Bonjour! My boyfriend and I took a straight flight from JFK to Paris where we began our Eurotrip. Paris can get very confusing with their neighborhoods, like any city some areas are better than others. I stayed in Hotel Plaza Étoile which was in arrangement #8. It was in the Champs Elysées area which is considered the “fifth avenue” of Paris. Great shops, restaurants and designer stores. This hotel was super affordable compared to the others in the area but the room was TINY and I mean tiny.
There’s so many things to do in Paris but we were only there for a few days so we tried to hit as many of the major highlights as we could. We went in July and walked just about everywhere but you can definitely do Uber.
Sacré-Cœur
I highly recommend taking a day trip to Chateu du Versailles. This was one of the best parts of our trip. I booked this through Viator.com there are many options make sure you get a castle tour AND garden/fountain tour. The garden and fountain are stunning and not one to be missed. With this tour (link to tour) we met our group by the train station they give you train tickets for there and return. It was a nice pleasant ride to Versailles where you met with the actual tour guide who will take you around the castle and garden. After the tour you are free to roam around or take the train back home.
Many European cities have something call hop on hop off bus. Basically you pay a small amount and you can get on and off a bus that comes super frequently to hit all the major landmarks you’d wanna see. We did this to see Eiffel Tower, Norte damn, scare couer etc. you can pre load a map so you can plan accordingly where the closest bus stops are to you and the route you want to take.
I highly suggest seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. I think it’s more stunning during the day because it sparkles every hour on the hour for about 5 minutes. It’s truly romantic and magical.
If you are into museums of course I suggest the louvre: yes the Mona Lina is there, no it is not that impressive (it’s very tiny and people crowd around it) but it is something you of course want to see. Try to appreciate the rest of the museum because the art work is truly beautiful and mesmerizing.
We went to musee d’orsay which I also found to be a cool thing to see. I purchased this tour through get your guide app which allowed me the day of to buy a skip the line ticket to the museum! Don’t forget to see this cool clock tower on the top floor as you roam around the museum. You can see a cool view of the sienne river and for some more importantly it makes a good photo for the gram of course😉
Tips:
1. If you are going in the summer I suggest buying skip the line tickets for any museum/tour you book! Your time is precious and what’s a few more dollars if you’re saving time 🙂
2. Purchase a hop on hop off bus ticket or at least look into it
3. Majority of the Restaurants accept all major credit cards
4. Tip isn’t necessary but when they know you’re from America they expect one and we left tip most of the places we went. Plus I thought the service was excellent regardless
5. Go to Laduree and get yourself some yummy macaroons. I’m from New York and we have that here but what can I say everything tastes better in Paris 🙃
6. If you’re into parks I would suggest going to jardin du Luxembourg for maybe a cute picnic! Or Tuileries garden and take a Ferris wheel ride (right outside of the louvre)
Restaurant Recommendations:
1.L’Avenue
2. Chez Francis on Champs
3. Lasserie
4. Laduree
5. Le Relais De L’entrecote
6. Maison Lacombe
7. L’ouiseu Blanc
8. Café De Flore’
Love Lock Bridge
We took a trip that we booked through our hotel to Tijuka Forest which had sick views and cool waterfalls.
The Tan Traveler 