Paris Travel Guide
*WHEN THE TRIP MAKES IT OUT OF THE GROUP CHAT*
Before we get started, here are some RANDOM TIPS..
- Get a week long metro pass, you will use it multiple times a day!
- Book hotels, museums, and any other attractions in advance.
- Wear comfy shoes bc you will walk a lot!
- To get around on the Metro, use Apple Maps and switch to transit or use City Mapper!
- Tuileries is magical at sunset.
DAY 1 – My best friend Kelsey and I left Brussels (see previous blog post for info on Amsterdam + Brussels) and headed to Paris! We took a train that was a little over two hours. It was actually very convenient because I got to work a little (I brought my laptop and just used my phone’s hot spot)!
Once we got off the train, we took the metro to the stop by our Airbnb. We were there a little too early to check in, but we did a luggage drop and grabbed some food at an Italian restaurant right down the street!
After this, we went and walked around and saw the Eiffel Tower up close. I had been to Paris twice before and was in SHOCK when we got there and I saw that there was a wall around it! Turns out, now you have to purchase a ticket and wait in line just to go under the tower.. the other times I have went, everyone just walked right up to it and even had cute little picnics (which was one of our plans but that got canceled because of the wall).
This was wedding day for me!! So after this, Kelsey went to the Airbnb and I headed over to Taunee’s hotel to start photos (click here for link to the Paris wedding – it was EPIC <3).
After the wedding, we ate at another Italian restaurant LOL but this was probably my favorite meal of the trip!!! It was truffle paste and it was unreallllllll. Probably the best pasta I have ever had!!!
Once dinner was over, we headed back to our Airbnb and I edited some photos for Taunee – I always give my wedding couples a sneak peek the night of their wedding (even if I have to stay up late)! I was a bride five years ago and I knew how badly I wanted a sneak, so I always try and treat my clients to the best experience!!!
Anyways, that night we got a good nights rest because it was much needed!!
DAY 2 – This was our first full day in Paris and ugh it was so much fun. We slept in a little, got ready, and went to lunch! The restaurant was called Cafe Kleber and we got the French Onion Soup.. in FRANCE and it was so amazing!! I 10000/10 recommend. It was also super convenient because it was right beside the famous hot chocolate place called Carette – which is another must!
The hot chocolate was great and iconic, but something else happened there that I will never forget! Kelsey and I were sitting side of a mother and daughter and somehow we got to talking with them. We found out that they were there for the daughters 13th birthday (how special – now I want to do this with my future daughter one day). The little girl asked us if we were best friends and we said YES and she said that she could tell. We were really in our feels since we had been dreaming of this moment for so long & her mom looked over at her and said “one day you will be 27 with your best friend in Paris” and we CRIED. We cherish our friendship so much and that moment was just awesome. We also got to talking about how crazy it is because that little girl is going to blink and she will be 27 like us… when did we grow up?! How did we get old?! We were thankful to be at Carette, sipping hot chocolate by the Eiffel Tower, with each other. I don’t think I will ever forget that moment, truly. It was one of those moments where you really realize how fast life passes by and how you can’t let it pass by you without really enjoying it.
After this we headed to the Arc de Triumph (link to TikTok) and walked around to all the fancy shops on The Champs-Élysées, which is a must! I saw a Prada purse that I was DROOLING over – maybe I’ll have it one day! From here, we went to the top of Galleries Lafayette (another must). The inside itself is sooo cool and has awesome architecture and the rooftop had such a cool view + photo op!
We then took the metro to the other side of town to see Notre Dame. We grabbed a snack and sat, talked, and enjoyed each others company (which was a big theme of this trip). Then we went thrift shopping and to this day I still regret not buying a dress I found in the basement of one of the shops UGH!! Mistakes were made haha.
From here, we made our way to Jardin du Luxembourg which was beautiful. You could spend a day (or several hours at least) walking through it + if you like to read, it is sooo ideal to sit and read there (a lot of people were doing this).
We went back to the room to freshen up / outfit change (OOTD TikTok) and head to dinner! We got some Indian cuisine and sat outside + watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night for the first time!!! Literally the view was so awesome and almost shocking – it is way cooler at night!
Day 3 – This morning we slept in and then walked to a little pastry shop around the corner for some breakfast and from here we took the metro over to Montmartre. We went to the Square Louise Michel and saw the old chapel which was gorgeous. It was a little hike to the top but definitely worth it to see up close and you also got an awesome view of the city from a distance!
