I can't believe it's been over a month since the last time I wrote a blog post! Work has been busy, I've been out of town, and the semester started so any free time I've had has been spent hitting the books! Thankfully, I have a snow day today and it's the perfect opportunity to curl up in my pajamas with a cup of coffee and catch up on the blogging world!
If you follow me on the 'gram, you know I just spent the past week in Paris with my boyfriend. It was a surprise trip that he gifted me for Christmas/my birthday back in December and I'm so so so grateful and have made it my mission to try and top that gift haha!
Anyways, I wanted to write a post rounding up our whole trip including restaurants, sights, places to say, and fun outings we did! At first, I was planning on breaking it down day by day but that was kind of boring to read and I feel like splitting it up into categories makes it easier to read. So get comfy because here we go...
Restaurants
This is where most of our vacation money goes (besides airfare, of course) because we love trying different food and wanted to see the best that Paris had to offer. Here were some of our faves:
Le chalet du 8eme
We ate here the first night and loved the cozy casual vibe of the restaurant. It's mainly a creperie but we both ordered the pasta dish and it was delicious! We split an amazing Nutella and banana crepe for dessert. I would definitely recommend this as an easy dinner after a day of sightseeing when you're tired and don't feel like getting too dressed up for dinner.
La Coupole
Our second night in Paris, we had dinner here and I loved it but W wasn't really feeling it. We started with the French onion soup (so delicious) and I had the grilled rib steak with fries and he had lobster ravioli. I would recommend getting a reservation here because, even though it wasn't very busy when we got there, it really picked up not long after. This restaurant is a little fancier than the one above but still relatively casual.
Aux Cerises
We grabbed lunch here on a whim after walking around the Eiffel Tower and I was so glad we did! I started with the carrot soup and ordered a club sandwich that was delicious! Bonus points because the sandwich comes with the crust cut off (I'm 5 years old apparently) plus the staff was very friendly and I loved how cute the setting was.
Bateau Le Calife
Hands-down best money we spent, no question about it. We went on this dinner cruise on Valentine's Day and, no joke, it was perfect. The menu is fixed and each course was paired with a complementary glass of wine. It was cozy and romantic and floating by the Eiffel Tower at night while it sparkled was the highlight of our trip. Obviously Valentine's Day was mostly couples, but it would be perfect for a nice family dinner. It's definitely on the pricier side but it was worth every euro.
http://calife.com/
Le Procope
We randomly chose this place on the last night of our trip and I'm so glad we did! Le Procope is a classic French restaurant founded in 1686 (the first and oldest cafe). The food was delicious - we started with the ravioli and I had the chicken casserole and W had the hangar steak. Many historic figures like Napolean and Benjamin Franklin have dined at this place and there are little plaques on the booth with names of famous people who have sat there - I sat in the same seat that the philosopher Diderot sat in when he ate there. It was the perfect last meal in Paris!
Cafes
Paris is known for its quaint little cafes where you can grab coffee and a croissant in the morning, or hang out at happy hour in the evening. We went to at least one a day and while they were all pretty much the same, there was one that stood out to us in particular.
Cafe du Trocadero
We ended up here one morning because it was the meeting point for our photographer (the most extra thing we did - see more below) and decided we might as well get there early and enjoy breakfast! We had a delicious spread of classic French breakfast staples and coffee while we sat by the window and watched people on their way to work and, more importantly, saw dogs going on a walk (three Shiba Inu's. THREE.)
Sights
Eiffel Tower
I mean, duh. I definitely recommend going all the way up to the summit - the views are unbeatable AND you can get a glass of champagne while you're up there.
Palace of Versailles
This was about an hour train ride outside the city and was so cool to see in person! Everything is really ornate and there's so much history. We bought skip-the-line tickets and it was 100% worth it since the line was pretty long and it was cold outside. The audio guide was super informative and let us check the palace out at our own pace.
Musee d'Orsay
I'm not a big museum fan but W really wanted to check this place out and see his favorite painting by Manet (NOT to be confused with Monet, as he reminded me approximately two million times). I enjoyed this but it wasn't my favorite thing we did, probably because I was still pretty jet lagged and could barely keep my eyes open. My biggest takeaway from this was that I would definitely recommend getting the skip-the-line ticket for this museum. We showed up about two hours after the museum opened and there wasn't even an organized line - it was basically a giant crowd around the doors with no order to anything, aka a clusterf*ck. We probably "waited" for almost an hour, which wasn't bad but we had no idea how long the line even was. If you're planning on going here, just get your ticket ahead of time and avoid the stress.
The Louvre
Another Paris staple and even though, like I said, I don't love museums, I thoroughly enjoyed this one! We saw famous works like the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Liberty Leading the People. We purchased a 1000 piece puzzle as a souvenir for my family because we love puzzles - so fun. They also have a really cute little cafe inside where we grabbed some pastries and coffee. A must-see in Paris! Again, we learned our lesson at Musee d'Orsay and made sure to buy our tickets ahead of time so there was no wait.
The Catacombs
If you're gonna buy a skip-the-line ticket for one thing, make it this attraction. Because you have to go underground to walk through the tunnels, they only let 200 people in at once so the line outside can get really backed up. We still had to wait about 15 minutes but it was nothing compared to the line that was quickly wrapping around the block. It's a quick tour and again, I recommend the audio guide. It's pretty eery but so interesting.
Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and Sacre Coeur Basilica
I decided to group these ones together since they're all pretty similar as far as the experience goes. The only one we actually went inside of was Sacre Coeur and it was so beautiful! I got my grandma a really pretty rosary from there as a souvenir and the nuns running the gift shop were very sweet. We checked out the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame at nighttime and even then, they were stunning! We didn't get around to going inside of them but it wasn't really a priority for us.
Airbnb Experiences
We kind of stumbled upon these when we were booking our Airbnb stay and they turned out to be highlights of our trip!
Pose in Paris with a Photographer
I was actually shocked by how easy it was to convince W that we should do this but it was probably our favorite part of the trip. Basically, we got all dressed up one morning and met a professional photographer, Ludmilla, at the Trocadero and spent an hour having our pictures taken at different spots in front of the Eiffel Tower. Ludmilla was amazing - so friendly and talented. After she's done compiling all of the photos, she'll be sending them to us within the next month. I'm confident that she did a perfect job and I'll be sharing them on here as soon as I can. It also made for a great memento of our trip together since it was hard for us to get many pictures together that weren't selfies. I can't wait to see them!
Wine + Cheese Pairing Party in le Marais
This was also super fun! We met a group of about six other people at a wine cave in le Marais and the wine shop owner and our guide taught us all about different kinds of cheeses and wines while we sampled them and got to know other people in the group. It was all people our age so it was fun to chat and exchange recommendations for other sites and restaurants in Paris. The wine was amazing and so were all the cheeses and our hosts were very knowledgable and friendly!
Where we stayed
Paris Marriott Champs Elysees
We only stayed here for the first night because it was expensive but it was such a luxury experience and the staff could not have been more helpful. Our room had a terrace that opened up to the Champs Elysees and it was just gorgeous. If you're looking for a luxury place to stay, I highly recommend this hotel.
Airbnb in the 14th Arrondissement
We stayed at this cute little studio apartment for the rest of our trip and loved it. Our host was friendly, the space was clean, and just the right size for the two of us. Also the price was very affordable and was just around the corner from the Metro and a lot of shops and restaurants. We loved this place and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a cost-friendly place to stay that's still a good value!
Well, that's it from me! Thank you so much for reading and if you have any of your own recommendations for Paris, drop a comment below so other readers can see it too!
XO,
Katie
No comments
Leave a comment here!