Paris is Always a Good Idea
The Louvre Pyramid
And so is the rest of France.
Ever since I was in 8th grade, I’ve had a picture of the Eiffel Tower on my wall. I’ve incorporated Parisian culture into my decor, my writing, basically my existence. And yet after several trips to Europe, and 2 months living there, I somehow still had not made it. So when Dave said he wanted to go to Europe for our honeymoon, I knew we had to go to France. It was romantic, full of art and wine and cheese and history. It’s now one of my favorite cities ever. It really is beautiful, and the French designed very purposefully that way.
Seine River Cruise
The Eiffel Tower. Swoon. But honestly other than looking at it, there isn’t a whole lot you can actually do there. Maybe ride the carousel, have a picnic in the park near it. Very romantic other than there are always a ton of other people around in the summer. You obviously need to go see it, but in my opinion, it is not worth a whole day visit. An hour to wander around is plenty, and if you pack some wine and cheese you will have a lovely little Parisian experience. Oh yeah, and as long as you don’t feel like you need to climb to the top, it’s FREE!
We did a Seine River Cruise. It was okay, but truthfully I did not think it was worth the money. You can see everything by walking, and it felt crowded. There were at least 200 people packed on the boat, and a lot of them had UMBRELLAS UP BLOCKING OUR VIEW THE ENTIRE TIME. Grrrrr… this was by far the most irritating occurrence on the trip. Maybe a dinner cruise would have been more magical, but in general I think there are better ways to spend your $$ in Paris.
Like at a cabaret…
Nouvelle Eve Cabaret
We ABSOLUTELY had a blast here! We did not go to Moulin Rouge, we went to the Nouvelle Ever Cabaret. It was less expensive, but still amazingly fun and also had a delicious steak dinner with endless wine and bread! We were completely entertained the entire time, and I swear laughed harder than I predicted I would. It was the perfect Parisian experience. Dave and I both loved it! If you can-can-can, DO IT!
How about the Louvre? Um, well the outside was nice. We didn’t realize that you had to book your tickets at least a week in advance during the summer to actually get in. So, don’t make our mistake and get your tickets ahead of time. Also, DO NOT be fooled by “No-line” tickets. That just means you have to wait in the line to get in rather than by the tickets (which are usually sold out anyway). Make sure you book a specific time slot, and if you can, spring the extra $10 for the tour. Then you will make sure you see all you want to see and not have to wait in the lines. This also goes for the Musee d’Orsay. Use the link below to find tickets ahead of time.
Notre-Dame de Paris
We visited Notre-Dame de Paris, which even though you cannot get close anymore, is still a beautiful sight. It is in a great location too, right near the Latin Quarter. There you can see Roman ruins, play chess at the Jardin du Luxembourg, and visit some of Hemingway’s old haunts. I really loved this area of Paris. We even went back and wandered some more the next day!
Naptime at the Jardin du Luxembourg
This is some general info about Paris. I will continue to write blog posts with more specific information about where to stay, where to eat, and then what to do outside of Paris! Bon Voyage!
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