Top 5 Tips for Visiting Paris
Hello lovely blog readers! These last two months have been a whirlwind. I'm trying to catch up on posts as quickly as possible - thanks for sticking by!
Our quick trip to Paris was wonderful and I wanted to share our top tips for seeing "the city of love."
1.) Make sure you visit Notre Dame early.
Collin and I strolled into the courtyard of Notre Dame one morning around 11 a.m. only to find the line incredibly long. Well, by incredibly long I mean ridiculously long. The church itself is free (yippee!) but that doesn't mean they just let the hoards in. You have to get your bag checked and then make your way around the church.
Instead of standing in the line, which we just do not do, we decided to check their opening times and get up early the next day.
The following morning we got to the courtyard around 8:30 a.m. and we had the place to ourselves. We would highly recommend setting your alarm clocks a bit earlier and heading out to see Notre Dame at her finest - without the crowds and without the heat.
Extra tip: Don't forget to go around to the back of the Cathedral. The architecture is amazing from all sides but unfortunately the back is rarely visited.
2.) Visit the Eiffel Tower at night.
Again Collin and I merrily made our way over to the Eiffel Tower thinking we would head up to the top only to get there and realize the line was far too long. We took a few pictures underneath and found a fantastic spot across the street by the river to snap a few mementos. We made a decision to come back at night as it stays open quite late.
After dinner we meandered through the streets of Paris coming upon the Eiffel Tower in all her glory.
I smiled as I walked along the streets past apartment windows and found that there was an incredible reflection of the Eiffel Tower in the windows.
The hoards of people had disappeared and we hardly met anyone as we made our way up the many flights of steps.
We made it to the second floor just in time to see the twinkling lights start dancing across the tower surface.
3.) Make time to visit Museum d'Orsay.
This museum has been one of our favorites to date. The amount of impressionist works is astonishing.
We would have loved to spend hours more walking through the corridors.
The building itself is incredible. It's so lovely to be surrounded by beauty while appreciating your favorite artists.
4.) Take a stroll down Rue Montorgueil.
Our Airbnb was right down the road from Rue Montorgueil. I'd read that this area had great shops, restaurants, cafes and bakeries.
They were right. We had our best meal of the trip at La Pearla and I was able to get my Instagram shot of the famous rose gelato at Amorino.
5.) Grab a crepe at La Droguerie.
They are famous for their crepes - both savory and sweet.
There were a few things I wanted to make sure I tasted in Paris. We've had crepes before but being in Paris means you can't miss out on the opportunity. After lunch we decided to make ourselves just a bit more full by ordering a Nutella crepe from La Droguerie.
I love to watch crepes being made. It smells and look delicious and it was piping hot as I took my first bite. Incredible - to say the least.
We definitely enjoyed Paris and would highly recommend anyone heading to the city of love to take advantage of our tips and reduce your time queueing up.
