Hi hi! ICYMI, I went to Paris! And, it was a dream. I wanted to share our itinerary for the trip and other things I learned along the way with you. Paris was definitely a bucket list spot for me and I’m genuinely over the moon that I was able to finally make the trip in a post-COVID world.
Also, I know a lot of folks are making their European summer a reality and I also have some older travel guide posts for Lisbon, Madrid, and Barcelona from 2019. Feel free to check those out to see what I got up to in those gorgeous cities.
This post is going live at the same time as my Paris vlog — check it out for visuals of everything I talk about below! Okay, let’s get into it!
The Basics: Getting to Paris
Before I dive into our 8 day itinerary, I wanted to get the basics out of the way (think flights, airbnb, neighborhood, activities, etc.) Most transatlantic flights to Europe are “red-eyes” if you’re flying from the East Coast. This was my first international flight alone (!!) and it went very smoothly. I’m a Delta Diva, so I flew out of JFK to CDG on Tuesday night.
TIP: I detest spending near $100 on an uber to JFK and went the public transit route this time around! I highly recommend adding extra time to your commute time and taking the LIRR from Grand Central to Jamaica (20 minutes) and transferring to the AirTrain (10-15 minutes, depending on terminal. It’s easy and will cost you ~$20!
We landed around 9am on Wednesday in France and the airport was relatively quiet! It was easy, breezy making my way through customs and the longest time was spent waiting on my luggage to arrive. This was the first trip that I used an AirTag in my checked luggage and 11/10 would recommend for extra peace of mind.
We took the RER train from Charles de Gaulle to the Gare du Nord train station into Paris proper. It was around 10:30/11am by the time we got into the city. We used the Stasher app to find luggage storage options around the city and ended up going with this one. It was super easy and super secure! We then went in search of coffee and croissants— as one does in Paris!
The Basics: Staying in Paris
Our AirBnb was genuinely in the perfect location. We were looking for a more local Parisian feel that still felt connected to the popular tourist destinations. We stayed in the 11th Arrondissement (neighborhood) near the Bastille. Paris in general is stunning, but my favorite arrondissements were the 3rd(Marais/Place des Vosges), the 6th(St. Germain), and the 1st/7th along the Seine(Jardin des Tuilleries, Musee d’Orsay).
The Basics: Getting Around Paris
The metro system in Paris is super easy especially coming from the subway system in New York City. There are no express/local trains in the main metro system in Paris which I think simplifies it. However, I will say that the individual ride ticket system is not it. I would much rather prefer a card situation like most other public transit systems I’ve dealt with. We went through probably around 2 “booklets” (or around 20 individual ride tickets) on the trip. Also, make sure you hold on to your little tickets when you’re on the train and while exiting. There are sometimes staff that may ask you to show it!
The Basics: Language Barriers
Parlez-vous francais? While I’m super proud of my 175(and counting)-day streak on Duolingo and would recommend brushing up on the native language before any trip, a lot of folks speak English in Paris. Always say “bonjour!” when you enter a shop, and you’ll be just fine! Bonus points for telling shop keepers and servers “bonne journée!” when you leave!
The Basics: Advanced Tickets Needed
Paris is obviously a very popular tourist destination even in mid-May before the real summer holiday begins. I highly recommend booking tickets way way way in advance for anything you really want to check out. Listing and linking the tickets we bought in advance below!
- The Louvre (17€)*
- Sainte Chapelle (11.50€)
- Musee de l’Orangerie (12.50€)
- Musee d’Orsay(16€)
- Eiffel Tower(27€)* – We looked a month out from our trip and all dates were already booked. So definitely buy these way in advance if you want to go up the Eiffel Tower.
- Arc de Triomphe (13€) – we didn’t end prioritizing this! But, was recommended to me a ton.
- The Catacombs (29€) – I had no interest in seeing this to be honest. But, also highly recommended to me!
- Monet’s House and Gardens (11.50€)*
- Versailles (28.50€)
Everything else we played by ear or didn’t offer advanced tickets!
