Paris in Three Days
Linnea A.
If you’ve been waiting for this, I’m sorry! I feel like I needed a vacation from my vacation, and that included a break from writing about it. But now that it’s been about a month, I’m ready to relive it all over again. First up, here’s a look at how I did Paris in 3 days. Fair warning: this was mostly an eating, drinking, walking around type trip, so if that’s not for you, this itinerary won’t be either. My original itinerary definitely included a lot more than what we actually did, but that’s what happens when you’re tired, need sleep, and do chambongs every damn day, ok! Alright, here we go.
Day 1
We arrived in Paris around 11:30AM, but our Airbnb wasn’t supposed to be ready until 2:00, so we took a bus all the way to the luggage drop off, only for them to tell us our place was ready. What a time suck! I told you things don’t always go as planned. Regardless, we took an Uber to our place from there, settled in, and freshened up. Once we were ready to rock, we headed out the door for some much needed food (et vin).
2:00PM - Lunch at Le Petit Poucet
We sat down at one of the first cute cafes that we saw, and immediately got a taste of Paris. We ordered French fries and the most incredible burgers with house made sauce on the side. Just a little disclaimer: I don’t recommend going from Italy straight to Paris, because it will take some time for you to get used to Parisians and their attitude, as opposed to loving, welcoming, hospitable Italians. Maybe go to Paris thennnn Italy. Much better plan. Regardless, the spot we chose was so cute - I could have people watched in Place de Clichy all day!
4:00PM - Sacré Coeur
Our Airbnb was pretty close to the Sacré Coeur, so we thought that’d be a great way to spend the afternoon. We made a pit stop at the liquor store, bought some disposable flutes, and walked over to Montmartre! This was hands down one of my favourite days in Paris. I absolutely LOVED Montmartre, and wish I had more time to spend there. The cobblestone roads and buildings were so adorable, and once you get closer to the Sacré Coeur, all the little shops make you feel like you’re in a Christmas movie - ahh I can’t wait to go back. We spent the afternoon just enjoying the beautiful view !
6:30PM - Wine Stop #2 (Don’t judge)
We quickly realized that whatever we bought just hours before would not last us very long… especially with our intention of chambonging all over the world. We picked up a few more bottles, and headed straight to our apartment to chillax a little before dinner.
10:00PM - Dinner at The Little Italy
A few hours (and many, many chambongs) later, we headed out to dinner. We decided to check out a cute spot called The Little Italy just down the street, and it was hands down the best meal we had in Paris. We all ordered the fresh truffle pasta (which was served in our very own copper pans) and it was soooo good omg. I’ve never ever had a truffle pasta this good. Next time I go to Paris, I’m definitely coming here again! Oh, and we were a little drunk during this dinner, in case you can’t tell in these photos :D
12:00AM - Drinks with Friends
To cap off the night, we met up with some Parisian friends at a bar/club. It was great to meet some new faces and speak drunken French all night. I’m pretty sure I tried to hold as many French convos as possible (the only time the French 12 language award came in handy lol) and they actually believed I spoke fluent French! Pretty solid first night in Paris… but bed was calling my name.
Day 2
9:30AM - Coffee
After the very first solid sleep of the entire trip, we got ready for the day (lewks and all), and headed out for some much needed coffee before heading toward the Arc de Triomphe.
10:00AM - Arc de Triomphe
When we arrived, I was blown away with how big it was. It was so beautiful! We walked around a little, as well as underneath (that’s where the lineup is to get up to the arc and see it), and of course, took a few photos here and there. We contemplated exploring the Champs-Élysées afterwards, but none of us were really in the mood for shopping, so to Eiffel we went!
11:00AM - Eiffel Tower
The walk from the Arc de Triomphe to Eiffel was absolutely stunning. We took a route that wasn't very busy, so it was nice to take our time enjoying the scenery and the beautiful Parisian architecture. Once we got to the Trocadéro, the view of the Eiffel Tower was beautiful! It was a little obstructed because of the fashion week set up, but that’s ok. We came, we saw, we conquered. The original plan was to continue walking towards Eiffel and maybe even have a picnic, but it started to rain, so we had to improvise.
12:00PM - Lunch
Instead, we chose to have lunch at Le Malakoff at the Trocadéro, and yet again, another beautiful café. You really can’t go wrong with which café you choose, because they’re all so damn cute! We spent quite a bit of time relaxing while the rain poured, and decided that shopping would be our next activity for the day, due to the annoying torrential downpour.
