My husband and I returned on April 23 from a fantastic 6-day trip to Paris. It was an airfare-plus-hotel package deal, booked through Air France Holidays, that I found on Travelzoo.com.

A little background on us: We’re in our mid-30s, no kids, and had never been to Paris before. We both love to travel, although my passion is for far-flung international trips and DH prefers shorter trips around North America. After four years of marriage, I convinced DH that it was finally time for our first trip to Europe. Paris seemed like the perfect place – we both love visiting big cities, we love to eat and drink, and I speak some French. We found the Air France deal in January and decided to jump on it.

I did a fair amount of research (here and elsewhere) and we received tons of recommendations, but decided to make just a very general list of things to do and not plan a detailed itinerary. We really enjoy playing things by ear while on vacation and knew it wasn’t possible to do everything in 6 days anyway, so why drive ourselves crazy? Our main goals for the trip were to relax, consume lots of delicious food and wine, do lots of walking, and soak up as much Parisian culture as possible. We succeeded 100% at all of those things and couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful first time in Paris.

Day 1

We left Dulles Airport (outside Washington DC) at 10:00 p.m. on a Thursday and arrived at CDG at 11:30 the next morning. Typical overnight flight – felt pretty awful on arrival. But moved smoothly through customs and passport control, got our bags, and proceeded on the long walk through Terminal 2 to the train station. We had considered many transportation options and finally decided to take the RER into Paris and then cab from there to our hotel. Waited in a LONG line for RER tickets (didn’t have coins for the self-serve machines) but eventually got them, found the RER B platform, and hopped onto the train. Got off at Gare du Nord and were a bit bewildered by the station at first, but found our way outside and got a cab to our hotel – Hotel Jardin le Brea in the 6th arr.

I wanted to try out the train and it worked fine, but in hindsight it would have been a lot easier (and not much more expensive) to book an airport shuttle. That’s ultimately what we did for our trip back to CDG.

So, back to the hotel. Jardin le Brea is a small, intimate hotel at 14 Rue Brea, near to the intersection of Blvd. du Montparnasse and Blvd. Raspail. The hotel was perfect for us – it had quaint and comfortable rooms, helpful staff, breakfast was included as part of our trip (simple but adequate), and the hotel was located in a vibrant neighborhood with lots of restaurants, shops, etc. The room and bathroom were small but seemed recently remodeled, and we had a view of a little courtyard behind the hotel. I’m glad we didn’t face the street because although the neighborhood was generally quiet, there was an Irish bar across the street that got a little noisy on weekend evenings.

We checked in at around 2:00 p.m., unpacked briefly, and headed out for lunch. The hotel receptionist recommended a café called La Rotunde, about a block away at the intersection of Montparnasse and Raspail. It was the perfect place to start our trip. We got a table on the street (it was a bit cloudy and cool but nice enough to sit outside). DH ordered a glass of Côte du Rhone and I had a much-needed café crème. Then a beautiful bowl of onion soup for me, and puff pastry filled with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese, served over salad, for DH. And of course, our first basket of French baguette and delicious butter. Ate a very leisurely meal and watched the people, dogs, and cars go by. Ahhhhhhh. Even DH admitted the long journey was already worth it, and he HATES long flights.

We eventually finished and went back to the hotel to shower and finish unpacking. Relaxed for an hour or so, and then decided to head to the Eiffel Tower. What better way to spend our first evening in Paris?

The tower was a 20- or 30-minute walk from our hotel. We took our time, admiring the huge gold dome at Hotel Les Invalides along the way. Before we knew it, we were strolling through Parc du Champ de Mars and admiring the Tour Eiffel. Took many photos. We decided to skip the elevator to the top and just climb to the second level – tiring but fun. Stopped on the first level for a snack – DH had a beer and I had a pain au chocolat. Yum. Admired the views in all directions, which was a good way to get oriented on our first day.

