Being back school means that once again I regularly have breaks to travel without being limited to 14 days of PTO. For Spring Break I decided to plan a trip abroad for the first time since the pandemic hit the US March 2020. On a student budget, my primary deciding factor were cheap flights. When I found $450 round trip tickets from DC to Paris it was a no-brainer. Coming off a busy quarter at school I found two friends from school to travel with, booked an airbnb in the 16th arrondissement, and planned little else before actually arriving in the city.

Day 1: Tour Eiffel

The day we landed in Paris was a beautiful sunny day. Once we made it through customs (very delayed) and all the through the bus and train to our Airbnb it was already 1:30 pm. We grabbed a quick lunch at the Brasserie near our Airbnb and then walked 45 minutes to the Eiffel tower. The walk allowed us to soak in the quaint Parisian neighborhoods, cross a bridge over the Seine and stop by Ladurée for some tasty Macarons to eat in front of the Eiffel Tower. Once at the Eiffel Tower we spent the afternoon relaxing in the grass in the Gardens. Around 5:30 pm we got in line to ascend the tower with the idea we would get to the top at sunset. The line ended up taking over an hour so we missed the peak of the sunset but did get to catch Paris transitioning from day to night. For dinner we went to Les Cocottes, a chic bistro near the Eiffel tower where they cook everything in traditional cast iron casserole dishes. The mango cheesecake there was one I may think about the rest of my life.

Tip: If you visiting Paris during peak tourist season I highly recommend buying your ticket to go up the Eiffel Tower in advance. We waited in line for 1.5 hours but I can imagine the tickets selling out or super long lines at busier times.

Day 2: A Day in Le Marais

The second day we woke up to a pretty dreary day so we decided to explore a historic neighborhood known as Le Marais shopping, visiting the Pompidou museum and eating delicious food. I highly recommend stopping by Tout Antour Du Pain one of the highest rated bakeries in Paris where I had the best croissant of my life, seriously, I still salivate just thinking about it. For lunch we had delicious Mediterranean food at L’as du Falafel which was the most crowded place we went to when in Paris. And then before heading home we sheltered from a cold rainy afternoon with tea at Mariage Frères. The Centre Pompidou is not only a really cool architectural with exterior escalators and giant colorful tubes but also a really great modern art museum.

Day 3: The Louvre and A Night Out in Saint Germain

This day was in two parts. The night before we had booked tickets to visit the Louvre at 9:30 am to avoid the crowds and in the evening we planned to enjoy a night out so we spent the afternoon resting in our Airbnb. Before entering the museum we stopped by a bakery called Bo&Mie right across the street for some tasty breakfast pastries. I was very glad we bought tickets to the Louvre in advance since we were able to skip the entrance line as well as see some of the most popular exhibits early in the morning before they got too crowded. Some people could probably spend days in the Louvre given its size and caliber of artwork, but my group was pretty “arted out” by about 1pm so we decided to head out of the museum to grab lunch.

Tip: If you only have a limited amount of time at the Louvre make a game plan of which exhibits you want to see and what order to see them. The museum is massive and walking around without a plan could mean you miss out on what you came to see.

After lunch near the Louvre we headed back to the airbnb for a little siesta. In the evening we went to Saint Germain neighborhood to have dinner at a great Vietnamese restaurant called Le Saigon L’Antan and then visited a cave bar called Chez George. Chez George looks like a normal bar at street level but if you go downstairs there is an stone cellar space they have converted into a vibrant bar. At 11pm the music starts and the bar-goers hit the dance floor. We enjoyed hanging out here in the evening since we could share an affordable bottle of wine and dance the night away.

Day 4: Montmartre

After our late night on the town we got off to a late start on Day 4 but had planned a more relaxed day around the Montmartre neighborhood since our feet were pretty tired after three days of walking nonstop. Montmartre is a neighborhood that once was a village on top of a hill that got swallowed by Paris that still has charming cobblestone streets and an artistic history. We kicked off our day with delicious crepes from Crêperie Brocéliande where the 13 euro fixed breakfast menu includes coffee a savory crepe and a sweet crepe. With full stomachs we climbed the steep stairs up to Sacré-Cœur where we took in the incredible views of the city and experienced the beautiful Sunday mass ceremony. In the square outside the basilica we watched some incredible artists creating beautiful works outside. Then we wandered in and out of the little shops in the neighborhood buying souvenirs and taking a little afternoon coffee break. For dinner we ate at the Le Moulin de la Gallette, a restaurant with a windmill similar to Moulin Rouge. This was our allocated fancy meal for the trip and the food did not disappoint. While I had creamy pasta my non-vegetarian friends tried snails for the first time. With full bellies we decided to try to walk past Moulin Rouge on our way back to the train station. This iconic landmark was definitely exactly what I pictured when I watched the movie.

Day 5: Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, Champs-Élysées

After several rainy days we got a sunny day on Day 5 and wanted to take full advantage of the nice weather. We decided to hit up a few of the touristy spots in the 6th arrondissement and then spend the afternoon reading in the Luxembourg Gardens. First we visited the Notre Dame, which is sadly still closed for renovations since the fire in 2019 but we did get to take it in from the outside. Then right across the street we stopped by the legendary Shakespeare and Co bookshop where many famous English writers found a home such as Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Bradbury. After purchasing our books we stopped by the coffee shop next door for some breakfast and then walked down to the Pantheon. Although the French Pantheon is much newer (c. 1790) than the Roman one it is still a very impressive and beautiful building to go inside. After spending some time in the Pantheon we walked down to the Luxembourg Gardens where we ate a lunch of baguette sandwiches and enjoyed reading in the sunshine. Once we got enough sun we took a quick metro to Champs-Élysées the high fashion street of Paris. We saw the Arc de Triomphe and window shopped stores like Louis Vuitton and Cartier.

Tip: If you buy a book here you can get it stamped with the Shakespeare and Co logo making it a great souvenir!

Day 6: Soaking in Paris

We had originally planned to go to Versailles but the gloomy weather made us think the trip out of the city wasn’t quite worth the time. In order to fly back to the US we started our morning off with a covid test at a pharmacy near our airbnb and picked up some French skincare while we were there. After a quick breakfast at a local cafe we headed back to Le Marais to do some more shopping at eat the great restaurants in the neighborhood. We got crepes from a stand near the train station when arriving. Then after a little shopping we decided to duck out of the rain by stopping for happy hour. We rounded off the day with a tasty dinner at Chez Omar, an Algerian restaurant. After eating mostly French food for several days it was nice to get dishes with middle eastern influence. The meal was a wonderful way to cap off our incredible week in Paris. I know Paris is definitely a city I want to return to many times in the future!

Tip: You can find French skincare brands like Caudelie and La Roche Posay at a lower price in France than the US. Stock up on your favorite skincare before heading back!