Hello everyone,
I hope you are all well. I know it has been ages but I am back again and with a travel post. I don’t do these at all but I felt like it would be nice to look back at where we went to in a few years time. Hope that makes sense!
Anyways, shortly after our London trip, which I know I didn’t document, we booked our Paris trip. I use the Are Lingus app to look for flights all the time because I find that they’re so nice to fly with. I then thought about booking a hotel or apartment with booking.com cause I always find it handy when searching for places and because I have booked with them a lot I get little perks every now and then. (By the way none of this is sponsored! I paid for accommodation, flights etc with my own money).
Actually if you want to book with Booking.com you can use my code and get €15 credit https://www.booking.com/s/11_6/ana95315 (this is still not sponsored!)
Anyways, I got sidetracked there. We found one place on booking.com which is in Versailles. We changed our minds about staying in Versailles because there would be a lot of going back and forth to Paris so we decided to find a place there. I looked on AirBnB this time and found an amazing studio apartment in Trocadero which is ideal when you want to see a lot of Paris! It is just one minute from the Trocadero metro and as you walk to the metro, you can see the Eiffel Tower. It is just on the other side of the river! It is super magical seeing it every time.
The host is Kevin and it was a super easy check in. Now the only thing I will say is that you do have to climb 6 floors to get to the apartment but it honestly didn’t bother us that much. It is also a spiral staircase so bear that in mind!
The place is super clean and has everything you need. We only used it to sleep at night after we were exploring. Also showered, of course. We also did cook two meals in the apartment and everything is provided. There’s a supermarket nearby too. You can check out the listing here
If you want, you can get €30 off your next trip if you book on AirBnB. Just use this link https://www.airbnb.ie/c/anaa498?currency=EUR (This isn’t sponsored etc).
Ok actually lets rewind a bit.. When we got to the Charles de Gaulle Airport we went straight to get metro tickets. Now, I did look online and see what would be good to get and everyone said to get a carnet, which is a pack of 10 metro tickets for €14. We didn’t end up doing that because, we knew we would be getting on the metro a lot! We got a weekly ticket which cost us €27.80 each. This covers any form of public transport. We were then told to get a photo taken and stick it to the area it indicated. We were wondering why and thought we didn’t need to get it. It wasn’t explained properly as we found out the hard way on our last day in Paris! We had to pay a fine of €35 (it was going to be each but we told them that it wasn’t explained to us etc). So anyways, if you are going to get a weekly travel ticket please get a passport photo taken in the Photo Booth at the airport and also sign your name! We asked one of the people at the metro how we get to Trocadero and they explained it to us and it was actually easy to navigate. I actually love the underground! Another little tip I have for you..please download the app Citymapper! It saved us! It has all major city metro maps etc. It helps you get to your destination and it alerts you when you need to get off your stop etc. It is a god send! It saved us when we were in London and also in Paris.
Anyways, our first night we just took it easy and went outside our apartment and walked over to where we could see the Eiffel Tower. We sat down at the Trocadero gardens and just watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle (it sparkles on the hour for five minutes). We went to a Japanese place called Yushi (it was recommended on the fork app) and to be honest it was the worst Japanese food I’ve ever eaten! So don’t eat there! Check out Frog VII. It is a pub and it has nice food! We ate there on our last night.
On our first full day in Paris, we of course, had to have a croissant and coffee for breakfast! Well I did, my partner had brioche and coffee.
I had a croissant and cappuccino. Now it was AMAZING!! I won’t be able to eat another croissant outside of France again! The cappuccino was also really good but I don’t think it was worth €8.70! Yup, it is pricey AF! Anyways, we enjoyed eating like Parisians while watching the world go by in front of us! Definitely recommend doing that as often as you can when you’re there. We had breakfast at Carette three times and it was worth it every time!
We then went exploring the city. We checked out a few places like Place de Concorde, Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees. We climbed up the 280 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and..OH. MY. GOD! It is a gorgeous panoramic view of Paris!
We tried to check out the Louvre but unfortunately it is closed on Tuesdays!
However, we did visit it on our last night and all I wanted to see was the Egyptian side and it was closed in the evenings on Fridays 😦
On Wednesday, we went to Versailles! We would recommend on going early so you have a good part of the day to explore it, Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon and the gardens. We used the Citymapper app to get to Versailles and it honestly was one of the highlights of the trip!
We had the best time there and my partner also thoroughly enjoyed it!
At night then we checked out the Catacombs! It was so surreal to see all those bones underground! It is crazy to know that 6 million Parisians are there.
On Thursday we really saw a lot!! It was a beautiful sunny day and it was kind of mild so it was the perfect time to check out Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, Sacre Cour, Luxembourg Gardens and Berthilon Glacier and Sorbet
I was pleasantly surprised to know that Notre Dame was free to enter but when we went to check out St. Chapelle we had to pay €10/€15 each to get in. It is a smaller church but absolutely beautiful! It has stunning stained windows and it seems like all the original floors etc are still in tact. The colours as well are magnificent!
We had a mulled wine on the steps of Sacre Cour while watching the sun set. I didn’t take a photo of the ice cream but trust me-you have to try it!
We then explored Le Marais and Montmarte which are really cool places to visit! Monmartre is super artsy and Le Marais had really cool shops! Check out The Frankie Shop if you’re ever there!
When it was dinner time we decided to go to a tapas place called Les Apostres and the food was sooooooo good!!! Then we decided to check out the Moulin Rouge! It wasn’t planned at all but it was worth it and you’d only want to check it out once so why not go! It isn’t cheap though! €117 each with a bottle of champagne. One thing which I didn’t like about the show is, is that they had animals on the show on two occasions. That really disappointed me!
The last day, unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to call and I wasn’t able to get out of bed till 2pm! I felt like we missed out a lot cause of that and felt bad for my partner but there’s nothing I could’ve done! It just gives us that urge to want to go back again!
Like I said earlier, on our last night we went to the Louvre and were so fascinated with all the paintings and the sculpture rooms but was disappointed that I couldn’t see the Egyptian side! It was €15 each to get in (I believe it is a reduced rate after 4:30pm).
I honestly thoroughly enjoyed my time in Paris, I didn’t encounter any rude Parisians. I did make sure I learned a few words before going there though! One thing that I wish I had done differently is, research where to eat in advance! It is a little tough to know where you can go that won’t charge you an arm and a leg for food! I also wish I had checked out the markets in the Marais district but anyways! Next time!
So that is my little post on my stay in Paris. I hope you enjoyed and let me know if you plan on visiting anytime soon! I would love to know!