When we got down we expected it to be getting dark, but it was still broad daylight. I had no idea that it doesn’t get dark until 9:00 pm in Paris at this time of year. What a bonus! So we decided to find a place close-by to eat dinner, so we could see the tower lit up before walking back to the hotel. We walked along the river for a block or two and eventually found our way to a brasserie called Le Royal Tour. It was nothing spectacular but a nice place for a reasonably-priced dinner. We had a pitcher of red wine, I had quiche Lorraine with salad, and DH had chicken with potatoes and caramel crepes for dessert. (Note: DH is in charge of receipts and I don’t have them handy as I write this, but feel free to ask if you want to know how much any of our meals cost.)

After dinner we walked back to the tower and got there just in time to see the light show at 10:00 p.m. Beautiful and romantic. Then headed back toward the hotel. After a few minutes of walking we discovered we were tired and needed a bathroom, so we stopped at a place called Bar Tourville. A very trendy bar where people seemed to go to “be seen.” We sat inside at the bar – DH had a beer and I had a raspberry Kir. Then continued on our walk home. By the time we got back, we were exhausted beyond belief. I’ll bet we walked 10 miles that day if you include the airport and the climbing. But it was a great first day, and we slept well.

To be continued…

Great report. I stayed very close to your area last time I was in Paris, on Blvd. Raspail a couple blocks from the intersection of Blvd. Montparnasse and Raspail. I loved that area. You definitely had a full first day.

Great start.. cant wait for more..

More, more!

I will be staying in the 6th in May so I wrote the name of the cafe down for a nice relaxing lunch. How is the weather there now? Are you wearing light jackets, sweaters, etc...

We stayed nearby also and sat at La Rotonde and watched the world go by...sigh. More, please!

Thanks everyone. The highs were mostly in the mid- to upper 60s while we were there. We wore light jackets or sweaters in the morning and evening and short sleeves during the day when we were in the sun. It was just a little cold on the rainy days but otherwise perfect. I now understand why Parisians wear scarves all the time -- they are perfect for the weather there because they block the chilliness just enough.

Day 2 coming soon!

Great start! Looking forward to more.

Day 2

Woke up around 9 to menacing clouds. After breakfast downstairs (fresh croissants, coffee, juice, etc.), we came back up and it had started raining. I was in denial at first, thinking it would pass, but that was not to be. So much for my plan to shop for food and have a picnic in the Jardin du Luxembourg. We decided a museum visit was in order. Since it was a rainy Saturday we figured all the big museums would be packed, we settled on the Cluny Museum, which was just a short walk across the jardin du Lux. We took off, armed with umbrellas.

Even though it was drizzling steadily, we loved the garden and spent quite a bit of time wandering around and taking pictures of the many statues and tulips, which were in full bloom. The Senate building was very impressive, and I thought the guards looked hilarious in the upright glass boxes that they stood in to stay out of the rain. They looked like mannequins in there. We also found one of our favorite fountains in Paris – the Fontaine des Medici. It’s a little pond with a big statue at the end that might have been a Greek god – not sure. It was so peaceful and there is a family of ducks that lives behind the fountain in a little house.

After some wrong turns, we finally found the Museum of the Middle Ages at the Hotel de Cluny, off of Blvd. St. Michel. We were very wet by this time and glad to escape the rain. The Cluny was a perfect way to dry off and spend an hour or two. Not crowded at all. Very interesting medieval artifacts and the building itself is beautiful. I loved the big room with the beheaded statues from Notre Dame, the 2nd-century Roman baths (you can’t go in but you can see them through a window), and the room that used to be the Hotel de Cluny chapel, which has the most amazing vaulted ceiling. Also beautiful stained glass, tapestries, interesting medieval armor and chain mail, etc.

