The Best Things To Do In Paris

I went to Paris almost 4 years ago now and I have been meaning to write a blog post about it ever since! I never want to forget our time there and hope our experience can help others plan their Paris trip. The real beauty of Paris is that it’s such a classic place to visit, not much changes year to year! So although we were there 4 years ago, everything is still very relevant. Here are some of the best things you can do in Paris, France!

We left for Paris in May of 2018, this was our Honeymoon trip! We flew from Utah to Colorado to Iceland and then to Paris, France! All for under 1,000 dollars I might add. Check out my top travel tips HERE! Once we landed in Paris from Iceland (read about what we did in Iceland here) we hit the ground running! I have to laugh that the very first photo I have in Paris is us eating a Nutella crepe. My husband and I were determined to not waste anytime. Unfortunately for us, we took so long to book an Airbnb we ended up staying in an apartment building about 15 or so minutes from downtown Paris by subway. Looking back at our pictures

I talk more about how much I love these city Passes HERE and in Paris it was truly perfect! The Paris pass includes dozens of museum passes (like the Louvre), a tour buss around the city and so much more that at the end of our trip there was no way we could have taken advantage of all the pass had to offer! (Passes are slightly different now due to C*vid) We always like to get a “lay of the land” at the beginning of our trips to help us better understand where everything is. One of our favorite ways to do this is a bus tour around the city! We love that these tours come with tour guides either present or recordings that help illustrate what you are seeing as you drive around.

After the tour bus the first thing we did was go to the Louvre. During our time in Paris we ended up going to the Louvre twice because there is just no way to see everything in one day and even with two visits it was not enough! We continued the day walking around historic down town. We saw the Notre Dame, walked inside to see the amazing stain glass windows and tall ceilings. Not sure how the reconstruction of the Notre Dame is going but even while it is being rebuilt taking a look at this iconic building from the outside is worth it. It was this day as well that we took some of my favorite Paris pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower on the steps. This stair area is easy to find and is a perfect place to admire the tower and get your pictures. Its called “Palais de Chaillot” if you need help finding it your first day.

As part of our Paris Pass we were able to do a boat tour. Another great way to see Paris especially when you have walked tons the day before and need a little rest. I am a little sad to admit that we are not big foodies. Of course we love food but I don’t put tons of planning into where we eat. Working on being better about this but we really just ate at places that looked good while we were out and about. One of those places was located on 8th Arr. where we got delicious thin crust pizza. After our lunch we headed to our tour of the Arc de Triumphe. (included in our Paris Pass!) Taking the long windy stairs to the top was well worth the view! We did not have the greatest luck weather wise, it was rainy and cold but still amazing. Once you’re at the top you can see how the Arc de Triumphe is the center of the city and how the roads come off of it like branches in every direction. The infrastructure is incredible.

The Eiffel Tower was next on our to do list! These tickets were not part of the Paris pass. (You can buy tickets here) I read a lot of Paris travel blogs before we left and many suggested that we walk the stairs to the top of the tower to take in the whole experience but for what I believe to be weather restrictions, the stairs were not open. Only a small elevator that takes 6-8 people to the top at a time. So if you go, look into taking the stairs and let me know how it is (; Once at the top you can see all of Paris in a 360 view. There is also a bathroom, store and small café at the top so naturally we got ourselves some macaroons.

The following day we made the trip to the Palace of Versailles. From Paris we rode the metro and then got on a commuter train. The process was easy and lots of locals were able to help us head in the right direction. Once off the train we walked a ways to the Palace. Our Paris pass included the Palace but we did end up having to pay a separate fee to venture out to the gardens, which of course is absolutely worth it. Naturally this location is high on the tourist to do list. It was crowded while we were there but we still managed to get good pictures and really enjoy ourselves! You could walk the gardens for hours, they are huge and beautiful. There are even a few cafes along the garden trail if you want to stop and eat. We ended up eating at a café called Le Hameau de la Reine. Once we reached the end of the garden we made our way to our churches temple that was walking distance from the Palace. I will also say its a must see. One of my husbands, friends, grandparents (follow that okay? ha) are what we call the Temple Presidents for the Paris Temple. We visited with them for a while and they told us all about the temple and the grounds. The Temple gardens are very beautiful. (Learn more about the Paris Temple here) The Palace of Versailles and visiting the Temple easily takes up an entire travel day.

Sadly the catacombs were on strike while we were there so no tours were available. May just mean we will have to make our way back to Pairs some day to see them (; We ended up doing a random tour that took us underground to learn more about Paris’s sewage system… not gonna lie, I do not recommend this tour. We were in and out pretty quickly, ha! One thing that was fun though was a chocolate tour we did called the Choco Story Paris. They had impressive chocolate sculptures and plenty of free samples. We grabbed a hot chocolate on our way out that was warm milk with a large chocolate piece on a stick that you would stir until it melted. It was perfect for a cold Paris day. Next we visited the iconic Moulin Rouge. We checked out the exterior and took our pictures out front.

We had heard great things about the town Montmartre. So later in the day we ventured that way. I so badly wish we would have had more time there! It was the most quant little town with tons of shops, restaurants and overall fun vibe. While walking the streets there was a man doing self portraits. We got talked into a drawing being done of us. I will say Ryan turned out a lot better than me in the drawing but I was still impressed with it! The artist was fun to talk with, he had traveled around the world and had tons of fun stories to tell while he drew.

It was here that we took a day trip to London. I will have to write a separate blog post about what we did during our day in London! I’ll tag it here once its written.

For our final day in Paris we adventured out to various museums that were covered by our pass. We walked around the impressive Musee d’orsay. The sculptures at this museum were best I’ve ever seen. For lunch I was determined to find a cute French restaurant and we hit the jackpot with one we found down on an amazing street full of other restaurants and cafes. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant but it was on 5th Arr in Paris. We really wanted to go to the Paris Opera House but unfortunately there was a terrorist attack/ stabbing at the Opera house the day before we were planning to go. It ended up being closed before we were able to see it. All we could do was walk around the outside. Just another reason we will have to head back someday! We did one last stroll down 8th Arr. where many high-end brand stores are mixed with popular restaurants. I always have to stop and go into a Tiffany store if there is one. Its one of my favorite things to do/ look out for! To end our last night in Paris we had one last Nutella crepe next to the Eiffel Tower and waited for the lights to come on. It was here that I took one of my all time favorite pictures of Ryan with the Eiffel tower.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, I have been meaning to write this blog post for such a long time now and I am so happy I was finally able to find the time to do it! These really are some of the best things you can do in Paris! We have such a fun trip/ honeymoon to look back on and remember. I can not recommend Paris enough. Hope this helps with your plans/adventures for your next trip to Paris! Leave any questions/ comments below! Thanks for reading!

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