8 Days in Paris
DAY 0 – NYC → PARIS
Tuesday Night
Red Eye to Paris
DAY 1 – PARIS
Wednesday
Our first day in Paris was an acclimation day. It was a little rainy when we(Hannah and I) arrived at Gare du Nord and it’s never fun dragging your luggage across cobblestone streets to begin with, and it’s definitely not a party in the rain.
After storing our luggage at CITY LOCKER, we were on a mission to find a cute cafe for espresso and pastries. We popped into a cafe that was literally right around the corner, Café Tranquille. It was the cutest little shop and the owner/barista was super nice! We went in really strong with our “bonjour!”s and he definitely spoke back to us in very fast French. A win is a win! The coffee was magnificent if you find yourself near Gare du Nord in the future!
We spent an hour walking around the 10th Arrondissement while we were waiting for Chloe and Gretchen to touch down in Paris. We then decided to Uber to our Airbnb before going in search of snacks and sustenance. Gretchen is gluten free so we popped into Biocoop Bastille a very cute organic food store! The rest of us picked up random snacks from Monop’ which is a mini version of the major retailer Monoprix (kind of a European Target or Walmart).
For our first dinner in Paris, we went with crepes! Huge fan. L’Hermine was pretty close to our Airbnb and we decided to try it out. The savory crepe(or gallette, technically I think) was delicious, of course! But for me, it’s dessert crepes all the way. Super delicious!
DAY 2 – PARIS
Thursday
The first full day of Paris had to have set a step record for me. Since we had advanced tickets to Sainte Chapelle for 11:00am and we knew the jet lag would be kicking our butts, the morning was pretty chill. We popped into a boulangerie that was quite literally steps from our Airbnb’s front door. We learned very quickly to have your order ready and figured out before you get in line. On the weekdays, Parisians do not joke about their coffee and croissants.
We walked from the Bastille area to the Île de Cité where Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame are situated. It was about a 20 minute trek. It was a beautiful walk through the 4th arrondissement and along the bank of the Seine. We spent around 30 minutes in Sainte Chapelle which was stunning, but not a must-see in my opinion. For lunch, we ate at LouLou which was gluten-free friendly! It was tasty and very cute!
After lunch, we walked to Le Jardin du Luxembourg. I wish we could have spent some more time here but it started drizzling. Then, we did a walking tour of the Latin Quarter hitting the Pantheon, Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Shakespeare and Company, and Notre Dame.
Thursday Evening
At this point, we were getting tired and in major need of our daily afternoon caffeine. We walked back through the Marais and ended up going to the Carette location on the Place des Vosges. This area was one of my favorites. I loved loved loved the vibes! We got the TikTok famous hot chocolate and whatever pastries were still available at 3pm.
We were all pretty beat after this, and decided to do dinner at Il Quadrifoglio on Canal St. Martin. The pizza and pasta here was very good.
DAY 3 – PARIS
Friday
I was very very excited to visit the Louvre. Again, we made sure to book our tickets in advance. We went for an earlier reservation time to avoid the crowds. You can’t really do that in the Louvre. It’s one of the most famous museums in the world. It is however, massive. So, in the less popular areas, the crowd does dissipate. This was my list of must-sees:
- Cour Marly – Richelieu, Level 0
- Venus de Milo – Sully, Level 0
- La Grande Galerie – Denon, Level 1
- La Galerie d’Apollon – Denon, Level 1
- Winged Victory of Samothrace – Denon, Level 1
For our obligatory afternoon caffeine, I dragged the group to Café Kitsune so that I could get an iced coffee. It was right next to the Palais Royal, so we popped into the garden area. We then walked through Le Jardin de Tuilleries. This was absolutely gorgeous. It had also been raining that morning, so it was a little bit less crowded than I imagine it usually is.
Friday Evening
Hannah grabbed a reservation at Camille in the Marais for a steak frites dinner. And yes, yes yes! 11/10 would recommend. It’s a small restaurant and the pack the tables in quite close, but the steak frites was so good!
