Oh, y’all! I’m almost embarrassed by how late I am in sharing this post. I meant to publish our favorites from our side trip to Paris last Monday, but I’ve been battling some aggressive virus for almost two weeks now. It’s really put a kink in my blogging schedule, but I’m determined to not let the entire week go by without sharing some of this magical city with y’all!

In case you missed my post two weeks ago, I’m sharing our favorites from our recent trip to Europe last month. We spent about two weeks in London and Paris, and although we had quite a few rainy days in Paris, we didn’t mind one bit! Everything about this city, from the architecture, to the people, to the fashion, to the food even, filled me with so much inspiration. If you’ve spent any amount of time in Paris before, then we can all agree that there’s something absolutely bewitching about this place. If you’ve never visited before, please add it to your travel bucket list! In our limited time there, we explored as much as we could, and are already itching to return.

See

Paris is a walking museum. You don’t have to step foot inside a single historic building to receive a full education on the culture, atmosphere and history of Paris! My best advice is to walk everywhere. Paris is definitely a walking city, and we didn’t take the metro once while we were there! We stayed in a fairly central location, so we found that taking the metro to most of our destinations wasn’t much faster than walking. When we were caught in a heavy downpour (once), and when we needed to go somewhere on the other side of town, we opted for Uber, which is surprisingly cheap.

If you can, spend much of your time just exploring the streets of Paris with no agenda in mind. We loved wandering through Le Marais and Saint-Germain-de-Pres, discovering some new and charming at every turn. Even the smallest alleyways in Paris are full of surprises, like tucked away bakeries or hidden boutiques. The 1st arrondissement is absolutely worth exploring, as well! My only regret is that we didn’t stay long enough to explore more of this gorgeous place.

Although we didn’t plan on visiting the Eiffel Tower, we couldn’t help but wander over on an afternoon walk by the Seine. We were totally blown away by how grand it is in person! And luckily, we had a gorgeous, rain-free afternoon that day. Some of our favorite places were:

Notre Dame Cathedral
Jardin de Luxembourg
Jardin de Tulleries
Musee de l’Orangerie – The Monet exhibit here is without a doubt my favorite art display ever. 
Musee du Louvre
Le Palais Royal
Place de Vosges

Truthfully, the best way to spend your time in Paris is to grab some tasty takeaway from a local restaurant or patisserie, and enjoy it while sitting on a bench in one of the city’s beautiful gardens. If the weather is warm, a picnic by the Seine never goes amiss, either!

Eat

The food in Paris is amazing, and you don’t have to spend your life savings to find a good meal! There are plenty of patisseries, charcuteries, and fromageries on every street to stuff you to the brim with delicious cheeses and small eats. In fact, we spent most of our trip feasting on cheeses, fruits, and baguettes from the local shops on our street! And don’t even get me started about the wine.

Although we did dine in a few sidewalk cafes, there’s really one restaurant that stands out in my mind as truly noteworthy. Fish La Boissonnerie was about a 15 minute walk from our flat, and we absolutely loved it. The staff is very friendly, even by American standards, and offer an incredibly tasty menu and cozy atmosphere. They’ll also be happy to chat with you in English, if you’re tired of using your feeble French to navigate your way through a menu!

We made the mistake of visiting the hyped-up L’As du Falafel during Rosh Hashanah, so we didn’t get to try their famous falafel. Luckily, Chez Marianne down the street was open, and we had our fill of tasty street food for cheap.

We happened to rent a flat right down the street from Le Bon Marche and La Grande Epicerie de Paris, which was fantastic for our stomachs, but terrible for our wallets. I can honestly say that I’ve never encountered such delicious (or expensive) olives in my entire life! Even if you’re just window shopping, you must stop in and explore this truly incredible selection of eats from all over the world.

Stay

As we did in London, we rented a lovely flat through AirBNB. This bright, compact studio was in the heart of the 6th arrondissement, which was within easy walking distance of all we wanted to see. Although we didn’t spend much time there, we loved the large French windows, modern decor, and convenient lift! We also loved having the ability to fix breakfast and snacks in our own space, and it was wonderful to have a handy fridge to chill our many bottles of rose. Did y’all honestly expect me to go to France and not drink all the rose? Let’s be real, now.

Are you planning a trip to Paris anytime soon? If so, share your must-see places and plans below! And please consider making room in your suitcase to take me with you.