A note on our museum strategy. We decided to forego the museum pass, after much deliberation. It turned out to be the right decision for us. We never went to more than one or two museums in a day so the cost would have been a wash, and we never had to wait in any lines. It was nice not to feel “pressure” to visit lots of museums because of the pass. We visited mostly smaller museums, usually just an hour or two at a time. We don’t like to spend hours reading plaques or listening to guided tours. I did have a dated version of the Rick Steeves Paris book and used that for the self-guided museum tours. I think the museum pass is great for some travelers, just not for us on this particular trip.

After the Cluny, we walked up the street to the square at Place de la Sorbonne for lunch. We picked a place called Les Patios, mainly because of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows with a nice view of the square. We sat by the windows, shared a decent veggie pizza, and had some wine. Nothing special but a nice lunch.

Our next goal was to buy macaroons at Pierre Hermé, which I was eager to try after reading so much about them. We walked along Blvd. St Germain, stopping to buy a couple of scarves along the way. I had brought one scarf but needed another one for the Paris weather! The street was busy despite the rain. We stopped into the Eglise St. Germain des Pres, the oldest standing church in Paris (I think), which we thought was spectacular. The first of many beautiful Paris churches.

Finally got to Pierre Hermé and there was a line out the door, despite the rain. We soon learned why. We bought a box of 7 assorted macaroons (16€ and worth every penny) and DH got a cinnamon chocolate bar. We walked across the street, stood under a tree in front of Eglise St. Sulpice, and ate two macaroons each. Fantastic. I don’t even know how to describe them so I won’t try. DH was very skeptical because he never liked macaroons before, but as soon as he bit into one he was like, “Ohhhh, now I get it.”

We admired the fountain in front of St. Sulpice (the church exterior itself is being renovated and covered in scaffolding) and then went inside. Even more beautiful than St. Germain des Pres. Then walked along toward our hotel. Stopped in several small shops. Bought some antique French playing cards in a game shop, for our weekly poker games back home, bought some bars of soap at a soap shop for DH’s friends at work, and stopped for some clementines at a grocer on our street. Last stop was the wine shop across from the hotel, where we bought an inexpensive bottle of red to drink in the room. The nice saleswoman opened the bottle for us and lent us some glasses.

Went upstairs, enjoyed the wine and got ready for dinner. Still raining! At around 7 we went out and walked up the street to the Gare Montparnasse area, which reminded me of a mini Times Square. Very busy on Sat. evening. We went into the Galleries Lafayette and browsed around before they closed. I bought a pair of sandals. Then walked back to the restaurant we had selected earlier from a recommendation in my Lonely Planet book – Le Dome seafood restaurant on Blvd. Montparnasse. This tuned out to be a mistake – in my wine-induced stupor, I forgot to look at the menu outside. Once we sat down, we discovered the menu was WAY too expensive and not what we were looking for. We didn’t feel like spending 100€ each! So, this was very embarrassing, but I told the waiter as politely as possible in my broken French that the menu was “un peu plus cher” for us and we would be leaving. He was very gracious, thank goodness, but I was super-embarrassed. Oh well. Lesson learned.

We went a few doors down to La Coupole, also a Lonely Planet rec. This is a huge old brasserie where Sartre reportedly liked to hang out. It was very busy and had big columns with crazy murals painted on them. We waited quite some time for a table, and once we sat down, the service wasn’t very good. We had wine (of course), escargots for a starter (very good), DH had salmon, and I had the lamb curry, which is one of their specialties. Two Indian men dressed in turbans actually come and serve it to you tableside. This was cool, but unfortunately the curry came about 10 minutes after DH’s salmon. Oh well, it was an experience. Not a bad dinner but I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant. We decided to forego Lonely Planet recs from then on and choose the restaurants ourselves.

It was after 11 by the time we finished, and we were tired. Went back to the room, had another macaroon for dessert, and hit the sack. End of Day 2!

