I won’t lie… Paris had never been on my bucket list. I had never longed to see the Eiffel Tower or prance around the city. I don’t know why. But I hadn’t. I felt like Paris had been talked up a lot and if I was to arrive, then maybe I would be disappointed.
Here’s the truth…
I wasn’t disappointed at all.
On the contrary, I felt like 3 nights here just wasn’t enough!
There’s just so much to do here!
And when you ask people for advice, everyone mentions the various different things that left a mark on them. And all these things are strewn all over the city. Making it a little hard to navigate and choose the things to do.
So when we arrived, we actually kind of winged it a little. We had no activities lined up. And we were overwhelmed with suggestions of what to do. And as the appointed ‘travel planner’ between Nate and I, I was honestly feeling a little stressed. Not fun 🙁
But our time here actually ended up being great!
We stayed at Hotel Gustave (you can read my review here) which was only a 10-15 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower, the River Seine, and Champs de Mars. This was really handy and there were cafes all the way along this walk. So we could eat and sight see easily straight outta the hotel. I recommend to check it out as a good accommodation option for Paris.
The Eiffel Tower really is a sight to behold. I visited 3 times in my 2 days here. And on our last night we sat on the steps, bought a few beers, and watched the sunset around the tower. Once it got dark, we went on the carousel ride and got pics with it all lit up. Super romantic in my opinion haha.
You really do have to see the Eiffel tower both in the day time and in the night when it’s all lit up. They’re two different experiences for sure. Remember the lights twinkle for 5 minutes every hour on the hour, so time it up with that.
After the tower, we headed to one of the cafes not far from the hotel and ordered 6 escargot (snails) and some wine. I think when you’re in Paris, you have to at least try it, right?
I mean I had just tried cow tongue and horse in Vienna (watch it here), so I could do snails! I tried one, and while it’s not something I would do again, it didn’t taste all that bad. There’s a lot of butter and garlic with it that you don’t even taste anything else. It’s more the mental picture of it that makes it hard haha. Wash it down with a glass of red and you’ll be fine 😉
One activity we ended up doing and one that I absolutely recommend, is the 2CV Paris Tour.
It cost 70Euro for the car and guide/driver and the tour goes for 40 minutes. Though our driver, Alex, took us for almost an hour (top man!). Alex was hilarious and definitely made the tour a lot more enjoyable. The car is so cute too, it’s an awesome way to zip around the city and see the main sights. While there wasn’t a whole lot of time to stop and take in each place, it’s a good taster to see the places you would like to go back to and see more of. Kind of like a cruise I guess??
Alex dropped us off right outside the entrance to the Louvre. Here there was a square where a man was busking. He was creating the largest bubbles I’ve ever seen before. It became so mesmerising we spent over half an hour watching him make bubbles. We kept putting money in his bucket so we could stay and watch for longer haha.
We never did make it inside the Louvre after that…
Nothing could compare after those bubbles, so no point setting ourselves up for disappointment!
But seriously, Nate and I find museums boring. And seeing a tiny painting of the Mona Lisa among a thousand other people, really doesn’t rev my engine quite like bubbles do. So we gave it a miss and spent some time around those glass triangle things outside the Louvre instead.
One thing I told myself I did have to do while in Paris, was try Macarons! They look so colourful and delicious so of course it had to be done. We found a Macaron shop and I picked out 3. Two of which were delicious. However one was friggin disgusting and tasted like straight sugar. If you don’t like a really sweet syrup taste, don’t eat a salted caramel macaron. It tastes like a tablespoon of golden syrup. Gross.
Anyways, that’s about the extent of my Paris trip! It may not sound all that eventful, but what we did do turned out to be an absolute ball! There are definitely things I would add on my list for next time such as go back to the Sacre Coeur, and go see the Notre Dame. Maybe go to the Moulin Rouge. But hey, that all gives me a reason to go back someday soon.
Have you experienced Paris or another city in a quirky way? I’m always on the lookout for fun ways to see a new place 🙂
Until next time!
Hannah
14 Comments
Paris has never been on my bucketlist either, but maybe I need to change that!
omg Hannah, I agree so so much! I also went to Paris and winged it with my sister and we left loving the city too!
I used to live in Paris! Glad you found it fun and the 2CV tour must have been great. I agree that you need more than 4 days so you need to go back!
A trip back is needed for sure! That’s so amazing you lived in Paris! I should have come straight to you for advice!
We took our children there for a week in 2015 and did all the touristy things, with lots of other things in between. They adored Paris and so did we. We took them back and stayed near the scare Coeur last year and again lived it but did more everyday stuff. We are mi ing to England end of next year to work and travel more, and look forward to many more trips to Paris and the rest of Europe. Paris has my heart ❤️
Awesome Tammy! Sounds like a fab time- I’m glad your whole fam loved it too 🙂
I went to Paris a few years ago and I hyped it up in my head so much, I was actually disappointed! I only spent 2 days there too though so I definitely need to go back and explore some more!
Oh nooo! But that’s okay too– everyone likes different things and different places. It’s still not number one on my France list, but I agree with those who say its a great city 🙂
Hannah i loved this!! I can´t believe you went to Paris with no expectations! Kudos for that! I´m glad you enjoyed it! It´s a city worth of its fame! I love it. I agree that the day and night experiences of the Eiffel Tower is a must!
Yes Any! Everyone’s travel preferences are different, so you just gotta do it however you wanna do it 🙂
Glad you enjoyed, Paris! I have been there three times and still want to go back to see more! And I love escargot and always have it when I am in Paris 😍😍 I agree on your thoughts about the Louvre – it’s exactly how you thought it would be – crowded, long queues and Mona Lisa is small 😂 But that car tour of yours sounded super fun and I think I would love to try it 😍
Wow 3 times! That’s awesome- you’ll be a Paris pro by now 🙂 For sure do the car tour next time, they’re such cute cars!
Hannah, I love this article and your honesty!! I thought the same about the snails – with the garlic & butter. Did you have frogs legs? They were good too. Yes, I saw the painting & I was disappointed, never imagined how little the Mona Lisa would be! And too packed to get a good photo, the baracade around it – not great..
Thanks Tracey 🙂 I didn’t try frogs legs as I had it in Vietnam a while back- tastes like chicken, right?? lol!