Confession, this post should be titled, All the Pics Ashlee Took of the Eiffel Tower … But, seriously.  As I was putting this post together for y’all I realized that I didn’t take that many photos in Paris!  I think this actually might be the case for a couple of other cities that we visited as well because, I suppose, we were just taking it all in!  So to fill the void, I strung together a few of my Insta Stories into a video that captures a good piece of our time spent in Paris – The video is linked at the bottom of the post.  🙂

If you read my London recap, you’ll remember that we trained from London to Paris.  We took EuroStar – It was about a 2 – 2.5 hour ride, and even though the train is underground for a bit of the ride, most of the trip is through the French countryside.  So be sure to snag a window seat!

Where We Stayed

Like in London, we stayed in an Airbnb in Paris.  This is the spot we called home for a few days.  The apartment is located in the Le Marais neighborhood, which I highly recommend.  The apartment was in a super old, historic building and had tons of character.  The space is super tight so I’d only recommend staying here if you’re only in town for a few nights.  With that said, the location can’t be beat!  It was in walking distance to so many fantastic coffee shops, bars, restaurants, sites, and the train station was just down the street.  (Don’t forget, you can use this link to get $40 off of your first Airbnb stay!)

Similar to London, we took advantage of Paris’ public transportation option while there.  The subway system was very easy to navigate and so cheap.  We also used Paris’ bike share program, Velib, to bike around the city – I highly recommend doing this!  We rented bikes for an entire morning one day and biked along the Seine River from Le Marais to the Eiffel Tower – we had a blast!  You can rent the bikes through one of the kiosks located next to all of the bike racks around town.

And again, the number one travel accessory that I HIGHLY recommend purchasing if you’re traveling abroad is this power converter + adapter!  It’s amazing.  You need both because the converter is used to convert the voltage from their usage to what your electronic device is programed to use – this is why most ladies’ hair straighteners melt when they just use a power adapter and not a converter too!  My straightener worked perfectly.  The converter has three outlets and SIX USB ports – AMAZING!  We called it our command center when everything was plugged up into it. 🙂

What to Do

There’s no shortage of things to do in Paris.  We were there for three full days.  We spent the majority of the first day biking around the city, checking out all of the top tourist spots.  We biked along the Seine River from our apartment to the Eiffel Tower, visited the Arc de Triomphe, strolled down Champs de Élysées (popped in H&M for a dress because it was SO hot when were there!), and stopped in Laudurée for macaroons (there’s a location on the Champs de Élysées near the Arc de Triomphe).

Paris is an amazing city to just stroll around in and get lost.  We did a lot of walking and took lots of wine breaks at random cafes.  What we did one evening, which I highly recommend, is picked up a bottle of wine after dinner and found a random park (there are tons around!) to end the night.  Make sure to save a couple of coffee cups from earlier in the day, and park it there for the evening.  If you’re visiting during the summer months, it stays light outside until 10/10:30 pm.  It’s an incredible way to end the day!

Must Sees: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs de Élysées, Laudurée (it’s a sight!)

The second day we spent most of our time visiting Versailles.  The Palace is a quick (and easy!) 45 minute train ride outside of the city.  Be forewarned, even if you buy your tickets online (which you totally should!), you’re still going to have to wait in line to get in, but don’t worry, it moves fast.  The Palace itself is highly impressive, but my favorite part is the gardens out back.  They go on for as far as your eyes can see (there’s a photo in the video linked below!).  It was a fun way to spend half a day, and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.  We found a tiny patisserie outside of the Palace grounds to grab a quick to-go sandwich and chocolate croissant (my addiction while in Paris) to bring on the train with us to snack on while heading back to Paris.

That night we biked to the Eiffel Tower, sat on the lawn, and waited for the magic!  We picked up a loaf of french bread and a bottle of wine (again, don’t forget cups! And make sure it’s a screw top!) on our way.  If you happen to forget the wine, don’t fret, there are tons of guys selling wine around the grounds (they’ll ask you one million times if you’d like a bottle).  At exactly 10:00 pm, the Eiffel Tower twinkles in all its glory for precisely 10 minutes, and then repeats the same 10 minute show every hour at the top of the hour.  I can’t recommend spending an evening on the Eiffel Tower lawn enough.  It was an incredible thing to see and just one of those “pinch me, is this real life” nights.

Must Sees: Palace of Versailles, the Eiffel Tower at night

We spent the last day wandering around the city.  The highlight was Luxembourg Gardens.  It was a beautiful day when we stopped by the gardens – so many people were out and about, kids had rented mini sailboats to sail in the pond, it was perfect!  The grounds are beautiful.  I highly recommend stopping by.

Must See: Luxembourg Gardens

Where to Eat

There are so many restaurants on every street and corner in Paris.  What I recommend is finding a cafe right around your hotel and/or Airbnb for coffee and croissants in the morning (there’s no shortage!) – our spot was Le Temps des Cerises.  There’s a bakery right across the street that has the most amazing baked goods.  Michael and I would pick up breakfast from the bakery and bring it right into Le Temps where the same lady was working every morning.  There’s no food served there in the morning so she welcomes outside food.  She makes the BEST cafe au lait, the perfect way to start the day!

My recommendation for lunch is quite similar.  We hardly ever had lunch at a sit-down type restaurant.  One of my favorite things about Paris is the abundance of patisseries.  Wherever we were around lunchtime, we’d either wander around until we found one or would simply google “patisserie” to find a spot.  Most of the patisseries serve an assortment of fresh sandwiches on french bread that are super cheap and available to take to-go!  My go to was the tomato and mozzarella with pesto – soooo good!

I do have one specific restaurant recommendation – Our Airbnb host suggested it on our first night in Paris, and we loved it so much that we actually went back on our last night in the city too!  Chez Janou.  If you visit Paris, do yourself a favor and go!  The ambiance, the staff, the patrons, the food, the wine … oh my goodness, just the best!!

Things to Know:

• Use public transportation (the train) and take advantage of the bike share. (You’ll save SO much money!)
• Purchase this converter + adapter set (You need both!  Saved me!)
• Take advantage of the awesome Airbnb properties!
• I never felt unsafe for one minute (and we had just arrived in Paris when the tragedy in Manchester occurred) – be an alert traveler, that’s the best you can do!  Always go. 🙂

ICYMI:

• What I Packed for Two Weeks In Europe – In Only a Carry On
• Travel Toiletry Necessities – What I Packed for Two Weeks in Europe 
• 48 Hours in London – City Guide