3:00PM - Galeries Lafayette
Despite the rain, we made it to Sephora and Galeries Lafayette for some rainy day shopping. The store was absolutely stunning, but I wish I had something in mind that I wanted to buy. Yes, I had A TON of candles and perfumes (Le Labo Gaiac 10 - whyyyy did I not buy it, Byredo, Diptyque) on my list, but those are all heavy/liquid items, and I knew that would be troublesome fitting into my luggage and dealing with the weight situation. Looking back on it now, of course I wish I purchased something special that I’d been wanting for so long, but all the more reason to go back.
5:30PM - Chillax
Finally, it was time to put the feet up, chillax, and maybe do a chambong (or three).
8:30PM - Dinner at Le Dulcinéa
We headed out to dinner in an area that we ended up loving (super artsy and lively) which was pretty close to our apartment, right by the Moulin Rouge. I believe the area is called Pigalle - St. Georges (the red-light district). We ended up at an Italian restaurant (surprise, surprise) called Le Dulcinéa, and once again, amazing food. Slow. Clap. You’d think we had enough pasta in Italy, but we actually ate pretty healthy, home cooked meals for the most part, so we gave ourselves permission to carb it up hard in Paris. The servers were all amazing (cuz they were Italian, shocker), the food and drinks were awesome, and I’d definitely recommend!
11:30PM - Drinks by Moulin Rouge
We were meeting up with a friend later on that night, so in the meantime, we killed time right across from the Moulin Rouge at a random bar. I honestly have no idea what it was called… all I remember is that the service was terrible, my drink was disgusting, and I’d never go back :D next we headed to the Boumboum, then headed home!
Day 3
10:00AM - Café Kitsuné
Deanna and I had been wanting to go to Café Kitsuné for a while, so it was on our must-do list. I ordered an almond milk matcha latte and a matcha financier, and they were both so bomb. Loved this place, their merchandise, and their branding.
11:00AM - Palais Royal
A quick skip and a hop later, and we were at Palais Royal! Deanna and I both spent some time on those stumps - you should have seen Maria’s footage of us during our shoot with our dad shoes… LOL I’m dead just thinking about it.
12:00PM - Louvre
I didn't really have much desire to go inside the Louvre because I’ve heard it’s crowded and overrated, but I did want to walk through and at least see the outside of it. So that’s exactly what we did! We walked through, took some snaps, and walked over the bridge to Saint Germain for some lunch. PS did you SEE the Louis Vuitton show at the Louvre?! UN.REAL.
1:30PM - Lunch at Café de Flore
We made it to Café de Flore in Saint Germain for lunch. It was a beautiful, classic French restaurant, and it had so much history! My salad was great (I desperately needed some veggies), but overall, I would say it’s a little overpriced/overrated for the food quality.
3:30PM - Musée de l’Orangerie
It was still raining a little bit, so our next best bet was to visit a museum. The only artist I was really interested in seeing was Monet (hello, Linnea in Monet’s Garden is my favourite book), so we all decided that we’d head to Musée de l’Orangerie to see the water lilies. They were massive paintings, and they did not disappoint!
6:30PM - Pigalle - St. Georges
We knew we wanted to go to Pink Mamma for dinner at least once, and because they don’t take resos, we tried to make it down there as early as possible to put our name down. While we waited for our table, we grabbed some drinks in the Pigalle - St. Georges area again because there are so many cute spots to choose from!
8:45PM - Dinner at Pink Mamma
Once we got to Pink Mamma, we were absolutely floored. It’s a beautifully designed Italian (cough cough, duh) restaurant that’s made up of 4 different floors - each with different themes and different food cooked on each floor. We luckily got to sit on the very top floor, which is the nicest of them all! The ceilings were decked out in plants and chandeliers, the servers were so sweet and welcoming, and the high energy in the room was infectious. The food didn’t let us down either, and I’ll definitely be back!
11:30PM - Drinks at Le Depanneur Terrasse
To end my time in Paris, we had one last drink at a cute restaurant called Le Depanneur Terrasse. Great music, awesome decor, and “very Vancouver” vibes in there.
The next morning, I left the girls bright and early to leave for the airport to head to Stockholm - but not before a quick crepe for breakfast! I absolutely loved my time in Paris, and I’ll definitely be back… maybe with more shopping in mind, less eating/drinking and more sightseeing. Here are a few things I wish I did, but didn’t have time to do:
- Shop in Le Marais and Champs-Élysées
- Explore Jardin du Luxembourg
- Have a picnic at the Eiffel Tower
- See Montparnasse Tower
- Visit Notre Dame
- Take a day trip to Versailles
- Eat at Relais de l’Entrecôte
And that concludes my Parisian diary! What are your go-to spots in Paris?! I’d absolutely love if you left them in the comments below <3
xo
Linnea