Paris, where history and beauty combined to create one of the world’s most famous destinations. Paris wasn’t originally on my radar, I didn’t think I would be attracted to it’s loud, bustling atmosphere. But by a turn of events, I ended up visiting in
Exactly two years later my Dad, sister, and I took a trip to Europe. We didn’t have a clear itinerary when we landed in Copenhagen which led us to plan our route day-by-day. We took trains to Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Paris, and Amsterdam. There’s so much I want to share from that trip, but today I am going to focus on the time spent in Paris. Enjoy this list of must see’s, Parisian food, and the best gelato.
What to Do
Big Bus Tour
I’m not one to do touristy things, but the Big Bus Tour was one of my favorite experiences in Paris. Thirty-five euros gets you a day of hop-on-hop-off access on a big red bus. You can stop anytime on the route or just sit and soak in the views from an open-top, double-decker bus. This means you don’t have to worry about traveling to and from iconic spots and trust me, it’s a long way to walk. I loved that the audio commentary during the tour explains the history of Paris. It helped me feel connected to the roots of this special city.
Notre Dame
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See the Eiffel Tower
Seeing the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night was such a surreal moment. If you haven’t experienced it yet, definitely add it to your bucket list. In the evening it lights up every hour on the hour until midnight. It only lasts five minutes though, so make sure to take in the view before it disappears.
I love how these photos show the diversity of the Eiffel tower.
Middle Eiffel Tower Photo
Bike along the Seine River
One evening we were walking along the Seine river and decided to rent bikes for a short ride. Riding along the canals turned out to be the perfect scenic view. You can read about Paris’s bike-sharing program here.
Visit the Louvre
Paris is a city of a million stories, told through its people, its monuments, and of course, it’s art. The Musée du Louvre, or the Louvre as it’s more commonly called sits at the heart of the city. The Louvre is home to centuries worth of historical works, paintings, sculptures, antiques, and more. We spend a day exploring it’s grand halls and barely saw a quarter of the museum. You can, and will get lost in its many exhibits. I would suggest visiting early on a weekday, and wearing comfortable shoes.
Love Locks
Love and Paris go hand and hand. This romantic city started a tradition of placing a lock on multiple bridges over the Seine. While I didn’t feel a call to leave a lock, I did admire the ones already left behind. It’s crazy to think how many people have traveled here and stood where I stood.
What to Eat & Drink
Ahh, French food. Buttery goodness usually found in the form of a crepe, croissant, or fresh baguette. My sister and I usually split meals to save a little money, but it wasn’t hard to decide on a dish. Some of my
Cappuccinos
I’m not a coffee drinker, caffeine makes me jittery and anxious. If I have more than one shot of espresso I transform into the energizer bunny. But I SWEAR BY European coffee. Especially cappuccinos, they pair so well with any french bakery item. Stop at any street cafe in Paris and try to prove me wrong.
Crepes & Croque Madame
For breakfast, we would often split an order of mouth-watering Croque Madame. Please do yourself a favor and make this savory breakfast. It is delicious. Crepes were also a standard breakfast. I like mine with fresh cream and berries. Sometimes even with ice-cream. Paris seemed like the right place to eat ice-cream for breakfast.
Cheese and Charcuterie board
My family can get hangry pretty easily, me especially. Therefore it’s super important for us to bring snacks and eat filling meals while traveling to prevent this. One afternoon we were all starting to get a little snippy and couldn’t decide where to eat at three in the afternoon. Finally, we decided on one of the only restaurants open.
Side note: Europeans close most shops and restaurants from 3-5pm to take a little mid-day siesta.
It turned out that this particular restaurant
Gelato
Dare I say the words… Gelato is better than ice-cream. Everyone knows I’m the ice-cream queen. Heck, I literally ate some last night. But in Europe gelato is the way to go.
My favorite flavors are… mint, strawberry, stracciatella, raspberry… the list could go on forever. Now I normally don’t get three scoops like the photos below but Shelby and I were splitting three scoops, which was cheaper than one each. Then disaster struck. I got a little too eager and the top scoop plopped straight onto me. I wasn’t as sad about my dress as I was about the wasted gelato.
Check out my other travel guides for France.
All in all, I recommend strolling around the parks and taking in the views. My favorite memories from Paris are watching the sunset or biking by the riverside.
Have you been to Paris? If so, tell me below where you like to eat, stay, drink coffee, and watch sunsets. I might be returning to Paris sooner than you think.