DAY 4 – PARIS
Saturday
We didn’t have any defined plans for Saturday morning. I was in charge of securing coffee and pain au chocolat for the group from our local boulangerie. I was very proud of myself because I conducted the entire interaction in French! It felt nice to practice and the lady working in the shop was super nice!
We decided that we wanted to check out Holybelly for a brunch moment. They don’t take reservations, so you’ll have to wait in the line outside. The line went fast! The staff here is mostly Australian, so English speakers will feel right at home here. The pancakes were delicious and the coffee was pretty stellar too!]
We walked back to our Airbnb from Holybelly. I was in search for some good vintage shops, but unfortunately, I didn’t really find any good spots for what I was looking for specifically (90’s style leather goods/bags — think Coach’s most recent resurgence). We walked through the 10th arrondissement and down through the 3rd. I was given a special task from my mom’s co-worker to purchase tea from Mariage Frères. It was a poppin’ tea house and the staff was super kind and helpful.
Saturday Evening
We then had a little bit of a break before our afternoon plans. Han, Chloe, and I wanted some food, so we picked one of the many bistros with outdoor dining for croque monsieurs and people watching. Super cute and pretty affordable.
We purchased advanced tickets to Musee d’Orsay which is in general not my favorite time to go to museums in general because it’s typically more crowded. But, it wasn’t super bad for a Saturday evening! This museum is a repurposed train station converted into an art museum. It is stunning. The top floor is where the magic is in my opinion: loads of impressionist paintings (Monet, Renoir, Degas). I was in art heaven!
I would, in hindsight, still not recommend this time of the day to visit the museum because you’ll be leaving right at dinner time. And, the dining options in this area are lacking(read expensive and not worth that coin). Chloe and I ended up at Liza, a game time find from my map of recommendations (thank y’all). We had no reservation on a Saturday night and the hostess looked at us like we were insane. We were, to be fair. But, she sat us and the food was so good.
It was the first really gorgeous evening that we had in Paris and free time to venture over the Eiffel Tower. So, we took that opportunity! This was one of my favorite sights of the entire trip. You need to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. It’s great! Lots of selfies and videos were taken. We got there right at sunset and stayed until the first sparkle session at 10pm.
DAY 5 – PARIS
Sunday
Sunday was a solo day for me, mostly. I wanted to check out the shops along the Champs-Elysées and Avenue Montaigne and get a close up view of the Arc de Triomphe! I had my eye very closely on the Loewe puzzle bag but the workers were not very helpful?! Missed commission opportunity.
From there, I wasn’t in the mood to buy anything, but I had a great time window shopping. The YSL, Celine, Chloé, Chanel, and Gucci stores on Avenue Montaigne are absolutely gorgeous — would definitely recommend popping into them. I didn’t walk away completely empty handed. I grabbed a few macarons from Pierre Hermé Paris. These were phenomenal! I grabbed some coffee from Noir and then met up with the group at Bateaux Mouches for a boat cruise along the Seine.
This one had very minimal auditory explanation of what you were seeing, which was nice at this point in the trip since we had seen most of it already ourselves. It was nice to just vibe and disassociate. I was tired from my morning of walking and headed back to the Airbnb.
Sunday Evening
Hannah, Chloe, and Gretchen ventured up to Montmartre to see Sacre Couer. I met up with them for a dinner reservation at the very highly requested Pink Mamma. And y’all, oof, I was not a fan. The interiors are gorgeous are great. But, the food was mid. And, there’s nothing I like less than a beautiful restaurant with not as equally good food. I mostly felt bad that I dragged the group here for such a late dinner. Securing reservations is tough and the earliest I could grab was 8:45pm!
Also, it’s right smack dab in the middle of the Red Light District. I think my Uber driver was a bit concerned that he was dropping me off in this area alone which I appreciated. It did take me a little bit by surprise. So, here’s your heads up!
