On Friday 12th November, my boyfriend and I made the journey to Paris to celebrate my birthday. It was a jam packed weekend with lots of walking but it was one of the best birthdays ever!
I had been to Disneyland Paris before but never been to Paris Paris as I kept calling it. A few weeks before we were set to go, we both had a look at the different sites and attractions we wanted to see and booked them via get your guide. Not only did this enable us to get good deals and packages, it was all done on the app so I didn’t have to carry around lots of paper.
We also decided to get a travel debit card as a few people had told us they may not accept cash abroad. We decided to do this via Sainsbury’s as there was no additional charge and an app to track everything. We did take out a little bit of cash to use for tips, however, most places accepted cash anyway, so we didn’t necessarily need to get a travel card. But I found using a travel card a lot easier than faffing about with cash and it meant I didn’t need a big purse being waved about every time we bought something.
I always get anxious at airports and this wasn’t helped with the added worry of COVID documents and other forms that needed doing. In hindsight, it was only really 3 forms and a day 2 test but if you are like me, you always worry there is more haha! But we got through and landed safely in Paris.
Day 1 was a busy one! We dropped our bags at the hotel and went straight to the Louvre. It is a huge building that takes your breath away before you even go in. We were in there for a good 4 hours but it could have easily been longer if we hadn’t got hungry haha! There was a mix of statues, paintings and other items to see including the Mona Lisa which had a slight queue but it moved pretty fast. It sounds really odd but the ceilings were my favourite, they were so detailed and just beautiful!
We then took a lovely walk along the river Saine where we caught a cruise to see the city all lit up at night. It was gorgeous and I would definitely recommend doing it at this time! We got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle, the Notre Dame, some gorgeous bridges and an amazing building that reminded us of Hogwarts!
On day 2 we walked to see the Notre Dame which although was closed due to the restoration of it, was still one to see. There was lots of information around the outside explaining the history and how they were planning to restore the building. Around the corner was Saint Chappelle, a building which I had never heard of before but came across it on the Get Your Guide app when searching for the Notre Dame. I know I will probably say it about everything we saw but it was my favourite thing! As soon as we came up the stairs my breath was taken away and it felt like I was in the castle from Beauty and the Beast. The colours and detail on the stained glass windows was incredible as they told the whole bible story.
Day 3 was my birthday and after a yummy breakfast we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. When booking, it was cheaper to take the stairs and so me being me, I thought yeah why not it won’t be that bad! Although the thought of climbing 674 steps does not sound fun, it was done in two parts as you got a break at the first floor. I also think this may have helped distract my boyfriend as he was too busy trying not to fall up the stairs to realise how high we were (he is terrified of heights and I wasn’t sure he would make it up there at first!). Our tour guide was so lovely and we learnt so much about the creation of the tower, the history of it and how they are planning on getting it ready for the Olympics. We got very lucky with the weather and the views from the top were amazing and you really could see for miles!
We then went to the catacombs which I didn’t really know much about but my boyfriend was very interested in seeing. It was essentially massive tunnels full of skeletons after their original cemetery went bad. I thought it was going to be scary at first but it surprisingly felt peaceful as if they were finally at rest there which was quite nice. If you are looking for something different to see I would definitely recommend!
We spent the rest of our time there in lovely walks, shopping, eating and drinking cocktails - it was such a great trip and I would definitely recommend it for a cute weekend away!