Close by is the famous photo booth (I want to keep saying “its a must” but I am going to stop bc everything is a must on this trip lol). For reference, this photo booth is the one that the viral TikTok filter was mimicking. Our next stop was the love wall, which had “I love you” written in hundreds of languages. We took a little break inside of Le Consulat, which is where Picasso, Sisley, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Monet all used to gather / meet up!!! If you like history like I do, Paris is so magical (for more reasons than one).
From here, we headed to get some famous ham and cheese sandwiches on the street and last minute decided to hit up Musee d’Orsay which just WOW. We got so see so many super famous works of art (a lot from the list above) and some I didn’t know, but were simply stunning. We spent several hours in here and I now have a love for little angel babies?? haha.
Once again, we headed back to the room to freshen up / change into our dinner attire (we went fancy this night, here’s the OOTD TikTok) and went back over to Montmartre (again, you neeeeeddd the metro pass so you can just ride around freely the whole time). For dinner, we had been looking at reservations for Pink Mama which is a SUPER popular place – the food is great and it is also super aesthetic! We could never get a reservation but we decided to have luck girl syndrome on this trip. We went to Pink Mama and there was a line out the door, so we got in it. Not even 10 minutes later, they asked if there were any groups of 2 and of course we raised our hands and got to go right in!!!! Afterwards, we found out there was a speak easy downstairs through a door that looked like a supply closet and said “no entry.” So, we tried it out and it worked! It was so cool – this rounded out day 3 in Paris!
Day 4 – This day was EPIC because we got to go to the Louvre. I have been before, but as I am getting older, I am learning to appreciate art and history more, so this was just an amazing experience. I’ll add some of my favorites here.. but you simply HAVE to go see it for yourself!
Jardin des Tuileries was right beside of the Louvre, so we went there afterwards – again it was a place where you could stroll, people watch, or read a good book. The vibes were immaculate and the sun was shinning!
After this, we saw Shakespeare and Co (an old bookstore) and got to go to the EMILY IN PARIS filming location!!! It was SO cool to see everything in real life. It looked exactly like it does on TV!!!!
Of course, you know the drill, we went back to the room to freshen up and change and made our way back to Tuileries (we love it here). We took some TikTok videos (linked here and here) and laughed and just were silly and enjoying each others company, per usual. We had dinner and then went to the PERFECT spot to view the Eiffel Tower sparkle – make sure to write this down!!! You take the metro line 6 and get off at Passy!! From there you will walk just a little ways to the bridge (you’ll see it) and from there you get this amazing view! The tower sparkles the first 5 minutes of every hour after dark, so make sure to time it right! It was such a great way to end out trip together (it was basically the last night we were both in Paris together). Which leads me to…
Day 5 – This was a unique day because some changes were happening! We packed up our things from the Airbnb and took the metro and a bus (it took a little longer than anticipated) to our hotel out by the airport. My friend Savannah was coming to meet me at this hotel and that night Kelsey was leaving to go back home! Once we got there, I wanted to wait on Savannah because it was her first day in the city and she didn’t know her way around. Kelsey did though, so she headed back to downtown Paris while I took a gooooood nap haha which was much needed after all the fun and excitement of the week!
When I woke up from my nap, Savannah had arrived at the hotel and asked me to come help her with her things at the elevator. I walked out the door and THERE WAS OUR FRIEND KEELY!! I had asked Keely to come with us, but she didn’t have a passport. She secretly got one and flew here and surprised me!! It was seriously the most shocked I have ever been in my life lol. Here is a link to the TikTok if you want to see my reaction, its funny lol.
This is the first time I rode in an Uber while in Paris bc I always took the metro, but Keely and Sav were tired from traveling so we got an Uber to the Louvre where we got some Laduree Macaroons and I showed them the pyramid and Tuileries, we also ate outside at a little cafe and I got French Onion Soup for the last time!
We took some couple pictures (yes, all 3 of us are photographers lol) and they turned out so cool! We were all tired, so thankfully we took an Uber back and called it an early night since we had a flight to Nice, France to catch at 4am!! You can read about my South of France blog – click here 🙂
All in all, this was definitely one of the best trips I have ever been on! Who you go with really matters and Kelsey and I really just connect so well and had the absolute best time together!!! It will be a trip I always remember and hold close to my heart <3
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or message me over on @katiemichaphoto! I hope this was helpful & that you plan that trip to Paris you have been dreaming of hehe.
