Paris Travel Diary May 2019

Trocadéro | May 2019 | Photo by Doug from L' Amour de Paris

Pont d'lena May 2019 | Photo by Doug from L' Amour de Paris

Day 1

Lunch at Les Antiquaires | Mushroom Risotto & Ribeye

We took the train from London to Paris early in the morning and arrived close to noon. Since our Airbnb wouldn’t be ready for a few hours we decided to take our luggage with us on a walk through the Tuileries Garden followed by lunch at Les Antiquaires. We got there right before the lunch rush and were sat immediately at a table out front. I ordered the mushroom risotto and Steven had ribeye. We both enjoyed our food and were grateful for the friendly service especially since we had luggage with us.

Once we were finally able to get into our Airbnb we dropped off our things, changed, and headed out to explore Paris.

Notre Dame May 2019

We stated off by walking around Saint Germain. If we hadn’t just had lunch I would have loved to eat at one of the cafes along Boulevard Saint-Germain. Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots were both very lively and inviting. We made our way up Rue Dauphine to Place Dauphine. After spending some time taking in the tranquility of the park, we hoped to walk over to where Notre Dame is at, but of course the area was closed off because of the fire at the cathedral. I was very sad when I heard about the fire at Notre Dame and I am glad that it was not completely destroyed and that it will be restored. Even with the scaffolding and the aftermath of the fire Notre Dame was still a beautiful sight.

Odette

Berthillion

Instead of a full sit down meal for dinner we opted to pop into a few places on our list for treats. Our first stop was ad Odette where we ordered delicious cream puffs. The next stop on our list was Berthillon Glacier where I ordered the coconut ice cream. It was so good that I regretted not getting a double scoop, but with one more stop on our list I wanted to make sure I had room! Our next stop took us through the latin quarter which felt like a really cool neighborhood. There were people hanging out everywhere, bars and cafes lined the streets, and there was an all around cool vibe about the area. We decided on crepes from Au P’tit Grec. I had a strawberry Nutella crepe since I was already on a roll with desserts, but the savory crepes looked great too! We were lucky and were able to snag seats inside the tiny cafe before the line formed outside. After finishing our crepes and feeling full and content we made our way to the Luxembourg Gardens.

Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens)

Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens)

Le Jardin du Luxembourg was one of my favorite gardens in Paris! There were people everywhere lounging, eating, reading, and just enjoying being in such a beautiful place.

Day 2

Sunrise at Trocadero, Paris | May 2019

Sunrise at Trocadero, Paris | May 2019

Our first full day in Paris started bright and early before the sun came up! We were up around 4am because we had a sunrise photo shoot booked with Doug from L’amour de Paris. We arrived at the Trocadero at 6am and were surprised to see there were already people out there! It was such a magical and beautiful sight to see the sun come up with the Eiffel Tower in the background and made the early wake up call worth it. We were able to snap a few of our own pics before our photographer arrived and we started our anniversary photo shoot.

We had such a good time during our photo shoot. Doug was very friendly and also very knowledgeable about the city. If you are visiting Paris I highly recommend booking a photo session with him!

We were done with our photoshoot before most of the cafes were even open, but luckily we found Le Petit Suffren near the Eiffel Tower and warmed up with coffee and crepes.

Roses near the base of the Eiffel Tower

One of the observation decks on the Eiffel Tower

Trocadéro Carousel | May 2019

After breakfast we walked through the Champ de Mars towards the Eiffel Tower where we bought tickets to take the elevator up to the top observation deck. It was really cool to see Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower. I will say though that my favorite view of the city was from the top of the Arc de Triomphe!

For lunch we went to Sanukiya. I had the curry udon which had the perfect consistency and balance of spice and sweetness. Steven had the lunch set which came with udon, an omelet, and crispy chicken katsu.

Iced Mocha from Café Kitsuné at Palais Royal

Jardin du Palais Royal

Roses at Jardin du Palais Royal

We made our way to the Palais Royal and spent time walking around enjoying the rose gardens with an Iced Mocha from Cafe Kitsune in hand. From there we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries to Musee de l’Orangerie.

