Bonjour! Paris, the capital of France, is one of the most magical cities I’ve ever visited. Even if you are short on time, like we were, there is still so much you can fit in and do before jet setting off to your next destination. I have highlighted some of my favorite sites to see and things that you absolutely should cram into your busy schedule!
How to Get To Paris:
There are many ways to get to Paris. If you choose to fly, the main airports are Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Paris-Orly (ORY). If you are coming from somewhere else in Europe, your best bet may be to hop on a train depending on the distance. I highly recommend taking an early morning flight to ensure that you will have a full day in this beautiful place!
How to spend your first 12 hours:
My sister and I flew into CDG super early, and immediately made our way to the trains running directly from the airport into the city. You can opt in to take the RER B train or a city bus to get to Paris’ City Center. The 80-minute bus ride costs 11.50€. The trains, we were told, are cheaper (10€ one-way) and faster (approx. 50 min. ride) so we chose to go that route. The RER, leaves the airport every 10 to 20 minutes and tickets can be purchased at booths in the arrivals terminal.
As a blogger, I have always promised that I will be truthful with you about my experiences. Travel can be really messy and isn’t always pretty, regardless of what you may see on Instagram. I was already stressed knowing we only had 24 hours in Paris, and the RER train did not help our case whatsoever. We had to learn the hard way that patience is indeed a virtue. If I’ve learned one thing from traveling, it is that it is super unpredictable! You can map out every little thing you’d like to see and do in a country but one hiccup could throw off your entire game plan. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, European transportation can be very unpredictable so please factor this in when booking your travel!
I think our incident was extremely rare, (so if you are visiting, feel free to still try out the train and let me know how it goes) but when my sister and I were about three miles from our final destination, our train stopped completely. We had no idea what was going on nor do we know any French so we couldn’t understand the announcements! After sitting on the tracks for about 40 minutes, almost the amount of time the one-way trip was supposed to take, we watched as people started prying open the doors on the train and jumping off onto the tracks!
About 20% of the people on the train started walking along the tracks back toward the last station we passed. After waiting on the stalled train for an hour and a half, I finally found someone who was bilingual. He told me that there was a broken down train stuck on the tracks in front of us, and maintenance wasn’t coming to fix it until 3pm. It was noon! I honestly could have cried. I looked at my sister and we did what any sane person would’ve done in that moment, we threw our suitcases on the track and hopped off the train into the arms of Parisian strangers.
We walked along the track with other passengers for quite some time until we found a tunnel leading us to a busy street. Around the corner was a bus stop that we boarded taking us to our ibis hotel. We quickly changed our clothes, freshened up, and walked the short distance to the Metro (perks of this hotel!). The tickets were relatively inexpensive for a day pass and we took off to the city, specifically the Eiffel Tower!
We got off the metro, walked a bit, turned a corner, and low and behold the Eiffel Tower was directly in front of us. I actually lost my breath! It was bigger than I could have imagined and so surreal to see something I’d seen on TV in person. Coffee and food was a necessity so we snagged some espressos and crepes from a food stand in the Trocadero Gardens. We were already behind on our itinerary so we took in the views, snapped a couple of photos, and then took off toward the Arc de Triomphe.
The walk was stunning! Literally everything here from the buildings, to the sidewalks, to the architecture was so beautiful. We watched the sun set behind the Arc, walked through the lit up Avenue des Champs-Élysée, and made our way to the Monmartre neighborhood. Paris is super walkable, if you don’t mind the steps, or you can take the metro to get close to most monuments.
Although I do not identify as Catholic, one of the places I really wanted to lay eyes on was the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. When you think of Paris, I typically think of the Sacré-Cœur, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower so fitting in all three in one trip was a necessity. The birds eye view of the city from the basilica is one of the prettiest you can get in Paris. To climb up to the hilltop of Montmartre, you will have to accomplish at least 300 stairs. If you aren’t feeling super athletic, there is a funicular that will take you to the top. If you have a metro, bus, or RER ticket, you can just use that and swipe it to ride up or down. The ride takes 90 seconds and is well worth giving your feet a break.
We ate dinner at a super delicious Italian restaurant, and of course the name is escaping me at the moment. If you choose to eat in the Montmartre area of Paris, near Moulin Rouge, you cannot go wrong! All of the restaurants looked amazing and it was hard to narrow down where we wanted to go. But a cheesy pizza before bed was calling our names.
How to spend your last 12 hours:
Watching the sun rise in a new country is always on my to-do list, so I made Allie wake up super early with me to watch the sky light up over the Siene River. It was a perfect morning in Paris! Our hotel could not have been more accommodating and agreed to hold our bags while we explored our last hours! We walked alongside the river until we made it to the Notre Dame Cathedral (this trip was taken before the devastating fire in April 2019). The architecture of this place was absolutely stunning and because it was so early, there was barely a crowd! We had the whole place to ourselves.
After counting our blessings, we walked to the Pont des Arts bridge, better know as the “lock bridge.” Growing up I had read about this bridge in Paris that lovers from all over the world would visit. It was tradition for a couple to inscribe their name on a padlock, lock in on the bridge and then throw the key into the Siene River. While I was aware that the city had removed the locks back in 2015, I still wanted to see the bridge that used to carry such a fun ritual. There were padlocks sporadically around telephone poles nearby but for the most part that history is long gone.
Next up was the Louvre Museum! Home to the Mona Lisa, this museum is one of the most well-known and visited museums of all time. It was incredible! I’ve been told you could spend hours walking around looking at artwork. Unfortunately, we did not have time to do so. But if you do, absolutely try to fit it in! You can even buy tickets here. I’ve heard nothing but great things about it. We did have the chance to take photos with the pyramid-like museum and walk around the Tuileries Garden afterward.
We were running short on time, so we made our way to the Madeleine neighborhood to pick up some world famous macaroons from Laduree. Remember when Chuck Bass flew all the way to Paris to get them for Blair Waldorf? Yes, it was a must to try out! Nearby, was the shopping center Printemps. The rooftop cafe is a prime spot to see both the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Cœur, among other sites from a distance. We grabbed a quick lunch of grapes, bread, and cheese and then ran back to grab our bags and head to our next country!
While the time flew by in Paris (and just about everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong) it was one of the best cities we’ve ever visited. We quickly learned carbs make everything better, to keep an open mind, to wear layers and for next time maybe to know a few words in French! Oh, and if your friends jump off a train, you jump off a train!
For those of you that have been to Paris, what did I miss? What do I need to see next time? Because let’s be real, I will be back! Comment below and follow my other travel journeys on Instagram at @runawaywithkay and @kayliericks12
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Well done to the author. Love the post.
Author
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed. If you are visiting Paris, I hope you have an amazing time!