A trip to Paris!

To celebrate turning 21 and finally finishing uni, me and my friends booked a trip to Paris.

On our first trip we arrived mid-afternoon and headed for food in the 15th Arrondissement which is where we were staying in our Air BNB. Our area was more calm and quite compared to the busy city centre and surrounded by many shops to grab food in the morning (a stone’s throw away from a Lidl!).

After freshening up in our apartment, we headed out to grab some dinner and see a few sights. I really wanted to see the Moulin Rouge, and as it was the most out of the way, I thought it would be good to get it done first. We travelled around Paris mainly using the metro as it was the easiest to navigate and the quickest. It was around 15 euros for 10 single trip tickets. We went to the Moulin Rouge and I lived out my Nicole Kidman dream!

Following our mini photo-shoot, we didn’t realise we were only a 10 minute walk away from the Sacré-Cœur. There is a steep hill that you can climb by stairs. However there is a lift which we used by one of our Metro tickets. Not really knowing what to expect, we were blown away from the view. If, like us, you don’t have much interest in the actual building; it is definitely worth it for the view. Do be prepared though for the amount of pigeons here! They swoop very close!

After this we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, after having dinner we sat on the lawns and waited for it to light up. This is something I feel everyone must do this when visiting Paris as it is a beautiful sight.

The next morning we got up early and headed to the Louvre. I would suggest arriving early to avoid ques. Also if you are a European student, you do not need to buy a ticket as entry is free if you show a valid ID card. The museum itself is huge and has many great pieces. Of course we went to see the Mona Lisa, but of course was very very busy.

Following the Louvre we headed for food across the road from the museum. We found somewhere a 10 minute walk away called Eric Kayser. Much like a Pret, this was reasonably priced, and was one of the few places that had good vegetarian options. We then used our Metro ticket to hop on a bus to the Eiffel Tower.

We pre-booked our tickets for 18 euros the day before our trip. We chose the lift option that took you to the highest point of the tower. Again the views at the top were amazing, I could stay for ages, but it does start to feel a bit crowded by the amount of other tourists that are there.

We then grabbed an ice cream from Amorino, about 15 minute walk from tower. This was such a cute ice cream shop and had such a good array of flavours. I chose pistachio (my absolute favourite) and cookies and cream.

For dinner we headed to Chatelet – Les Halles. This was such a good area for restaurants and bars. We had food in Street Bangkok Roast & Beer which was amazing. I had the duck wok with rice and it tasted soooo good! We then went to a few different bars in this area, before having a crepe then heading back to our apartment.

On our final day we got on the river Seine hop on/hop off boat tour starting at the Eiffel tower. The batobus stops at multiple locations and also offers student prices. The boat shows you great views of the city and on the day we went was such good weather so made it even better. The ticket lasts all day with the last trip at 9:30pm. We got off at the Notre Dame, but couldn’t get close due to the damage and works they are doing to the building.

We then hopped back on the boat and got off at Place de la Concorde and walked up to Champs-Élysées. We had lunch at Le 4 Casino, a supermarket that also had a selection of fresh ready-to-eat foods. This was also a great, and reasonably priced place to eat lunch. We then headed to Sephora, before walking up to the Arc de Triomphe.

We headed back here for our final dinner where we had a great view of the Arc de Triomphe!

Overall I would highly recommend visiting Paris as I very quickly fell in love with this city. Be prepared for it to be on the pricey side, but it is definitely worth it.

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