There’s something magical about traveling someplace for the first time, even if most of your exploring means checking off the must-see spots on the well-worn tourist path.
Day 1
Our flight arrived at Paris-Charles de Gaulle bright and early, at just before 7am. We grabbed a taxi to our hotel to freshen up, then spent the rest of the day exploring the city.
A boulangerie, patisserie or café on every corner
The Eiffel Tower by day
The Galeries Lafayette (a fancy shopping mall)
We ended the evening with a dinner cruise on the Seine. One of our taxi drivers recommended Capitaine Fracasse. Food was average, views were priceless.
View of the Eiffel Tower from the Seine
Day 2
Spent the morning exploring the Louvre and the adjacent Tuileries Gardens. Easily could’ve spent the whole day here, but we had later that afternoon booked to visit family and friends in the area.
The Louvre
Louvre Highlights, L-R: Cupid and Psyche, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo
Louvre Highlights, L-R: Mona Lisa, Liberty Leading the People
Tuileries Gardens
After finishing up at the Louvre, we took a stroll along the banks of the Seine to Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame.
L-R: A Seine river cruise, the Pont des Arts bridge
L-R: Inside the Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-dame de Paris
Day 3
Started the day with a quick stop at the Musée de l’Orangerie to view Monet’s Water Lilies. The set of eight paintings are displayed across the two main oval-shaped rooms of the museum. It felt so serene, even on a free admission first Sunday.
Water Lilies: Green Reflections
The Palace of Versailles is about a 40-minute Uber ride from Paris. We spent the afternoon exploring the palace and gardens.
T,L,R: Palace and gardens, Hall of Mirrors, Water Theater Grove
Travel Notes
- I’m all for slow travel, but I have only so much time off a year! We fit most of the places on our Paris must-see list in three days.
- We visited in early April, weather was a little chilly but otherwise beautiful.
- We needed a couple of hours to refresh after our early morning arrival, and a room reservation on Dayuse.com provided the perfect solution.
- We booked our actual hotel, the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, through Expedia. A room with the Eiffel Tower view is worth the upgrade!
- Paris is a paradise for art and history lovers; because of our tight vacation schedule, we limited our itinerary to the Louvre and one smaller museum, the Musée de l’Orangerie, in addition to the Palace of Versailles. Book museum tickets online ahead of time! If you have a few more days in Paris, consider the Paris Museum Pass for savings and skip the line access.
- There was definitely not have enough time to see all the collections at each museum. We decided to check out a few of the museums’ highlights, which we picked out from their websites out before our visit.
- We skipped out on our plans for a fancy Michelin-starred dinner. We ate out at the neighborhood cafés, and the food was delectable.