Places to Stay | Things To See | Things To Do | Eats

I’ve been fortunate enough to have been to Paris twice in my life thus far (and I plan on going back many more times), and just love this city. Although I’m no expert by any means on the ins and outs of Paris, this is just a personal recommendation of what I’ve seen and loved so far. In the future when I return, I plan on adding more to this list.

Places to Stay

Hotel Brighton

My mom and I stayed at the Hotel Brighton in the fall of 2018, and it was so wonderful. It’s a small boutique hotel that’s located right in the heart of the 1st arrondissement. The location itself is pretty perfect. It’s directly across the street from the Tuileries Garden and the Tuileries metro station, walking distance from the famous Louvre museum and many other restaurants, shops and cafés.

First things first, the customer service from start to finish was outstanding. Their website has a chat feature where you are able to instantly able to speak with someone regarding your reservation. It was through this where I arranged a car to pick us up from Paris’ Charles De Gaulle airport and take us directly from to the hotel. This does cost a little extra money but in my opinion totally worth it if you can do it then you don’t have to worry about the hassle of getting a taxi. We were greeted in the kindest way when we arrived at the front desk, and although I tried to use the little French I know to check into our room, my accent must have been so bad as he instantly knew to speak in English back to me, ha! At least I tried.

Then there was the view from our room. You look left, there’s the Louvre, look straight ahead, the Tuileries Garden, and to the right, the iconic Eiffel Tower. Pretty dang perfect if you ask me.

The actual room itself was perfect size and every morning we had croissants, coffee and juice sent up to our room while we got ready for the day. There’s also an adorable little bar downstairs in the hotel where we had our nightly glass of wine and ended up really befriending our bartender. Even the few articles of clothes we had dry cleaned came out perfect – I truly can’t say enough about this hotel or recommend it enough. If you can, stay here if you visit Paris!

Things To See

1. Eiffel Tower

Duh. Experiencing this historic landmark is amazing in itself, but if you’re able to go in the Eiffel Tower for a meal or a glass of champagne, I’d recommend that even more.

Paris is always a good idea.

Audrey Hepburn

2. The Louvre Museum

This place is every art lovers dream. The Louvre is MASSIVE and when I first came to Paris in 2012 I must have been in this museum for over four hours and didn’t even come close to scratching the surface of this place. In here you’ll see iconic pieces of art from da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to Michelangelo’s Venus de Milo statue.

3. The Notre-Dame Cathedral

Located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, this medieval church really is a site to see.

And while you’re in this area, make sure to grab a glass of champagne and a cream puff from Odette! It’s one of the cutest cafés I’ve ever seen.

4. Arc de Triomphe

One of Paris’ most famous monuments, and like the rest of the city, is incredibly beautiful. The Arc de Triomphe is on the west side of the world-famous Champs-Élysées avenue. My mom and I sat outside at a restaurant with this as our view as we enjoyed a glass of wine.

Things To Do

1. Shopping. Aaaaaall the shopping.

If you love to shop half as much as I do, you’ll salivate at the mouth in Paris. So. much. shopping!! Really, anything goes here. May I recommend the Champs-Élysées, the world-famous avenue in the 8th arrondissement. Pretty much any luxury designer is on this avenue, From Chanel and Louis Vuitton to Gucci and Balenciaga. But, if you’re like most of us and can’t spend a small fortune on a handbag or a pair of shoes (one day…), there’s also more reasonably priced shops as well. The best part might be the vintage shops you can find all around the city. The one I found and LOVED was Valois Vintage, a few blocks away from Champs-Élysées. Here you can find a ton of authentic designer handbags, clothes and jewelry for cheaper than you would if you were to buy it new. Here I bought my first ever Louis Vuitton bag and it was such a great experience I will never forget sharing with my mom! Highly recommend checking this place out if you’re in Paris, even if it’s just to window shop.

Eats

I’ll admit, I was not good about writing down/remembering all of the restaurants I have eaten and drank at while I was in Paris, so unfortunately I only remember 1 café. BUT, it’s a pretty great one!

1. Café de Flore

I will say, you come here more for the historic aspect (and the people watching of course). Located in Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 6th arrondissement, Café de Flore is one of the oldest cafés in Paris, known for it’s historic famous clientele, from Earnest Hemingway to Pablo Picasso. It’s a tad overpriced, but it’s pretty cool to hang out and drink a cappuccino in the same place that Earnest Hemingway used to.

Hope y’all enjoyed my little bit on Paris. I know there is SO much more to do and explore in this amazing city, which I very much look forward to doing again one day.

Laura

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