Paris

This was my second time visiting Paris after a school trip. I definitely wanted to go back  – we all know what school trips are like. So, we treated ourselves for our anniversary to Paris and we absolutely loved it!

Charles De Gaulle Airport

Charles De Gaulle is a popular airport to say the least, used for most trips if you are heading to Disneyland and central Paris. Coming out of Charles de Gaule, was great, it was really easy to navigate around and we got to our transfer on time, and with ease.

Coming back on the other hand, was a completely different story. Stressed doesn’t even cover it! It didn’t help that the transfer came to pick us up from our hotel late, so we had about 20 minutes to get to our flight by the time we got the the airport. The stressful part was when we got into the airport ground, to find out that our terminal was the complete other end, which resulted in us jumping off our bus early, and literally running through the airport. Sweaty much! We ran through about seven terminals, to get to our plane, to find a looooong queue, so we didn’t have to pick up so much speed after all.

Arrondissement

If you didn’t already know, a handy way of choosing the location of your hotel is knowing which arrondissement they are located in. The arrondisements are simply boroughs in the city.

Paris has 20 of them. The numbers work from the centre of Paris and spiral round to the outskirts of the city.

Campanile

We stayed in the hotel chain Campanile, located right next to the Monteparnasses Tower. It’s a simple bed and breakfast hotel, only a three star but it did the job.

We chose this hotel due to how close it was from the station – so we knew wherever we needed to get to, it was easily accessible.

Our room was very basic, we had a lovely double bed room with tea and coffee making facilities, the room had a good air-con system which is always the first thing Rich checks out.

Breakfast was included, although being in France we weren’t too bothered if it was spectacular because again, we we’re in Paris! But as continental breakfasts go, it was pretty good, simple, but definitely filled the gap before exploring the city – tea, coffee, hot chocolate, pastries, cereals, fruit, break, meat and more. Everything you can expect.

Paris Pass

I’ve mentioned these city passes in previous blogs. I really do think they are the way forward, I always check to see if the city I’m visiting has one before I book or buy tickets for anything. The Paris Pass helped so much when we where there.

The pass includes: free entry into the top museums and attraction like the Lourve, Musee d’Orsay and river cruise. Free Paris bus tour and unlimited travel on the metro, RER and buses. Fast track entry into attractions for the likes of the Pompidou. Special offers at shops and restaurants. And then on top of that you get a Paris guidebook, which gives you everything you need to know about Paris, opening times, locations etc. Now they have a Paris Pass App to go with it – which I bet is so handy!

Metro

Known as either Paris Metro or Metropolitain, it’s a brilliant transport system covering all of Paris. The majority of the lines are underground with 303 stations and 16 lines – numbered 1 through to 14, with two extra lines called 3bis and 7bis.

It’s the second busiest metro system in Europe, with Moscow being first, and is tenth busiest in the world.

We loved using the Paris metro, it’s easy to use after a few goes (just to get your head around which lines you need), it’s fast and precise – if you miss it, another one will come in good time.

Hop on, Hop off bus

The Hop on, Hop off bus was included in our Paris Pass, so we definitely made use of this. However, I always would highly recommend jumping on these buses. They don’t cost too much and you can use it to navigate your way around what ever city you are visiting. You will always either have the bus driver, or a tour guide on the bus telling you everything about the city.

It is the perfect way to see a city and be resting your legs. This way of transportation really lets you see how truly amazing Parisian architecture is.

Cruise along the River Seine

As mentioned above, we took advantage of our Paris Pass and took a lovely informative cruise along the seine one evening. It was such a relaxing way to see the sights of Paris, and to give your feet a rest!

The cruise came with headphones so we could learn about everything we passed, including all of the bridges that surround the Notre Dame.

Eiffel Tower

We arrived in Paris late afternoon which meant we had just enough time to have a quick walk around and get our barings of the area. We thought the Eiffel Tower would be great to see at night, especially our first night. We were incredibly lucky as well to make the 10 pm flashing lights on the tower itself. Making it even more beautiful than it already is.

When we first saw the tower, it was pretty busy due to the twinkling lights. We then went back every day whilst in Paris, as it just kept appearing on our route. All times of the day, there are queues to go up, and thousands of people gathered around.

