A Weekend In Paris

There is SO much to do and see in Paris a weekend is just not enough! This city of romance has everything from great cuisine, interesting history, iconic sights, romantic strolls and more. Here is our bucketlist if you’ve got just one weekend to explore the city (but we will definitely be returning as it’s so close to home….)

Eiffel Tower

The first thing you think of when you think of Paris, and we would recommend visiting it during the day and night day! You can spot the tower from many places in the city, but for the best photos head to Trocadero and walk your way down the steps until you reach the tower close up!

We took our experience one step further and had lunch at the tower’s Michelin star restaurant Le Jules Verne – we were lucky enough to get a window view table and opted for the 7-course tasting menu! Great service, food and views! They also let you walk around the viewing platform, and take their private lift up and down so you don’t need to wait for ages in the tourist queues!

Louvre Museum

This ex-royal palace is now home to The Mona Lisa and iconic pyramids – if you want to visit buy your tickets in advance! When you finally get your 2-minute chance to see Lisa, watch the tourists as well as the painting – their look of disappointment when you realise how small she is compared the other paintings. And how they queued 45 minutes for a 1 minute time slot. It’s hilariously brilliant and of course it had to be on our bucketlist – I wouldn’t change anything! Also if you have time head to the rooftop terrace for some great views of the Pyramids!

Tuileries Garden

Once you’ve seen good ol Lisa, the surrounding and calming gardens of The Louvre are a must! They put you in an holiday mode straight away with gardens, sculptures, fountains and a funfair – a great place to take a break with an ice-cream!

Place de la Concorde, Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomophe

If you continue walking from the gardens, you will hit Place de la Concorde where you will see the Obelisk of Luxor with fountains on either side (where they filmed parts of devil where’s prada!). From here you can walk down one of Paris’ main shopping street which has a good mix of luxury and high street stuff. We didn’t buy anything apart from an avo on toast! 😂 Keep walking until you hit Arc de Triomphe – the monument which honours the people that fought and died during the French Revolution (an important part of the french history and culture!)

Walk down the River Seine and the bridges

Take a romantic stroll down the River Seine, stopping at many of the famous bridges along the way! Unfortunately the famous love lock bridge doesn’t exist anymore (the bridge does but it’s officially legally to lock a lock on it because it got too heavy!) Don’t forget to take more pics of the Eiffel Tower from different angles and stop at some street vendors selling cute Parisian souvenirs!

Along the way you will also see the tunnel where Lady D had her car accident – there is a lovely tribute to her although apparently the pictures are becoming less and less with newer generations.

Sacre-Coeur

Head to this Roman Cathedral for amazing views of the city! While you’re there, explore the surrounding region and roam the streets of Montmarte.

Moulin Rouge Show

No photos allowed for this one! An interesting X-Rated experience of ladies doing the cancan!

Food glorious food

Okay so we’ve already mentioned the lush Eiffel Tower dinner but there is so much less glamorous but equally amazing food you have to try! For me the highlights where French cheese, wine and pastries!

Art and Culture

There is so much history, art and culture associated with Paris and so many museums or theatres to choose from! I went to a random (but quite funny) comedy/magic show called Pierric, Man Framed on White!

Shopping

Last but not least, Paris for many is considered the fashion capital of the world! There are shops at every corner but I personally liked checking out Galeries Lafayette – mostly because of it’s luxury interior, the rooftop terrace with vegetarian restaurant and views of the Eiffel Tower!

And that’s a wrap Paris! Thanks for a wonderful Anniversary weekend! Here is some extra reading if you’re bored…

Did you know….

1. During the French Revolution, The King tried to escape Paris. He got pretty far but got caught by a hotel owner when he tried to pay the bill. The hotel order recognised his face on the back of the gold coins!

2. There is a language centre dedicated to ensuring the French avoid using English words. They have tried (and failed) to ban the words hashtag, selfie stick and email!

3. Notredamn nearly got destroyed back in the day. The only reason it didn’t is because the author of Les Mis wrote a book about it – that was later called The hunchback of notedamn! Unfortunately it’s now closed after the fire and you can’t get too close at all

4. When the Eiffel Tower was first built it was hugely criticised and asked to be removed from the public. Knowing this makes you take a real close look at the colour, style and material – we asked ourselves if we like it because we’re used to it or because it’s actually nice. I personally quite like it!

5. Why is the Mona Lisa famous? It’s nothing to do with her (because we don’t really no who she is), it’s not her smile and it’s not her lips. It’s because the painting got stolen by an Italian who wanted to take the painting back to Leonardo da Vinci’s home town. This story went viral back in the day (newspapers) and people queued to see the empty space in the gallery where she got stolen from. Now she’s back, people are still intrigued…