Travel Diaries: Paris



Eiffel Tower


Arc de Triomph


Louvre Art Museum


Palais-Royal


Palace of Versailles


Pont Des Arts


Notre Dame Cathedral

The first stop (out of three) on the spring break agenda was Paris. My three friends and I spent one and a half days there and I think it's safe to say we made the most of our short trip. We did A LOT. We knocked out many big tourist sites and went to a couple of more obscure activities too.
Although it was cloudy and cold (and sometimes rainy while we were there, this city is so gorgeous and full of culture that the weather didn't detract from my experience! Also, can I just say that the bread in Paris is WORTH THE HYPE. Literally even the croissants in the airport were to die for. I'm going to break my itinerary down for y'all day-by-day, chronologically. 

Day 1

- Arrived at our hostel in the late morning. Paris is a super expensive city to stay in so we went with the a hostel because it was the only reasonably priced option. Even all the Airbnbs are pricey here!

- Walked around the Eiffel Tower area for a few hours and took pictures

- Toured the Louvre and went to the Arc de Triomphe (right next to the Louvre). The Mona Lisa was rather underwhelming and smaller than I expected but it was nevertheless cool to see one of the most famous pieces of art in history. FYI you can get into the Louvre for free if you are a student and show your ID!

- Visited the Palais-Royal, a cute courtyard with lots of round, black and white striped blocks. This area was so elegant and great for cute pictures!

Day 2

- Made the trek out to see the palace of Versailles. This was the most bourgouis and "extra," if you will, architecture I have ever seen. The chandelier room is absolutely stunning and a must-see. I was ecstatic to visit the expansive gardens outside of the palace because I had seen gorgeous photos online. However, they were a bust because it was still technically winter so the fountains were drained and the shrubs were all cut down. I would definitely love to come back here in the summer!

- Of course, we had to stop at Pont des Arts, otherwise known as the famous bridge of locks. Definitely a cool place to take pictures. 

- One of the coolest things we did while in Paris is go to 59 Rivoli. If you are looking for a less touristy activity to do and love art, you have to go here. 59 Rivoli is basically part art gallery and part studio. There are 6 floors filled with artist work stations and they have all their work sitting out/hanging up for you to look at. The coolest part is that you get to watch the artists working on their art and often see them deep in thought brainstorming or contemplating their work. The floors and ceilings of the stairwell is covered floor to ceiling with paintings and drawings, which is also super cool. I did not take any pictures on my DSLR camera as I felt like it would be obnoxious in that type of environment. I am not that into art at all but 59 Rivoli was truly one of my favorite places we visited and it made me feel like I was getting an authentic experience of Paris.

- Made a real quick stop at Notre Dame before heading out to dinner. 

Overall, Paris was amazing and I feel so satisfied with the amount we did/saw in a matter of less than 2 days. I definitely want to make a trip back here one summer to experience it when nature is in full bloom and the weather is nicer. 

I would love your feedback on if you would like me to make more posts like this one. I plan on making a similar post on my trip to Portugal so stay tuned!


1 comment

  1. Beautiful pictures! I would love to go to Paris one of these days
    -Kate
    http://www.katekoutures.com/

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