Claude Monet's Water Lilies at Musee de l'Orangerie

Claude Monet's Water Lilies at Musee de l'Orangerie

Musee de l’Orangerie was at the top of my list for museums because of the oval exhibition rooms specifically built to showcase Monet’s Water Lilies. It was incredible! I could have spent all day just taking in the paintings. How I wish I could own one of his pieces. Monet is my absolute favorite painter. While I could’ve spent all my time in the two oval rooms, we did explore the rest of the museum where we saw pieces by Henri Matisse, Alfred Sisley, Paul Cezanne, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Our evening plans consisted of casually strolling down the Champs-Elysees where we popped into stores that caught our attention. Honestly a majority of the stores there were stores you could find anywhere so while the tree lined street was beautiful I wasn’t all that impressed by what it offered.

Arc de Triomphe

View from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

At the end of Champs-Elysees was the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc itself is very beautiful and much larger than I expected. We bought tickets on site and climbed up the winding stair case to the top. The climb was so worth it! The views from the top were incredible! Streets shoot out in every direction from the Arc giving you great views of the city. I particularly loved the view of the Eiffel Tower from this perspective.

Dinner at Gambino

Dinner at Gambino

After a fun filled day Steven and I were starving and walked back towards our part of town for dinner. Luckily there were lots of great restaurants by our Airbnb so we decided to have dinner to Gambino which was on our street. We settled into our cozy table for wine and pizza. It was the perfect ending to an incredible day.

Day 3

Louvre Museum

Because of our early wake up call the day before, we decided to sleep in a little so we wouldn’t be exhausted. It felt so good to wake up slowly, eat a chocolate croissant, and get ready for another great day in Paris.

Our first stop of the day was the Louvre Museum. Based on the recommendation from our photographer we entered through the Carrousel du Louvre instead of the pyramid. Good thing we listened because the line was so much shorter at that entrance and we didn’t have as long of a wait.

I was not prepared for the magnitude and popularity of the Louvre. I knew of its status as the world’s largest art museum, but I was still overwhelmed by the scope of what the museum offers and the crowds of people that visit every day. While we could have spent days at the museum, we chose to focus on some of the main pieces like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of Samothrace. Every major art piece was surrounded by a crowd and it took some time and patience to make our way to the front to get a look at the art work. While it was nice to get to see so many master works, the Louvre was my least favorite museum in Paris.

Escargot at Bouillon Chartier

After wandering around the Louvre for a few hours we were hungry and ready for lunch. We made our way to the historic Chartier Bullion where we had escargot and steak frites. While the restaurant was charming and service was fine the food was just ok. It wasn’t terrible, but there was nothing special about it either.



After lunch we decided to do some shopping at Galleries Lafayette. While we were there they had a kind of trampoline set up hanging in the center of the store. It was neat to go out on the colorful trampoline and set the store from that perspective. We walked through a couple of the floors before making our way to the top in hopes of going out onto the terrace. The terrace was closed but we were still able to enjoy the spectacular view of the Garnier Opera House and the Eiffel Tower from the cafe windows!

After a fun filled morning, we walked back to our AirBnB for a short afternoon nap.

Happy Hour at Capri Saint-Honoré

Upon waking up we headed out for happy hour at Capri Saint-Honoré which was also on the same street as where we were staying. We opted for cocktails and some yummy truffle fries. From there we walked across the love lock bridge and made our way to Musée d’Orsay.

Clock at Musée d'Orasy

View through the clock at Musée d'Orasy

Claude Monet at Musée d'Orsay

I loved Musée d’Orsay! The building itself is so beautiful and offers a rooftop terrace too! When we went it was much less crowded than the Louvre which was a huge relief for me. We saw pieces by Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and also a giant clock where you can see through all the way to Sacre Coure.

Sunset on the Seine

Sunset at Pont Alexandre

Sunset view of the Eiffel Tower on Rue de l'Université

Night time view of the Eiffel Tower from Pont d'lena

The Eiffel Tower Sparkling

The Eiffel Tower Sparkling

We left the museum and walked along the Seine at sunset. There were lots of little pop up bars and restaurants along the Seine and people were hanging out and enjoying the warm evening. We picked up some beverages and slowly made our way over to Pont d’léna where we picked a spot to drink some wine and enjoy the view while we waited for the Eiffel Tower to sparkle. Watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle was magical! While we were there the sun set around 10:30pm so the first light show didn’t happen until 11pm!

Day 4

Breakfast at Holybelly 5

We started off the day with brunch at Holybelly 5 where we had coffee and the most delicious pancakes! They don’t take reservations so be prepared to wait. We were the 5th in line and waited about 20mins- totally worth it!