DAY 6 – GIVERNY
Monday
Thank goodness the next day was our Giverny trip. After a let down at dinner the night before, we needed a good activity to change the tide! This was by far one of my favorite parts of the trip. We took a 10am train (around 50 minutes) out to Vernon, the closest town to Giverny. We walked around Vernon for an hour or so and grabbed lunch at a very kitschy American diner restaurant, LOL.
Don’t do this. Go straight from the train station in Vernon to Giverny via the shuttle bus. Giverny is the cutest little village with restaurants and cafes and more sights. We were under the impression that it was just Claude Monet’s Home and Gardens. It’s not! There was plenty more to explore and see.
We purchased tickets in advance to see Claude Monet’s home and gardens. It was stunning and well worth the trip. I wish they had more of an audio tour available. There were a couple placards, but we were mostly just wandering which is nice too! The water lily pond was the star of the show. It was super beautiful and peaceful even with the 100+ French school children shrieking in the distance lol. Gosh, I wish I could have spent all day here. It was so stunning.
After the hose and gardens, we popped into one of the cafes and had a pastry sampler and coffee before we headed back into Paris via shuttle bus and train.
Monday Evening
For dinner, we went into one of the bistros near the Bastille. We were a bit worried that this would be a tourist trap. But, this was a pretty solid meal. I finally got some french onion soup, perfect on that slightly rainy and chilly evening. Also, the NY-style cheesecake was genuinely so good.
DAY 7 – VERSAILLES/PARIS
Tuesday Morning
On Tuesday, Hannah and I ventured on another day trip out of the city to visit the Chateau de Versailles. I definitely recommend visiting Versailles, however, we read after the fact that they don’t recommend you go on Tuesday because a lot of the major museums in Paris are closed on Tuesday. Everyone will inevitably have the same thought and try to go to Versailles as well.
The crowds weren’t that bad! We took the RER train to Versailles from Paris and we got a pretty early ticket time(9:30am) to beat the mid day crowds in the Main Palace (Hall of Mirrors, King’s Rooms, etc.) My favorite part of Versailles were actually the other areas scattered across the grounds. The fountains and landscaping of the gardens was gorgeous. The Trianon Estate, where Marie Antoinette spent a lot of her time allegedly, was probably my favorite building. It had a feminine touch to it and would be the perfect hideaway from court(I imagine). The Grand Trianon was also quite stunning.
We had lunch at one of the restaurants on the grounds, La Petite Venise. The pasta here was very good! I picked up some macarons for my mom at the Ladurée that was in The Palace as a souvenir. Also, I had genuinely the most delicious speculoos(cookie butter) gelato as an afternoon pick me up after exploring The Grounds. 11/10 would recommend.
Tuesday Evening
Versailles is about an hour train ride to and from Paris. When we got back to the city, we were dead. We ended the trip in great symmetry with crepes for dinner. Again, while the savory gallette was tasty, the dessert crepes delivered.
DAY 8 – PARIS → NYC
Á bientôt Paris! Our flights were all late morning/early afternoon so we didn’t have much time to do anything our final morning in Paris. We basically cleaned our Airbnb and packed! I took an Uber to Gare du Nord and then hopped on an RER to Charles de Gaulle. Again, the customs experience was pretty easy and took no time at all. HOWEVER, security here was insane, nuts, -45/10 would not recommend. I was genuinely shocked. Once I made it through this portion, it was all good. Someone also asked to switch seats with me and I unknowingly got in Delta Comfort+ for the 8hr flight!
Once touching down back in NYC, it was absolutely stellar having Global Entry. 110% worth it. My Delta Skymiles American Express Card actually gave me the credit to completely pay for it. So, a win-win scenario!
Final Thoughts
Paris is a beautiful city and it is genuinely one of my favorite places I’ve ever been. There is still so much that I want to see in the city. I can’t wait until I can hatch another plan to visit. My Duolingo streak is still ongoing and I hope to really improve my French for the long haul!! It’s never lost on me that being able to finance travel especially abroad is such a privilege. This trip was truly a dream I’ve had for so long. Absolutely blown away that I was able to make it a reality! Go to Paris! J’adore! Merci beaucoup pour les souvenirs!
until next time,
