4 Days in Paris

With my wanderlust at an all time high, it only seemed fitting to cross another city off my ‘to visit’ list. With cheap flights quickly secured for us to spend a few days in Paris, we immediately started scouring the web for places to stay, see and most importantly, eat at.

I’m constantly meaning to do hotel reviews of where I stay but it never crosses my mind to take photos when I’m filled with the excitement of exploring a new city. We chose Avalon Hotel which was barely five minutes walk from Gare du Nord station: as we decided to get the train from the airport, we figured it would be easier to leave our luggage somewhere close by and use the Metro to get closer to the attractions around the Seine. It was a lovely little hotel and I’d certainly recommend it if you’re looking for a basic but comfortable room – the only thing we could have done with was air conditioning.

As we arrived early on in the morning, we had a few hours to kill before check-in so we left our suitcase at the hotel and decided to explore the local area. While most of our time was spent marvelling at the sheer amount of wedding dress shops (every single shop by the way), we caught a glimpse of this magnificent building through the winding streets of Montmartre. Turns out, it was the Sacré-Cœur and it was pretty darn impressive for our first hour in the city. After a quick nap, we headed out to explore the rest of Paris.
What I would not advise; walking from the Moulin Rouge to the Seine. It’s a long way. We just got a little too excited when we saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance, after the disappointment of the Moulin Rouge. Couldn’t visualise Ewan McGregor singing his heart out in that area.

You may recognise this fountain in Place de la Concorde if you’re a fan of The Devil Wears Prada. Again, I got a little too excited although wasn’t at all tempted to recreate the scene of Anne Hathaway throwing her phone into the water.

St Chapelle is just a few streets away from Notre Dame but tends to get overlooked in favour of the incredibly famous cathedral. Jade particularly wanted to visit and we didn’t regret it for a second. Note: if you’re 18-25 and live in the EU, many attractions in Paris are free – just bring your passport. This includes Notre Dame and The Louvre as well as St Chapelle.

In the city of love, one of the most romantic places has to be Pont des Arts. Despite a mesh section of the bridge actually collapsing while we were on it (think hundreds of locks laying sadly on the floor), it was still insane to see the amount of locks attached. The cutest thing was probably this…

One of the places I enjoyed most – surprisingly – was The Louvre. I hadn’t quite imagined it to be that big but what also impressed me was the size of the pyramids outside. Surrounded by water, it was heaven to soothe our aching feet in the fountains and relax in the heat. We did take a trip inside the next day but even the ceilings in the building impressed me more than the Mona Lisa.

Believe it or not, this photo is not edited at all!

I saved the best until last. Despite the amazing architecture throughout Paris, I couldn’t help being completely awed by the most visited monument in the world – the Eiffel tower. We walked over to it a few times just to marvel. There’s much more to write about my trip but the length of this post is forcing me to bring it to a close.

I definitely wore more than one outfit, by the way…
So Paris, you were amazing. From the Arc de Triomphe to breakfast in La Marais, I loved every second.

Read more about Paris:

Free Tourist Attractions with an EU Passport

Exploring Paris with Contiki

Midnight in Paris