Sacré Coeur

From brunch we took an uber out to Sacré Coeur which is a stunning Basilica that sits at the summit of Montmarte. There were crowds of people sitting outside enjoying the view of the city and hanging out. We were able to walk into the church and explore on our own. We’d hoped to climb to the top of the Dome but it was closed the day we visited.

Peonies in Montmarte

Moulin Rouge

We spent the next few hours wandering around Montmarte. We walked by the cutest (and pink!) cafe, La Maison Rose. We intended on grabbing drinks there but it was lunch time and they were only sitting people who were there to eat so instead we continued exploring. Each little street we walked down was absolutely charming. This part of town was definitely more hilly and I was glad to be in comfortable shoes. Some of the other spots we saw in Montmarte were the Place du Tertre which was a street packed with artist stalls, the “I love you” wall, Van Gogh’s apartment, Moulin Rouge, and the Montmarte Cemetery where the Degas tomb is at.

After exploring it was time for some shopping! We walked over to L’Appartment Sézane which was of course on my list of places to go to since I love seeing what the French brand offers in their online shop. I picked up a few dresses to try on and fell in love with a gorgeous pink and gold dress that I knew would be perfect for wedding we would be attending in Mexico. The store itself was bright and airy and very very crowded but it was still nice to be able to see the product in person.

Umbrella Sky Exhibit at Le Village Royal | May 2019

We walked over to another shopping center, Le Village Royal, to see their colorful umbrella sky exhibit. I’m not sure if it is a permanent exhibit or not but it would be worth looking up if you are in the area!

Macarons from Ladurée

I popped into Laduree for some macarons before heading home to take a nap. Yes, another nap! That was the beauty of staying in the center of the city - we could go home for a quick nap before heading out again for the evening!

Bar hopping in Montmarte

"No Entry" Speakeasy below Pink Mama

Pink Mama in Montmarte

Pizza and Tuffle Pasta from Pink Mama

For our evening, we headed back out to Montmarte. We got on the wait list at Pink Mama and bar hopped while we waited. I don’t remember every bar we went to but that area had lots and lots of options so it was the perfect spot for a night out! My favorite bar however was the “No Entry” speakeasy that was in the basement of the building where Pink Mama is at. Based on a tip from a local we made our way down to the basement and opened the meat locker doors to reveal a cozy speakeasy with creative and delicious cocktails.

Dinner at Pink Mama was one of our favorites! The restaurant itself is beautiful, the service was great, and the food was delicious! We ordered an appetizer, pizza, truffle pasta, and dessert. We definitely left dinner feeling happy and full!

Day 5

Château de Versailles

Château de Versailles

Hall of Mirrors Château de Versailles

Gardens Château de Versailles

Gardens Château de Versailles

For our last full day in Paris we decided to take a day trip out to Versailles. Getting to Versailles was very easy. We walked over to the train station, purchased a round trip ticket, and enjoyed about a 30 minute train ride out of the city.

If you are going to Versailles, I highly recommend purchasing your tickets online ahead of time. We bought time specific tickets and all we had to do was show up to the designated area, show our tickets, and go through security.

While we were at the Chateau de Versailles we did the palace tour and walked around the gardens. Doing both of those things took us about 3 hours and that was with us skipping the things that didn’t interest us. I really enjoyed touring the Kings apartment and the Hall of Mirrors but other than that I think that the gardens were more impressive than most of the palace tour. The gardens are massive! We walked around for a long time and still did not see everything. We also realized while we were there that they also offer temporary exhibits and a tour of the Estate of Trianon - but it being our last day, we opted to head back to Paris.

French Onion Soup at Le Petit Vendōme

Pont Alexandre

Paris after the rain

Notre Dame at sunset

Museé d'Orsay in the distance

sunset at the Tuileries Gardens

Louvre at night

Louvre Pyramid at night

The rest of our afternoon was spent wandering around the city. We had a lovely dinner at a little cafe called Le Petit Vendōme where I had the best French onion soup. We walked across Pont Alexander and made our way through Saint-Germain. I really wanted to spend some more time at the Luxembourg Garden, but we walked up right was they were closing - next time! We picked up some wine and walked back towards the Louvre where we sat and watched a spectacular sunset over Paris and even got to see the Eiffel Tour sparkle one more time! Overall a wonderful evening and ending to our trip to Paris!

Pont d'lena May 2019 | Photo by Doug from L'Amour de Paris

Jardins du Trocadéro May 2019 | Photo by Doug from L'Amour de Paris