): Toronto to Paris
Lodging
We opted to rent an AirBnB right off the Champs-Élysées. The Champs-Élysées, often called "the most beautiful avenue in the world," is a dazzling stretch in the heart of Paris, renowned for its luxury shops, theaters, and cafes. Stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to Place de la Concorde, it’s a must-visit for its iconic Parisian charm. Our host Christine was a delight and our studio apartment was the perfect size for two who would be out exploring all day and night.
Currency Conversion (at the time)
1 Euro = $1.17
$1.00 = 0.86 Euro
Schedule
Day 1: 8th arrondissement
11:00am: Arrive at AirBnB — Shower and nap
2:00pm: Lunch at Bagelstein, 8 Av. Carnot, 75017 ( this location has closed since we visited)
3:00pm: Explore the 8th arrondissement — View the Arc de Triomphe, walk down the Champs-Élysées, and end at Pont Alexandre III
6:45pm: Dinner at Relais de l’Entrecôte, 15 Rue Marbeuf, 75008 — Well known for having one option, steak frites. The meal is unlimited servings and comes with a simple salad. There are no reservations and uses a line system. Get there early so you can be one of the first ones in.
Dessert: Ladurée Paris Champs-Elysées, 75 Avenue des Champs-Elysees, 75008 — Flagship boutique and tea room. Go just around the corner down Rue Lincoln to a side door that takes you straight to the back bar. Enjoy champagne and macarons.
Day 2: 1st, 4th, and 12th arrondissement
10:00am: Breakfast at Café de Livres, 10 Rue Saint-Martin, 75004 (now called the La Grande Colette)
11:30am: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, 6 Parvis Notre-Dame - Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 — Skipped the line by pre-booking tickets close to the noon Mass. After touring the cathedrale, walk around the side to Square Jean XXIII , a little park on the side with more exterior views of the cathedrale.
Before entering or when leaving the cathédrale, look for Point Zéro des routes de france on ground. Distances from Paris to all parts of metropolitan France are measured from this bronze star embedded in the paving stones of the vast square in front of Notre Dame
Lunch: Les Deux Palais, 3 Bd du Palais, 75004 — We warmed up with a bowl of creamy vegetable soup and croque-madames.
Sainte-Chapelle, 10 Bd du Palais, 75001 — Ornate 13th Century chapel. Tickets were only 10 Euros and they are open 9am to 5pm. There was no wait to tour when we got there mid-afternoon.
Rue Crémieux — A row of colorful homes in the 12th arrondissement. We walked from lunch which took about 35 minutes, around 2.3 km.
Coulée Verte René-Dumont— Similar to the NYC High Line, this is a footpath along a unused railroad. We walked this until we got hungry for dinner.
Dinner: Regno di Napoli, 5 Rue Michel Chasles, 75012 (no longer in business) — With all the walking, we needed carbs. We had originally planned to eat at a food hall called Ground Control but was not feeling the options. This place was highly rated on Google and honestly some really good Italian food. We got lasagna and rigatoni.
Metro: Gare de Lyon to George V
Dessert: Pierre Hermé, 86 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France
Day 3 : 1st and 3rd arrondissement
Metro: George V to Louvre - Rivoli
10:30am: Musée du Louvre, 75001 — We purchased a time entry for the Lourve, tickets were 17 Euros each. We spent our entire day at the Louvre, having breakfast and lunch at the cafe inside. You can definitely just do the highlights but since this was our only art museum on the trip, we saw every exhibit that came with the base ticket. Highlights: the Mona Lisa and the Great Sphinx.
Walk the Palais- Royal arcades, 75001 — A part of the larger Palace and garden, the arcade has cafes and shops. We shopped around and had some coffee at Café Kitsuné Palais Royal to kill time before dinner.
Walk to Dinner: From the Palais-Royal arcades it was about a 16 minute walk, 1.3 km. We stumbled upon a beautiful church, Église Saint-Eustache, and stopped in.
7:30pm: Dinner at Mobilis in Mobili, 94 Rue St Denis, 75001 (no longer in business) — Customizable fresh seafood platters and dishes. Unfortunately, like several places we went, the pandemic closed this restaurant.
Metro: Rambuteau to George V
Dessert: Pierre Hermé, 86 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 — These became our favorite macarons in Paris so we returned another night. Our favorite was the Infiniment Chocolat Paineiras.
Day 4: 6th arrondissement
Our original plan for this day was to head to the Reims in the Champagne region; however, it was pouring rain this day. We made a quick pivot with AirBnB experiences.