Keep on reporting! I am soaking it up!
RosieCaro

Day 3

This was Sunday, and we had plans to meet a friend of a friend for lunch in the Marais at 1:30. We decided to visit the Picasso Museum in the morning. It was still raining when we got up but I had checked the weather online and knew that the sun was on its way that afternoon. We had breakfast and headed out.

Walked through the jardin again, then down Blvd. St. Michel to the Seine. The Fontaine de St. Michel at the end of that street is beautiful – built right into the wall of a building. So many amazing fountains in Paris!

We crossed over the river (first time so we took some pics) into the Marais and the first thing we saw was the Tour St. Jacques – a beautiful tower built by one of the King Louis, can’t remember which. We loved just stumbling upon amazing buildings like that. We later learned that the tower was just recently unveiled after a multi-year renovation so I’m glad we got to see it. Proceeded down Rue de Rivoli and stopped to admire the Hotel de Ville. Yet another amazing building, covered with intricate carvings and statues. Magnifique.

Twisted and turned through the Marais narrow streets and, after some struggles with the map, eventually found the Picasso Museum. It’s rather hidden away, which is kind of cool. We had about an hour and a half before lunch and this was the perfect amount of time for us to tour the museum. It’s unbelievable that there are that many Picassos in one place – usually seeing just one is a big event. It’s a lovely building with great light and it wasn’t too crowded. We really liked the room full of photos of Picasso painting as an older man. He was clearly quite a character – seemed to enjoy painting in his underwear and dancing around a lot.

A friend of one of my coworkers lives in Paris, and we thought it would be fun to meet a fellow American who could give us some insight on the city. She suggested we meet at Le Loire dans la Theire, a very popular restaurant on Rue des Rosiers in the Jewish quarter. They seemed to specialize in Sunday brunch and there was a line out the door when we got there. Our new friend arrived soon after we did and we waited for maybe 20 minutes. It was a great restaurant – very funky interior with crazy photos and posters covering every wall. DH and I had goat cheese omelets with salad and Heather (the friend) had a yummy-looking vegetable tart. We loved the chevre (goat cheese) in Paris and ate it almost every day. We had a nice chat, and by the time we left the restaurant the weather was starting to clear. Yay!

We walked down to Places des Vosges, which was a very nice garden, and said au revoir to Heather. We headed to Ile St. Louis, strolled around, and each had a single scoop of chocolate Berthillon ice cream. It was delicious, of course – DH called it “frozen fudge.” The ice cream was great but it didn’t blow me away like the macaroons did the day before. We also bought some chocolates from a small shop.

We crossed over to Ile de la Cite and walked around Notre Dame, starting from the back. We like the views from the back best. When we got around to the front, the line to get in was ridiculously long, so we continued on to St. Chappelle. Almost no line there and we went right in. It was perfect timing – as soon as we got upstairs, the sun came out and began to shine through the windows. Spectacular, as expected. We probably spent 20-30 minutes up there and then came out. It was around 4:00 or 4:30. Finally – GORGEOUS weather! We were so happy. Took our time walking back across the bridge and went down into the Latin Quarter. We looked for the perfect café and found it – Café St. Severin, facing Eglise St. Severin. We sat in the sun, drank two glasses of wine each, and watched the pigeons courting each other in front of the church. We had a very endearing waiter who was excited to learn that we live in Washington DC, the land of Barack Obama. This café visit, along with our first meal at La Rotunde, was one of our top 5 experiences of the trip. We really loved the Paris café culture.

Headed home through the Jardin du Lux. again. It was transformed in the sunshine, sparkling and filled with people. We took our time walking through and eventually returned to the hotel to freshen up.

We had no plan for dinner and decided to just walk out and find a place. We exited the hotel, walked across the street, and saw a little ethnic-looking place on an adjacent side street, which I unfortunately did not write down the name of. The street was so small that it is not on my map. But the restaurant was literally about 30 steps from our hotel. It was called La Charrette Creole, and was described on the window as “Indian Ocean Creole” or something along those lines. Upon closer inspection, it was cuisine from Madagascar, Mauritius, and Reunion Island (?), and the menu had lots of curry. The price was right. DH was craving spicy food and I’m always up for a culinary adventure, so in we went.

