3 days in Paris – Part 1.
Paris, we meet again after almost 20 years… ♡
I was going to Paris quite often when I was a little girl with my mom. My mom’s dear friend lives here, so she was visiting once or twice per year, with me or my little brother.
I didn’t give much thought to whether or not I will visit again the landmarks. After all, it’s been so many years.
We decided to visit one landmark per day only. Eiffel Tower – Versailles Palace – Louvre Museum.
We pre-booked the tickets online, so this way we skipped the line (which was huge by the way everywhere).
Day one.
At 5:40 in the morning, our train from London St Pancras station was leaving for Paris Gare du Nord. It took us 2:30 hours to reach Paris. We passed through the English Channel which was 30 minutes. The procedure was typical just like in the airports. We passed through passport control and additional security checks. The journey itself was smooth and easy. For as long as there are plugs in each seat and I can watch Netflix on my mobile, I am happy.
When we arrived in Paris, it was early in the morning. We had plenty of time and the weather was luckily sunny for most of the day.
Our day started by going to Île de la Cité, one of the two natural islands in the River Seine. We visited Sainte Chapelle, a beautiful church with colourful stained glass windows that left me astonished. A masterpiece that is well worth a visit!
Sainte Chapelle was the only site we visited without having pre-booked tickets. Fortunately, the line was moving fast (it took us 15 minutes to enter).
Very close to Sainte Chapelle, (5-minute walking), is located the famous Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
I regret to say that we didn’t visit it this time, but we just made a stop there to admire the façade of this dearly beloved medieval Gothic cathedral.
… 10 days before the catastrophic fire.
Our Lady, as it is the literal translation, was standing there for 850 years but it took only some minutes to burn on the 15th April 2019.
One of the greatest examples of Medieval Gothic Architecture was bursting into flames and it was just unbearable to watch…
Pledges reached one million euros so far for the reconstruction of Notre Dame. and soon an architectural competition will launch to redesign the roof and the spire.
Back to my story…
We crossed Ponte au Double to continue walking through Quartier Latin. It’s the area around the Sorbonne university which is famous for its student life.
We then headed to Saint-Germain des Pres, in the 6th Arrondissement of Paris.
This area is famous for its cafes, brasseries, bars and restaurants, including some historic cafes.
Café Procope (the oldest café in Paris in continuous operation since 1686. Café de Flore (popular for its famous clientele in the past). It included high-profile writers and philosophers, and Les Deux Magots that used to gather the intellectual elite of Paris, including Ernest Hemmingway, Simone de Beauvoir etc.
We had lunch at Le Molière, a nice spot on a busy street where there was a mix of tourists and locals which is what we actually wanted.
We had to be at 5:30 at Tour Eiffel. We didn’t know how much time it would take us to stand in line. So we left early for Champ de Mars.
Since many people pre-book tickets online to “skip the line’, I was afraid that the “Skip the line” line, would be quite big.
When we arrived I saw long queues and I was worried that we would be in one of those queues for an hour.
But luckily for us, there wasn’t any queue yet. We also had time for a coffee and some macaron at a coffee shop close by.
It took us less than 10 minutes to enter and take the lift.
First stop: Second floor where the views of the city are breathtaking from each corner. Our ticket was to the top floor.
So we had to wait in a really big queue on the second floor, that got me a bit frustrated.
It was windy and we waited at least 30 minutes to get the lift to the top floor.
I have to admit, while we were going up to the top floor, I had the feeling of acrophobia.
If I am totally honest, there is no need to book a ticket until the top floor. You can only visit the second floor.
The views of the city are still stunning and you don’t have to wait in a long line to visit the last floor.
Then, we headed to Trocadero Gardens for some great views over the Eiffel Tower <3
We dined at Le Corner, a very cute bistro close-by Boissière Metro. We had a salmon steak with homemade ratatouille and pesto sauce, and chive omelette and a green salad. The dishes were tasteful and the service very friendly and attentive. And I forgot to take photos 😛
To continue reading, click here: 3 days in Paris – Part 2
