In the summer of 2019, I began my journey to Madrid for school. My family decided to accompany me for a trip around France and Spain before my semester started. We were able to get a direct flight from Calgary to Paris, which was about 8 and a half hours. We arrived in Paris around 4:30 in the afternoon and after getting through customs and a taxi to our hotel in the 5th arrondissement. We stayed at Hotel Excelsior Latin, one of the few hotels that had a room that could accompany all 5 of us. Most hotel rooms in Europe were not large enough for 5 people, and we often needed two rooms.
After a short nap to help with the jet lag, we went for dinner at L’Écritoire. The restaurant was right on Place de la Sorbonne in front of the Université Paris-Sorbonne. I got the onion soup and then we walked around the area for a bit before heading back to the hotel to sleep. We were staying near the Luxembourg gardens and the Panthéon.
The next morning we woke around 4 am, due to jet lag. At a more reasonable hour, we decided to get up and get breakfast, once the cafés had opened. We went to Le Choupinet, about a block away, for croissants and coffee. We had a view of the gardens across the street and were the only ones in the café as it was so early.
After breakfast we made our way via metro to the Arc du Triomphe. I wanted to see the arc because I had heard that you get a great view of the Eiffel tower from the top. Of course the arc is a landmark all on its own, but it isn’t quite as well-known as the Eiffel tower, and therefore is less busy. We still had to wait in line to get to the tower, but only about 5 minutes for tickets and another 5-10 to get to the arc itself. The arc is surrounded by a large traffic circle, so don’t try to cross the street. There is a pedestrian underpass to reach the arc, and this is where you’ll find the ticket office.
We climbed the stairs to the top of the arc and got a great view of the Eiffel tower, Champs-Élysées and the other streets that radiate from the arc. The view from the arc is definitely a must-see. If you are a student in the EU, you can get a discount on tickets, so bring your student ID. Currently tickets are 13 euros for adults and free for anyone under 18.
After our tour of the Arc du Triomphe, we stopped a McDonald’s on Champs-Élysées to buy the most expensive bottles of water we’ve ever encountered. Then we continued on the the Eiffel tower, back on the metro to Trocadero station. We got out and took photos of the Eiffel tower from the Jardins du Trocadéro, across the Seine from the tower. This is a popular spot to take pictures of the Eiffel tower, so be prepared for crowds and potential scammers in the area.
After the tower, we went for a late lunch at an Italian restaurant, Gloria, in the 7th arrondissement. When we finished eating, we continued on to our last site of the day. We walked to the Musée d’Orsay. This museum is inside an old train station that sits along the Seine, and has a rounded glass roof that makes the building a piece of art in itself, beyond what is housed within it.
We went for a late night snack at The Crêperie on Rue Soufflot. The crêpes were delicious. Finally, after a long day of walking, we made our way back to the hotel to rest and do it all again for our last full day in Paris.
After eating in a new cafe for breakfast (which had run out of croissants – shocking) we walked down Rue Saint-Michel to the Île de la Cité where the famous Notre-Dame de Paris and Sainte-Chapelle sit. The Notre-Dame was still being reconstructed after the fire so you couldn’t get very close to the cathedral. Instead, we had plans to visit Sainte-Chapelle. We had to wait in line to get in to see the chapel, despite being there early in the morning. The chapel itself is filled with purple light from the surrounding stained glass. This 13th century gothic chapel was discussed in my art history class the previous semester, so I was excited to be able to see it in person.
With our tickets we also got entry into the conciergie, which includes the prison cell that Marie Antoinette was held in. After touring the two landmarks, we continued on through the 1st arrondissement on our way to the Louvre.
We stopped first for lunch at a café. I ordered an cheese board to sample some French cheeses, along with a salad and pizza for the table. As we made our way to the Louvre, we meandered through the streets and stopped at a cathedral and found macarons for my siblings. Then we got to wait in line for Paris’s most famous museum.
We were in line for at least an hour and a half. I would highly suggest buying tickets in advance to avoid the wait.
The Louvre is truly enormous. I would recommend deciding ahead of time which exhibits you want to see as it is virtually impossible to see everything in one day. We walked until our feet hurt too much to keep going. We took the metro back to the Latin Quarter and ate dinner at Le Choupinet. We went home and prepared for our train to Barcelona that left early the next morning from Gare de Lyon.