Great choice! The interior was small and cheery, complete with posters of the Indian Ocean and plastic palm trees. I enjoyed the upbeat African music. We had wine and ordered an appetizer sampler. Not sure what it all was – yummy bundles of seafood (shrimp, calamari) and meat surrounded by a tasty fried coating, little samosa-like things, and other surprises that I can’t remember now, all with a selection of dipping sauces, one of which was fiery-hot. Then I had fish curry and DH had beef curry. We didn’t order dessert but the server/owner brought us each a mysterious shot of some very potent alcohol, on the house. I asked what it was but didn’t understand his answer. We sipped a little of it and left, in a very good mood. Took a brief stroll around the neighborhood and went to bed early.

End of day 3, my favorite day thus far.

hi grommet,

don't be embarrassed about walking out of the restaurant -if their menu is €100 pp, they're probably used to it! your french phrase was " le mot just" too. [yes, I know that's singular, but let's not be picky.] funny isn't it how service can affect a dinner? - it can lift a so-so meal and ruin a good one. I started a thread recently about walking out of restaurants and the response I got was amazing!

you certainly know how to fill a day - if you keep up this rate, we'll all be exhausted.

looknig forward to more,

regards, ann

I usually only eat in cafes or brasseries when I'm in Paris. I don't like having reservations because I don't like to be committed someplace, and although I love good food, I'm not a "foodie" and I find the cafes etc. work very well for me, I've had some great meals and the price is right.

This report is very enjoyable. I need a Paris fix badly. LOL

Great trip report! Thanks for the wonderful details. I'm taking notes for my upcoming trip in mid-May.

TR

Day 4

Day 4, Monday, was a walking marathon and a perfect day for it – spectacular sunny weather all day. Our first stop was the Grande Epicerie at the Bon Marche – we were excited to buy some specialty foods to bring home and also buy food for our first picnic lunch in Paris. Took our time getting there, got a little lost in the Bon Marche, and eventually found the epicierie out back. We were overwhelmed at first – wandered around not knowing what to look at. I tried to take some photos and was reprimanded by a guard while trying to photograph a bread sculpture by the bakery – oops!

Bought a sampler of chevre, two different kinds of bread, sliced ham, spicy olives, Dijon mustard, a small bottle of wine, and some macaroons and mini-beignets for dessert. Also bought some take-home items and invested in a Grande Epicierie shopping bag for 10€ -- I wanted one for a souvenir and it came in very handy for the rest of the trip. In the end, I think we spent as much for our picnic lunch as we would have in a restaurant – oh well!

Walked from there to the Place de la Concorde, which was very crowded with cars and people. Took pics of the fountains, etc., and walked to the Tuileries. We found two chairs along the main promenade and sat down for our feast. It was all heavenly. I don’t know which item was my favorite, but perhaps the beignets – one was filled with chocolate and one with caramel. Fed some leftovers to the pigeons, sat around feeling blissful, and continued on.

Spent quite a while walking through the gardens and the outside of the Louvre, admiring the flowering trees, the arch, the pyramid, etc. Didn’t go in the Louvre though – not willing to invest that much time fighting crowds inside on a day like this. Sorry, Mona Lisa! Maybe next trip.

On our way back through the gardens, we did make a stop at L’Orangerie – our one museum visit of the day. I was happy to skip the Louvre but didn’t want to miss Monet’s water lilies. Once again, there were no crowds and it was just the right size museum for us. Enjoyed all the impressionist art and discovered some great artists I’d never heard of before. Saved the water lilies for last and enjoyed them immensely (DH isn’t as gung-ho on impressionism as I am but he was a great sport). Nice lighting -- I loved watching the paintings change as the lighting in the room changed when clouds moved overhead.

