*Pentru varianta în limba română, apasă AICI!
As I said in my previous blog about My hotel experience at citizenM Paris, the end of May came with a lovely surprise. Our short getaway in Amsterdam, also gave us the opportunity to visit Paris for 24 hours.
What I didn’t manage to tell you is that besides being our first time in Paris together, it was also my boyfriend’s first time in the city of love and his birthday. I was so happy to share Paris with him, even just for one day and be his guide in this romantic escape.
Since we had to check all of Paris highlights in so little time, I guess this short guide will come in handy for everyone who has the capital of France on the list.
– As you already know from the previous blog, we stayed at citizenM Paris Gare de Lyon so this is where our adventure started. Since the metro station was just 3 minutes away by foot, we decided to use this means of transportation which is also the fastest and went straight to Champ de Mars to see the one and only Tour Eiffel. I know this may sound old fashioned, but I still believe you cannot say you have been to Paris if you didn’t visit the Eiffel Tower;
– While we were walking around the Eiffel Tower, it started to rain and completely ruined our plans. Weather in Paris is always moody and I felt that best in my first Paris trip back in 2006, if I recall correctly, when I visited in July and only packed light summer clothes. I ended up buying autumn clothes because I was freezing and the rain was messing my plans;
– Luckily, this time, rain was kind enough to let us take some good pictures with the Seine and Eiffel Tower so our evening was not a fiasco 🙂
– Because it was my boyfriend’s birthday and we needed to celebrate in style, we decided to go earlier to the restaurant I have booked for dinner as a surprise for him. I chose Maison Blanche on Avenue Montaigne for the beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower that it offers. Rain continued to mess with our plans and we couldn’t stay on the panoramic terrace, but the staff at Maison Blanche offered us the table with the best view;
– I just want to say I am so happy with the choice I made for dinner because food was absolutely delicious even though Paris may be tricky at this chapter. You can pay lots of money and still stop at the first fast food on your way to the hotel 🙂 But this was not the case since we were both happy with our dinner. We started with my favorite, the classical foie gras, and for the main course I got the beef and my boyfriend lamb chops. For drinks, of course, we tasted a red dry wine from Bordeaux;
– With a big smile on our faces, we decided to take advantage that the rain stopped and took a night stroll on Champs Elysées, just minutes away from Maison Blanche. I love the smell of rain and the city was so peaceful and quiet at that hour. We ended our walk at Arc de Triomphe and headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep;
– When we arrived to the hotel, we got to see the Eiffel Tower’s lights show one last time directly from our bed. Could the night end more magical?
– After a few hours of sleep and a delicious breakfast at citizenM Paris Gare de Lyon, we were ready to hit the city again. We only had around 4-5 hours at our disposal so we made the most of it;
– We decided to visit Champs Elysées by day as well and made our way to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower again with better weather than the first time;
– We walked on the beautiful Avenue Kleber where you can find so many chic French cafés that I love. I would have stopped at each of them just to relax and enjoy the Parisian vibes, but time didn’t allow us to do that;
– We decided to stop for the mandatory coffee and croissants at Café de Trocadero and I loved my yummy flaky butter croissant. They also have some delicious fresh juices that you should try if you ever go there. I went for the green one with spinach, cucumber, lime, lemon, kale and apple, as I remember, and it was perfect for a morning energy boost. I must say that service is not the best at this café, but this is Paris and I am use to it, you rarely find decent service at touristic cafés;
– The best view in town of the Eiffel Tower is definitely from Trocadero and we managed to take some perfect shots and also took some moments to enjoy this amazing panorama;
– We continued our walk by the Seine and decided to have one more stop on our way to the hotel – Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris. We didn’t manage to visit it on the inside because it was extremely crowded, but we promised to come back together and explore some more.
This was our 24 hours escape in Paris, but before finishing the post, I need to add some mandatory places to visit if you have more time at your disposal. I will also show you some pictures from my previous trips to Paris.
– One of my favorite places in town – Montmartre where you can find the beautiful Sacre Coeur Cathedral and many traditional French restaurants.
PS: here I ate the best duck ever, but unfortunately I don’t recall the name of the little restaurant to recommend it to you;
– Jardin de Tuileries – probably the most beautiful park in Paris along with Jardin du Luxembourg. The first one is situated between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, where Champs Elysées begins;
– Louvre Museum – You cannot leave Paris without paying a visit to the famous Mona Lisa of Leonardo da Vinci;
– Saint Germain des Prés, also known as the artists’ quarter, is a great place for having breakfast in the weekend and enjoy the boheme atmosphere of Paris. I recommend choosing the legendary Café de Flore;
– You have to walk across one of the many bridges over the Seine from which I mention Pont de l’Alma, Pont des Arts, Pont Neuf and Pont Alexandre III;
! Local tips:
– If you are a fan of sweets, there is no better place to be than Ladurée Champs Elysées where you can taste the most delicious macaroons ever! I also recommend trying a hot tea because you have a large variety to choose from;
– If you are sushi lover, you will be happy in Paris since you can find so many delicious Japanese restaurants at good prices as well;
– I need to add the fact that I do not recommend climbing the Eiffel Tower if you don’t have much time at your disposal. In my opinion, the best views of Paris have the tour included 🙂 If you still want to do this, don’t forget to buy tickets in advance, online, in order to avoid the unbearable queues;
That’s all for today, but I am planning to write a new article about Amsterdam this week, so be sure to Subscribe and be the first to receive it on your e-mail!
PS: I am wearing sunglasses from Jadu, watch from Daniel Wellington, yellow suit from Zara, straw bag from H&M.
Have a great week,
Blonde around the World ❤