We decided not to go up the tower, mainly because the queues where always so long, but we knew we were going up the Montparnasse Tower, which I personally think gives you a better view of the city – you see the Eiffel Tower from it. There are loads of great viewing platforms throughout of Paris.

Île aux Cygnes

Île aux Cygnes is a small artificial island on the River Seine, located in the 15th arrondissement. We just happened to walk on it, without realising what it was. It has a walkway named L’Allée des Cygnes which translates to ‘Path of Swans’, this walkway is tree lined, so beautiful, as you could imagine.

I was actually amazed at this, it was the first time I had seen anything like this. Have you noticed how there are lots of free-to-use workout stations in public parks now. Well, on this little island, under the bridge, Pont de Grenelle – there is a workout station, that has bicycles and a climbing wall for the public to use. What a great way to use up some space!

Statue of Liberty

The reason we headed towards Île aux Cygnes was because we went to see the replica of The Statue of Liberty. This statue was given to France in 1889 to celebrate the French Revolution – three years after the main statue in New York. The statue has also been turned so it is looking in the same direction as The Statue of Liberty in New York. Super cute!

It is nowhere near the size of the original, standing at 37.9 feet high, just incase you are looking for a mammoth statue.

Arc de Triomphe

I love this building. When you are at the top, you see some incredible views of the city. Being the central point of a major roundabout really puts in perspective of how big this city really is.

If you want to visit the Arc de Triomphe it will cost you 13 Euros per adult, and free for under 18s (included in our Paris Pass). You can also opt for a guided tour that is 20 Euros – it is probably totally worth the money. But we just opted for standard entry so we could go around at our own leisure.

Champs-Élysées

We walked down Champs-Élysées from Arc de Triomphe. And during our visit, the Tour de France was getting ready, so along the road, we saw seats and barriers being placed along the road. We jumped in and our of a couple shops, whilst munching on some fresh goods.

It really is a bit of a hefty walk if you plan on walking the entire length.

The Louvre

We didn’t spend too much time in The Louvre. But with it being the worlds largest art museum we had to visit, and we’ve been to a lot of art museums and Paris is just so big to spend too much time exploring everything.

We popped in, I say popped in, we had to push our way through crowds so we could essentially get a selfie with the Mona Lisa – this wasn’t the greatest experience I’ve been in, everyone was pushing and jumping in each others way to do the same thing.

The museum itself is gorgeous, architecturally its so pleasing to look at from the outside and inside.

Our admission was included on the Paris pass, however if you prebook tickets online reserving a time slot to visit. tickets are 17 Euros for adults and again free for under 18’s, and the museum is open every day apart from Tuesdays.

Tuileries Garden

The Tuileries Garden is located between the Louvre and the Place de la Concord. It is a public space, that we decided to take a little break at to rest our feet and just sit in the sun for a couple of moments.

Notre Dame

The Notre Dame is a pretty exquisite building. It’s beautiful and I love it more because of Disney. At the peak times of the day, as you could imagine, the queues are long. Nevertheless, however long you wait, it’s worth it.

Inside, is beautiful, like most. But it’s thee ‘Notre Dame’, it seems something more special.

The surrounding area of the cathedral is incredible also, you have bridges crossing the River Sienne, and there’s loads of shops and restaurants. We went to one restaurant that was right at the Notre Dame called … wait for it … The Quasimodo. We actually went a few times because the prices were so affordable, and having so much to do in Paris, it seemed to be the right things to do to be in and out, having some great food. I would definitely recommend it.

Shakespeare Book Shop

Close to the Notre Dame, we came across the cutest independent book shop.

We had a browse and a look around inside, it was small, ad cluttered with books from floor to ceiling. It seems to be a very popular shop to visit in Paris, so make sure you can check it out.

Sacre-Coeur

The Sacre-Coeur is a firm favourite building. The building is stunning, but it also has immense views over looking Paris. Like all places of worship in Paris, they are so beautiful, and the architecture is magnificent.

We again, used our Paris pass to gain entry into the Basilica. There is an admission fee for entry into the dome, where you can get amazing 360 views of the city, from higher above.

Montmartre

Montmartre is a little village behind the Sacre-Coeur. It’s another reason to go and visit the Sacre-Coeur. It looks like your typical French village that you would vision on the outskirts of big city’s. Cobbled paths lots of little cafes and restaurants and loads of souvenir shops. If you are wanting to bring yourself some souvenirs for yourself or friends and family, this is the place to come to. It is definitely a lot cheaper to buy things here that it would be at the likes of Champs-Elysees.

