Review my itinerary but with a twist: we’ve already gone and flown back to the US.

Bonjour/Bonsoir!

Husband and I landed on Sunday morning February 23 and flew out Saturday March 1. Stayed at a hotel in Auteuil. It was our first time there. I speak French but I’d been out of practice for a long while. Nevertheless I held up well and everyone was accommodating whenever I needed to switch back to English. Some parts of the trip were planned in advance, others were just on-the-go.

Sunday morning we went to the hotel and decided to do an early check-in. We were exhausted and needed some sleep, and were okay paying the extra €60. Woke up a few hours later, around 3-4pm, and went to Wepler at Place de Clichy for dinner.

Monday morning we walked around our hotel and found ourselves at the Statue of Liberty under the Pont de Grenelle, after which we went to the Eiffel Tower. There were virtually no lines and we were on the lift in no time. Got tickets for the top and I’m still in awe that the tower was built in 1887. After that we went to Sacré-Cœur, and ate at one of the restaurants nearby (it was delicious despite it being a tourist trap). The jet lag was still strong so we went back to the hotel and dinner was a simple affair.

Tuesday morning we walked around our hotel again and went to the Musée d’Orsay around noon. We spent almost 5 hours there and then went to meet a friend of mine who’s lived in Paris for a while at Carette on the Place des Vosges. She recommended it over Angelina, and I have no regrets. The hot chocolate was divine and, of course, seeing a dear friend was great. Spent a solid two hours at Carette and then went back to the hotel. For dinner, we tried a smash burger place nearby called Starbun. Solid burger and the fries were crispy crunchy.

Wednesday morning another friend of mine who lives in Dijon took the train into Paris and arrived around 11. We went to the Arc de Triomphe and for lunch, she recommended a boullion, so we went to Boullion Chartier on the Rue de Faubourg Montmartre. The line to get into the restaurant was very long but the wait was worth it. It was an amazing time and the food was not only very traditional, but affordable as well. Our friend then went back to the Gare de Bercy to get back to Dijon, and husband and I went to the Petit Palais to check out the permanent collection. For dinner, we went to Firenze on Avenue de Versailles, walking distance from our hotel.

Thursday we went to London! Visited the Tower of London, ate at The Wolesley City, hopped on a tour bus, and went back to Paris in the evening. It was delightful and exhausting.

Friday we went to Sainte-Chapelle in the morning and then into the Conciergerie. Husband wanted to visit a costume shop he found on Google but we didn’t realize they’d closed their store and switched to online sales until after we’d gone to the address. The store used to be located on the Rue de la Glacière. Nearby, we went to Bistro 13 which was serving couscous that day. It was delicious and made up for the dead-end trip. We went back to the hotel to start packing and get as much rest as possible.

Saturday morning our flight was at 11:45 so we left the hotel at 8.

That’s about it! I loved this trip and I’m so bummed we didn’t have more time. You can see we skipped a lot of the attractions but it felt good to soak in the ones we did see. We never felt rushed. Sadly I also caught a bug and had started getting a sore throat by Wednesday. Feeling much better now but it slowed me down for sure. We’re looking forward to our next visit next year 🤩