1/8/2024 0 Comments Paris, FranceBonjour, and welcome to Kayla in Paris. I'm so excited to take you through this journey as its been one of my favorite so far. The Stay Hotel Edouard VIParis is divided into 20 arrondissements, each of which have their own aesthetic and provide various things to do and see. Since I never rent a car and tend to stick mostly to walking I choose an arrondissement that had a lot of my bucket list activities near by, arrondissement 6. I found Hotel Edouard VI on the Hotels.com app and loved its location and price. I was not at all prepared for what the room had to offer when arriving, that being a view of the Eiffel Tower. I truly felt like this was the perfect way to set the tone of the trip. The staff at Hotel Edouard VI were incredibly helpful, the rooms were up to my standard of cleanliness and as mentioned the price was very doable. The Must SeeThe Arc De TriompheSeeing the Arc de Triomphe was definitely on my list of things to do while in Paris but ill be brutally honest it is complete chaos. While the architecture is certainly something to take in it is extremely busy with traffic and people. You can however go to the top of the Arc to take in the view of Paris, you get to the arc by using the underground metro. I chose to skip this as I had a bunch of other activities planned for the day but I have heard that the views are even better than those on the Eiffel Tower. vISIT tHE jaRDIN DES tUILERIESThe Jardin Des Tuileries is located in the heart of Paris and is the perfect place to take in the outdoors, its free to enter and is located in the 1st arrondissement between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. While there you can also check out The Roue de Paris, the Ferris wheel and take a ride for even more views of Paris. tHE nOTRE-dAME caTHEDRALAs a huge Disney girly I had to see the Notre-Dame Cathedral while in Paris. The cathedral in in the 4th arrondissement, otherwise known as the gothic or medieval quarter due to its architecture. While visiting renovations were still underway from the 2019 fire that broke out so we were not able to go inside and had to admire the beauty from the outside. The construction is to be complete in 2025 with hopes of being open to the public sometime in 2024. While leaving we came across multiple street vendors and had to try an iconic crepe. pALACE OF vERSAILLESThe Palace of Versailles was the only activity outside of Paris that was included in this trip, I purchased tickets a few days before online and got an Uber right before we were ready to head out. While the drive was about 45minute from our hotel to the Palace we had zero issues with getting there and getting in. The Palace was the home of Louis XIV and is one of the greatest achievements in French 17th century art. It truly is straight out of a movie with art in every room, gold accented ceilings and stunning chandeliers. The Palace itself is breathtaking but the gardens are truly the cherry on top. They cover nearly 2,000 acres and include multiple sculptures, fountains and maze like landscapes. The Must DoThe Eiffle TowerNo surprise here but the Eiffel Tower was one of the top stops on this trip for me. The Eiffel Tower has two stories, the midlevel and the top, when purchasing tickets you will have the option to either take the lift to both floors or take the steps to the midlevel and then the lift to the top. I really wanted to make the most of this experience and opted for stairs then lift. This allowed us to go at our own pace, not be cramped in the lift, really take in the views and overall gave us more time here. 674 steps later we made it to the midlevel which included multiple look out spots, a cafe and a shop and while it was a bit of a workout it was a thousand percent worth it. After some time here we took the lift to the top where you can purchase champagne and take in the views at the highest point. Fun fact, the Eiffel sparkles every evening for 5 minutes every hour on the hour and its truly mesmerizing. Shop aT gALERIES lAFAYETTEIf you're in Paris and planning on doing some shopping the most Parisian way possible you're going to want to stop by Galeries Lafayette. This isn't your typical shopping center like in the states, the layout is very different and you'll find nothing but high end designer brands. Its certainly one place you will want to experience. The LouvreAn absolute must while in Paris. First off you will purchase tickets online, this will allow you to pick a time slot for entry and I highly recommend arriving at least 15min prior to your entry time as a line will form quickly. Once in you will make your way down the escalators into a lobby-esqu room and trust me you will want to stop by the visitor center and grab that map of the museum because you will need it. Im sure most people that have never been to Paris associate the Louvre with the iconic Mona Lisa paining but this palace is so much more that that. There are over 400 rooms and 35,000 pieces of artwork. There is truly no way you can see it all in a few hours so I suggest planning out half a day to be here if you want to see as much as possible. The Mona Lisa. Im just going to get right to it, while it's exciting to see it in person be prepared to be herded like cattle just to get a glimpse of the artwork from a few feet away. Once you're ready to leave you will follow the exit signs and you will end up in Carrousel du Louvre shopping centre so be prepared for a little more walking after your museum experience. mOULIN rOUGEThe Moulin Rouge is a cabaret in Paris that may look familiar from the iconic Nicole Kidman movie, "Moulin Rouge". The cabaret currently has shows 7 days a week at 3 different night times with the option of dinner and the show or just the show. Unfortunately I did not have the chance to catch one of the shows but I did hear nothing but incredible things about it and that it is well worth the cost. If you do attend one of the shows be sure to check out the FAQ on the website before attending to know when to arrive, how seating works, dress codes and more. The EatstERRY'S CafeTerry's Cafe was one of our favorite spots in the 6th arrondissement. Not only was it close by our hotel but they stayed open late every night, had a good happy hour and an incredible patio. Our go to order was the campion pizza. mADAME pAMPAI truly can not say enough good things about Madame Papmpa. This French restaurant is something straight out of a movie, boho decor is everywhere with pops of pink and green and of course hundreds of pampas everywhere you look. The service and staff were incredible and on some nights you can even find live music here. cAFE bOHEMECafe Bohome was another vibey spot close by our hotel, while its clearly stunning the food was just alright, however, this was where we had our encounter with trying escargot for the first time. I personally could not do it but all six were indeed gone by the time we were ready to go. I would definitely recommend visiting here for that experience as it was one of the more affordable spots for escargot. bOUILLON cHARTIERBouillon Chartier is an absolute must while in Paris, its the one place to get a true French meal at an incredibly affordable cost. Its open 7 days a week and is open from 11:30am-midnight. There are no reservations and lines do form quickly for prime times however its worth it when the appetizers are starting at 1€ and main dishes at 7€. Our meal consisted of 2 sides, 2 meals, 1 cider, 1 sparkling water and 1 bottle of wine for just 47€. P.S be prepared to be packed in and seated right next to strangers.
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