There is also daily artisan markets held along the streets, where you can buy some impressive pieces of artwork.

Pompidou

I’m just going to put this out there now, that I’m not exactly the biggest fan of the Pompidou. Not really a fan at all in fact. Modern art certainly isn’t our cup of tea, but when in Paris, you kind of have to visit the Pompidou.

We didn’t spend too long here, just had a little browse, snapped a couple of photos. And happy to say we’ve done it.

Tour Montparnasse

Montparnasse tower was right at our hotel, so we saved this attraction before we wanted to head back to our hotel during sunset.

We got some phenomenal views of the city. I would argue that it is the best place to see Paris from above. Because the tower itself isn’t much to look at. However, from the top of the tower you can see all of the building you want to see like the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur.

During my school trip to Paris in 2010, we visited Montparnasse but in the evening, which gave us some nice views of Paris lights. But I would definitely recommend sunset. It’s so beautiful.

Love Lock Bridge

Of course we had to put a lock on Love Lock bridge – whether it is still there, I don’t know. Because I know a lot has had to be done there from the sheer weight of the locks.

The thought and idea of the locks is so lovely, and as we were visiting Paris for our four year anniversary, so it was a perfect way to celebrate our occasion.

National Museum of Natural History

We love visiting Natural History Museums, they always have a big of everything in them.

This one in particular was a really good one. It was pretty big, and had a similar set up like the likes of the one in New York and London (typical museum vibes). From dinosaurs to aquariums, it had it all.

Technology Museum

We love fitting in museums to our city breaks. Whether its one on the local history, or something totally random that you could probably find in your own home town.

We had such a laugh at the Technology Museum. And again, we wouldn’t have visited if it wasn’t included on our Paris Pass. It was a great way to spend a couple of hours.

It had loads of things to do here that was interaction, reminding me of Wonderworks in Florida.

Moulin Rouge

I just wanted to have a look at the building. It’s pretty unique to look it. So we quickly hopped on the metro to have a look, and you could see it from the exit, at the Blanche metro on line two. 

Madame Tussauds

Included in our Paris Pass was Madame Tussauds. We’ve done a lot of these, but we thought why not, it’s included and it’s here!

I was afraid it would be full of loads of French actors and leaders, loads we wouldn’t have known. It did have some. But the majority was you typical Hollywood actors, similar ones that we had seen in New York and London.

Choco Story

Again, another attraction included on our Paris Pass. Otherwise we would have never done it!

Choco Story is a chocolate themed museums, where you can actually learn to make chocolate for extra. But we learnt about the history of cocoa, watched demonstrations by chocolatiers and tasted some delicious but very, very strong chocolate.

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Slightly different. A bit dark tourism-y. But we always seek out to try and do something unique, Père Lachaise Cemetery was one of them.

The cemetery, that is like no cemetery we’ve been too. Everything was large and well above ground. Here you can find the grave stones of people like Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Chopin and more. We found Oscar Wilde, and it was so big. Then further on our walk, we found Isadora Duncan (A dancer I studied in college). It is the most visited cemetery in the world, and I can kind of see why. It has the celebrity appeal, but the walk is very lovely, the flowers and the trees make it a very tranquil place to visit (and that can be quite relaxing is a busy city).

Hard Rock Cafe Paris

Obviously we came to Hard Rock. We have to, it’s our tradition, it is a way of travelling. I have been to this HRC before, with school – I think I actually convinced the teachers to go…and got them to use my Hard Rock Rewards card too, cheeky!

As usual, yummy food, and exceptional service. It’s quite a nice and small Hard Rock. It’s a long restaurant, with the shop at the front.

Overall

We spent four days in Paris, and oh my did we do some walking. Unlike other cities like Rome that is pretty small. Paris is a vast city, meaning you definitely need to jump on the metro from time to time. And as well as the city being so big, all of the main attractions you want to hit are spaced out, so you are encouraged to see more of the city.

The city as a whole is very beautiful, and you will never have nothing to do. All though, having nothing to do in Paris would be a lovely break away.

Maybe we will try that next time, a chilled break with lots of cafe stops.