Brunch: Boulangerie Joséphine, 69 Av. Marceau, 75016 ( now Thierry Marx Bakery Marceau)
Walk Champs Elysees to Ponte de Arts — Bridge crossing the Seine, famous for the love locks placed on it. This walk takes you through the 1st and 8th arrondissement.
2:00pm: AirBnB Experience: Crepe class with Mathieu — This was our first experience utilizing AirBnB experiences and we loved it. We signed up for a small cooking class with Saint-Germain-des-Prés. We learned to make a sweet and savory crepe taught by a local and the only other people there was a family of four. We learned we don’t like crepes and it isn’t a common breakfast for the French, more of light occasional snack.
Wander Saint-Germain-des-Prés — After our class we wandered the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. This became our favorite area of Paris and if we go back, we will stay here. We picked up a few boxes of chocolate while we there as the area is known for this. We also stopped to see Les Deux Magots (famous for artists frequenting it), but did not eat there.
Dinner: Ippudo Saint-Germain, 14 Rue Grégoire de Tours, 75006 — Since it was cold and rainy, we craved a hot bowl of ramen.
Day 5: 17th arrondissement
Brunch: Coutume, 47 Rue de Babylone, 75007
1:15pm: Tour Eiffel, Av. Gustave Eiffel, 75007 — We purchased a combined access ticket for 19 Euros each. This ticket grants you access to the top of the tower by climbing the stairs to the second floor then taking the lift up (they don’t tell you there is another lift at the top to get to the very very top). This literally took up the rest of our day with the long lines.
Dinner: Pizza Vesuvio - George V, 25 Rue Quentin Bauchart, 75008 — After all the climbing and waiting, we were tired and headed back to the AirBnB. For dinner we just found a place that had seats available on the Champs Elysees, would not suggest eating here.
Day 6: Versailles and 8th arrondissement
7:00am Breakfast at Pret a Manger, 58 Av. Marceau, 75008
Train: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile to Grande Arche - La Défense to Versailles-Chantiers
9:00am: Château de Versailles, Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, France — We purchased the first timed entry to the palace. The Passport tickets were 20 Euros each and included access the entire estate. It was raining so we didn’t trek through the gardens or walk to the Grand Trianon . We ate lunch at the café directly after touring the palace. We took our time to tour and had lunch about 1:00pm. On our way back to the train, we took time to visit the Gallery of Coaches across the street from the palace. Then headed back to Paris.
Train: Versailles-Chantiers to Gare Montparnasse to Montparnasse - Bienvenüe to Madeleine
Explore Madeleine — We started with a small snack and espresso at Café Madeleine before walking around the area for a few hours to shop and visit Église de la Madeleine.
Dinner: Chez DIEP, 22 Rue de Ponthieu, 75008 (no longer in business)
Day 7: 14th and 18th arrondissement
Breakfast: CAFÉ LATERAL, 4 Av. Mac-Mahon, 75017
Metro: Ternes to Abbesses
Walk around the Montmartre area and stop to the see Le mur des Je T’aime, Square Jehan Rictus, 14 Pl. des Abbesses, 75018 ( the Wall of I Love You ).
11:00am: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, 35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 — Entry is free for the Sacré-Cœur (open 6:00am-10:00pm). We visited during the 11:00 mass. They also offer a free audio guide.
Lunch: Grenouilles, 55 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 — We grabbed raclette cheese sandwiches and hot wine from this snack store. We ate it on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur as it was the first really sunny and warm day.
Walk the Rue des Martyrs — A historic street that takes you from Montmartre to Notre-Dame. We walked this street from the top of the hill and stopped at Maison Arnaud Delmontel, 39 R. des Martyrs, 75009 , to pick up pastries to fly home with. I loaded up on viennoise au chocolat, basically sweet bread with chocolate.
Train: Saint-Georges to George V to drop off pastries in AirBnB
Train: Charles de Gaulle-Étoile to Montparnasse - Bienvenüe
5:00pm: Tour Montparnasse, 33 Av. du Maine, 75015 — If you want the best view of the Eiffel Tower, this is the place to go. You can purchase tickets to the 56th-floor observation deck for panoramic views. It cost us 18 Euros each and they are valid for a year, which is why we were able to move our schedule around to fit this. On a clear night is the best time to go. We arrived half an hour before sunset to be able to get a spot with a direct view of the Eiffel Tower. We stayed until dark, when the tower started to sparkle.