Left the museum – it was mid-afternoon sometime. Proceeded up the Champs Elysees toward l’Arc de Triomphe. We liked the first part of the Champs with all the gardens, but didn’t enjoy the crowded shopping part. Too many people and boring chain stores. We eventually got off the main street and walked up Rue Vernet to the Arc.

We wound up on Ave. Marceau on the south side of the Arc. There was an inviting-looking café/restaurant right there – a modern Italian place called Casa Luca. We stopped in for a café crème (me) and a glass of wine (DH) and rested for a while – sat inside by a huge window with a view of the Arc through the trees. Then walked up to the Arc, paid our 9€ each (ouch) and climbed to the top. Enjoyed the views of all the avenues and the Eiffel Tower. Eventually came down and proceeded down Ave. Marceau to Pont d’Alma.

Our trip package included two tickets for a ride on the Bateaux Mouche. We had planned to do it some evening, but time was running short and we hadn’t gotten to it yet. So we decided to do it now while we were in the neighborhood.

We were just in time for the 6 pm departure. The ride was pleasant and it was nice to see the city from a different perspective. It was funny listening to all the sites being described in so many languages – French, English, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese – although after a while I wished the speakers would just shut up so we could enjoy our sightseeing in peace. All in all, a nice experience.

After the cruise, we started the long walk home. We soon realized that we were: 1) too tired to walk the whole way back at once; and 2) too hungry to go back to the hotel, shower, and then go back out for dinner. So we stopped for dinner at a brasserie in the 7th – Au Gros Caillon on Rue de Grenelle. Had a pitcher of red wine. For entrees, DH had gazpacho (it was supposed to have chevre in it but he couldn’t find any, which was disappointing) and I had escargots (good until the last snail, which was bad). We fared better with our next course: DH had a salmon club (okay, not a traditional French plat but it’s what he wanted and he loved it) and I had a huge salad that was described as an antipasto. It was a big bunch of lettuce covered by a mountain of tasty grilled veggies – very good. A decent meal.

Then, the long walk back to Rue Brea. Tired! Ate some of our cinnamon-almond chocolate bar from Pierre Herme (fantastic) and relaxed before going to bed.

End of Day 4. Two-and-a-half days left.

Love your report, but might I nit pick? It makes me wince when folks misspell the word for that most delicious of French treats, the "Macaron". When you spell it "Macaroon", most Americans picture you eating those chewy coconut cookies we grew up with. Different beasts entirely!

I like macaroons, but LOVE macarons.

Hi nukesafe,

Yes, while writing this report, I have struggled about whether to use the English or French spellings of various words. I'm a writer/editor by trade and I like to be consistent, but haven't done a very good job. But I will use "macaron" from now on

I also just noticed that I misspelled the name of our president ("Barack" instead of "Barak"). How embarrassing! I do have an excuse though -- I have a friend named "Barack" and I'm constantly confusing the spelling of his name with the president's.

I'm late for my evening plans -- will continue this tomorrow!

<I><< I also just noticed that I misspelled the name of our president ("Barack" instead of "Barak"). How embarrassing! I do have an excuse though -- I have a friend named "Barack" and I'm constantly confusing the spelling of his name with the president's. >></i>

I think you let nukesafe's comment unsettle you. It IS "Barack" Obama!

Enjoying your trip report, by the way. Brings back memories of our trip just about a year ago.

Hi grommet19 - Love your report. You had me at La Rotunde. Went and opened a rose I bought in Nice while I read it. We were not planning on going to Paris this summer as the euro/cdn is not so good but we will have to rethink. Interesting to read about macaron/macaroon. I didn't think I would like macaron as I really don't like those macaroon coconut cookies so now I really must try one. We stayed at 18 rue des Rosiers two years ago but don't know Le Loire dans la Theire. I like your writing style. I've been to most of the places you mention and I feel I'm back there.