Is Paris really the city of love? For us, it definitely is. When Sven and I flew to Paris we had only been together for 1 year and were still totally on cloud nine 😊
Ich hatte Sven mit dieser Reise zum Geburtstag überrascht. Unser erster gemeinsamer Städtetrip. Allerdings mussten I had surprised Sven with this trip for his birthday. Our first city trip together. However, we had to overcome a few obstacles first … We had missed the flight and that on an Easter weekend. All the flights and even the trains were fully booked. So we only had the option to rebook. You can imagine our disappointment. But we did have a little consolation. I got sick the day after … it would have ruined the trip one way or another.
Well … a few months later we were at the airport over time and were looking forward to our second attempt 😊
Like probably everyone who is in Paris for the first time, we wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower straight away. You can take the elevator to the 2nd floor or to the top, of course we wanted to go as high as possible.
The next day we started our tour of discovery at the Louvre in the former residence of the French kings, the Palais du Louvre.
In the Louvre (art museum) we were looking for THE world-famous painting, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. I don’t know what exactly we expected, but we were a bit disappointed when it hung there so deserted … Well, we’re not art connoisseurs either 😉
But we were absolutely thrilled with our trip to Montmartre. This district (also known as the artists’ quarter) is located on a hill on the northern edge of the city. The highlights are the Sacré-Coeur, Moulin Rouge and Place du Tertre. The Sacré-Coeur is simply a dream to look at. From here you have a wonderful view of whole of Paris.
We went on to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. The 25 hectare park is very hilly with grottos, waterfalls and a lookout tower – a wonderful recreational area.
Of course, Notre Dame, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe should not be missing on a trip to Paris.
From home we had booked an excursion to Versaille – transfer and guided tour included. Luckily we were able to skip the long queue.
On our last day we happened to walk past the Louvre again in the evening and were impressed by the romantic atmosphere.
Our personal opinion about Paris:
- Paris is justifiably the city of love
- we loved the Montmartre district
- restaurants are relatively expensive
Best travel time:
Paris is a lovely travel destination all year round. We personally prefer spring or autumn (if it’s not too hot or cold). We’d rather avoid the holiday season.
More tips & recommendations:
- restaurants are relatively expensive, we recommend choosing the daily specials “les plats du jour”
- allow enough time for Montmartre
- Versailles Palace: buy tickets in advance, the queues are endless on many days
- recommended travel time: at least 4 days
