Good to Know:
- Transportation: The metro is a great option for transportation--it can get you wherever you want to go!
- The main airport is Charles de Gaulle, and you can get to the city by taking a train to Gare du Nord, the central train station. Pretty easy!
- Beware pick-pockets. Someone tried to offer me help in the metro and then a metro employee scared him off. Be smart and guard your belongings with your life.
- I found this guide to be very helpful!
1:00pm arrival--Gare du Nord and lunch
Lunch near Gare du Nord at one of the many cafes--my sister and I had a croque madame/monsieur, an open faced sandwich with cheese and ham, (madame adds an egg).
2:00pm--Notre Dame, Ponts des Arts bridge, and walking along the Seine
Take the subway to the stop called "Cite," and from there you can walk to see Notre Dame. Walk along the Seine River and you'll see the love lock bridges as well.
3:00pm--Laduree, the Louvre, and the Jardin des Tuileries
Laduree is famous for the macarons, it can be hard to choose just one, (so why limit yourself?)! Next, continue the walk along the Seine and cross over to the Louvre area. This is where you'll find the glass pyramids--take your tourist picture! You can then continue the walk to the Jardin des Tuileries, an outdoor garden. (If you have extra time, it's pretty much a must to see the Louvre).
4:00pm--Angelina Hot Chocolate
THE BEST HOT CHOCOLATE I'VE EVER HAD!!! It's a little pricey, about $8 per person, but it is absolutely 100% worth the money. This is my #1 suggestion for anyone going to Paris.
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| Notre Dame, Angelina Hot Chocolate, Hotel des Invalides, Louvre |
It's a bit of a walk from Angelina to the Eiffel Tower, but you can take a route to walk by Napoleon Bonaparte's building, Hotel des Invalides. There are a lot of museums in there, but we just looked at it from the outside.
En route to the Eiffel Tower, we picked up a cheap bottle of wine and took it with us. It's kind of like Vegas in that you can drink outside, and that's about where the comparisons stop. We sat around on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower and just chatted and drank straight from the bottle. On a nice afternoon, pick up some cheese and crackers and enjoy people watching.
*During a previous visit to Paris, I have waited in line and climbed some ungodly number of stairs to the second tier of the tower, and it is so worth the climb for the incredible view.
7:00pm Dinner
We grabbed dinner at one of the crepe stands and had a delicious cheese and chicken crepe. YUM! And then a sugar butter crepe for dessert. Can't have too many.
9:00 Sparkling Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is lit at night, and it sparkles for a minute or so on the hour. You'll definitely want to be there for that.
Day 2
9:00 am Montmartre and Sacre Coeur
Meredith and I stopped at a bakery to pick up something for breakfast. We continued the walk to Sacre Coeur and ate on the steps. Take some photos, and then walk up the hill to the little artist village behind Sacre Coeur. You could bop around there for a while--into the shops and around the artist square where various people are making art and selling it.
10:30am Moulin Rouge
We walked about 15 minutes to the Moulin Rouge windmill. It was a little underwhelming, but still cool.
11:30am Lunch near Gare du Nord
Another lunch of croque madames, and then we were off to the airport!
Other things I would recommend if you have more time:
- Louvre Museum--see the Mona Lisa
- Musee d'Orsay--awesome museum in an old train station
- Orangerie--Monet's huge wall-length paintings! (This was my favorite museum)
- Arc du Triomphe--I think you can climb to the top for a cool view
- I have never seen this, but I've heard amazing review of Saint-Chapelle for the stained glass
- Day trip to Versailles--easy to get to on a train. I only saw the gardens, but next time I'm there I'm going into the palace.
- River Boat cruise along the Seine
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