Travel tip: Think twice before booking this activity in Paris

 
 
 
 

We took a weekend trip from London to Paris and I was adamant on planning out the whole 72 hours because its PARIS! There is no time to waste, no pastry to miss, and no meal to waste on an average restaurant.

Well, of course, something that is too planned never really goes to plan. So instead of sharing our itinerary I’ll share some travel tips for the city and one activity that you might want to think twice before booking.

 
 

THOUGHTS ON FOOD

Dinner

  • La Diva-des-Près : We ate here for lunch after cancelling our original lunch plans. It was a beautiful sunny day and we wanted to eat outside so La Diva had really fun sidewalk seating. We really enjoyed our meals and would recommend it. Was it life changing? No. Was it overpriced? Probably.

  • Django Pigalle: After another failed dinner attempt we ended up at Django - which was perfectly great! The aesthetic was super cute and we felt like locals. The cuisine was more Mediterranean than French.

  • Bouillon Pigalle : This is where we were trying to eat but the line was AROUND THE BLOCK. This spot supposedly has amazing French food and great prices. It seems to be loved by locals and travelers. And loved so much that the line for a table wraps around the block!

  • Buvette Paris: Cute small French restaurant. We went at 11pm and just stuffed our faces because we were starving after the concert. Would go back!


Brunch/Breakfast

  • The Hardware Societe: Australian / French brunch restaurant. A small wait but nothing crazy. The portions were huge! Really nice options, just nothing traditional - French.

  • Café Marlette: A small French chain with a few locations around the city. Nice pre-fixed options with breads, jams, yogurt, eggs. Nice option.

  • Le Comptoir Général: Really awesome interior but not what I expected for Brunch. A lot of fish and savory options. It was also price fixed at 35 Euros. It was good, just not what I expected. Maybe I would try it for dinner instead.


Pastries/baked goods:

  • Komorebi Pâtisserie: I had an amazing cardamom bun and will never forget that :) Just in general - get a cardamom bun from any bakery ;)

  • Pierre Herme: A famous chain for macaroons. They were good! But I couldn’t tell the difference between these and the frozen ones at Trader Joes

  • Carette: Famous pastry spot near the Eiffel Tower. We went around 9pm and they were all out of most of their baked goods. We ended up leaving because they only had macaroons left out of all the pastries. 

 

Things to do

  • You and your eye: We wanted to get our eyeballs photographed but unfortunately this spot was closed all weekend. There are other spots to get it done but they were more expensive.

  • Forma gallery: The google review says this small art exhibit is better than the Louvre. They might have been in-between exhibits so it was hard to tell. They had one Matisse on display. It is free so I would say wander in.

  • High Art gallery: Beware! This building is hard to find. There is just a little gold sign next to a large door. The exhibit we saw wasn’t my favorite but the building was FANTASTIC! It is free so definitely check it out. The space is right near Pink Mamma which is a popular restaurant so you can head there after.

  • 3rd Arrondissement: This was the area around Forma gallery. It was filled with other cute small art exhibits and lots of shopping. Boutique spots, trendy stores like Vejas, and then also vintage/second hand options.

  • Twice: Second hand store in the 3rd arrondissement. They sell items from bloggers/influencers so everything is very trendy.

  • Sacré-Cœur: Worth a visit on a sunny day. Watch out for your bags. Eoghan had someone grab him - nothing bad, just typical touristy spot with a lot of people.

  • Eiffel Tower: We didn’t get tickets ahead of time and waited in a line for 30 mins at about 11pm. We were able to go to the second floor, not the summit. I think everyone has to go up the Eiffel Tower at some point so I would recommend getting tickets ahead of time (like 2 weeks before your trip) or wait till night time and go when the line for tickets is shorter.

  • Av. de Camoens, 75116 Paris, France: The BEST spot for photos of the Eiffel Tower. This street is pretty quiet and pretty much zero tourists around. We went at night when the Eiffel Tower is sparkling and got some really cute photos. 

NOTE: The Eiffel Tower sparkles for 5 mins on the hour every hour once it gets dark.

 

Think Twice before booking this activity

 

Vintage car tour of Paris

We booked with 2CV Paris Tours. It was 70 euros for an hour tour. They picked us up in a cute teal vintage car and brought us around the city and ended at the Eiffel Tower. 

I love guided tours and learning about the city from a local, however it is really hard to hear the driver in a drop top car while they are driving. Our driver also didn’t really talk much. It makes sense, they are driving and need to pay attention to the road, but it was a lot of silence. I had to ask questions to then get him to talk more about culture, buildings, etc.

It was nice to get off of our feet but we ended up re-walking a lot of the streets we drove around. I was thinking this tour would allow us to cover a lot of ground since we were only there for 2-ish days, but in all honesty it would be better to rent a bike.

So, I wouldn’t rule the tour out completely, but I would suggest using 70 euros for something else rather than this tour. 

Kelly Bryden