A few years ago the idea of visiting Paris came to me so I added it to my dream travel list. Fast forward to last year and it was like Paris was constantly calling my name. I was seeing it everywhere. I started embracing the idea of traveling to Paris, France within the next year by manifesting it. I bought a ‘Paris Cafe” scented candle from Bath & Body Works and I would sit at my kitchen table and envision myself being at an actual Paris cafe. I also bought a sweatshirt with Paris inscribed on it and talked about visiting every chance I received. And you know what happened? My dreams became reality. If you have an urge to visit Paris as well, then you’re in luck because I’m going to give you a run down of everything you need to know to make your trip a memorable one!

Where to Stay

I searched high and low for the right place for us to stay in Paris. I looked at all the TikTok recommendations, scoured the reviews, and read as many blog posts as I could. Ultimately, I chose for us to stay at the Kimpton St Honoré Paris hotel and it was the best choice for us.

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Did You Know? 

When booking your travel arrangements. Make sure to look into travel packages offered from wholesale clubs like BJs & Costco. We loved purchasing from BJs because they had a wide selection of hotels to choose from and we were able to book a suite and flights for a lot less than buying it directly from the hotel/airline website.

We are big fans of the Kimpton brand so when I saw that there was a hotel in Paris that just recently opened, I automatically added it to my list of possible places to stay. What won me over was the hotel’s room options, the hotel aesthetics, the location, rooftop view of the Eiffel Tower and that our booking would include free breakfast. The hotel is located near the 2nd arrondissement in the Opera district. I appreciated the location because it was quiet, near restaurants and within walking distance to the Louvre and the Opera. Our suite was a part of their King Bed Suite Collection and offered a view of the Opera. You can see a closer look of the suite we chose on my YouTube channel – @iamdestinyparks.

If you’re looking to be around lots of shops and restaurants, and just the overall action in Paris. I recommend staying in the Champs-Élysées area. My sister-in-law and her partner stayed in this area and it was really cool to be close to everything including the Eiffel Tower.

Transportation

The airline we used was Air France that was operated by Delta, and it was supposed to be a direct flight arriving and departing. However, things don’t always go as planned and our flight coming back to the states was cancelled due to an engine failure. Long story short, we had to stay another night in Paris at the airport. Thankfully, Air France provided vouchers for the hotel, food, transportation and rebooked the flight. We were also refunded for the flight after I submitted a claim to the airline. So it was definitely all a blessing in disguise.

Did you Know? 

If your flight is canceled or delayed, federal law requires that you are offered a full refund for the cost of the airfare.

To get around Paris, we frequently used their metro transit system, walked if we could, or took an Uber. It was extremely easy to get around the city so don’t fret.

What to Do

Eiffel Tower

Visiting the Eiffel Tower was at the top of our list of things to do. For this trip we used the Go City app to sign up for any Paris attractions. You have the option to choose their Explorer Pass or an All-Inclusive Pass. We chose the All-Inclusive 4-Day Pass that included access to museums too. With the pass, we signed up for the date and time we wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower.

We got to experience the Eiffel Tower with a tour guide that was a Paris local resident. It was awesome to learn about the city and the history of the Eiffel Tower. Also, when selecting the package for the Eiffel Tower you have the option to use the elevator (extra cost) or climb the 674 stairs. Which option do you think we chose? If you guessed, stairs then you are right. We love an adventure! Climbing the stairs was intense, but it was all worth it because the view is spectacular and I loved being able to conquer a task like this and the reward being able to feel like you’re on top of the world.

Arc De Triomphe

Have you seen John Wick 4? Remember the scene where he’s avoiding being killed by his enemies while driving insanely in front of this huge structure that sat in the middle of a huge traffic circle in Paris (the biggest I’ve ever seen)? Well, that was the Arc De Triomphe! It’s such a beautiful sight to see in person. It’s massive and guess what? There’s more stairs to climb if you want to see the city from the top of it. We learned on our first day in France that the French love steps because they are everywhere lol, but it was great because we truly got our steps in. So key tip, if you want to explore a lot of Paris, wear comfy shoes. But nonetheless, this was another attraction worth seeing, as you can get another beautiful view of the city.

Louvre

I was extremely excited to visit the Louvre! The pyramid structures are amazing to see from inside and outside. The architecture in Paris is certainly breathtaking. This was another attraction that I was just shocked at how large it was. If you want to visit the Louvre, I highly recommend purchasing your tickets as early as possible because they can sell out quickly. For instance, the Louvre was included in the Go City pass, but the tickets had already sold out. But thankfully, we were able to purchase them directly from the Louvre website.

When visiting the Louvre, be prepared for crowds. We visited Paris in March, which is considered the cities low season; however, it was still so packed.

The art was soooo beautiful there, I was amazed at everything. If you want to get a close picture with the Mona Lisa, be ready to stand in a line. We stood in it and it went by pretty quick.

Here’s a list of other attractions we saw/did:

Palais-Royal
River Siene Boat Tour

What to Eat

Kong

I saw a few people post about the Kong restaurant on Instagram prior to our trip and the food/ambiance looked on point. So I added it to our itinerary and it did not disappoint. The food was an unique experience, which we all loved, and the views were magical. Highly recommend trying the crispy lobster or duck spring rolls as a starter, and the roasted duck breast with Sichuan berries as a main course.

Happy Café

I have never tried a nutella crepe before, but so happy I did in Paris at the Happy Cafe. The service was top notch, and our waiter made sure to give us a great experience and really live up to the name of the cafe. I tried the coconut nutella crepe, and as I write this let’s just say I wish I had one right now.

Here’s a list of other spots worth mentioning:

Le Café Marly (great view of the Louvre to grab some coffee or a bite to eat)
Café Di Roma
Villa Sophia
Ladurée
Café Joyeux

Visiting Other Countries

If you’re planning a trip to Paris for at least 5 days, you can certainly use the opportunity to travel to another country or two for the low low. We did just that and purchased train tickets to London. The trip was about two hours long each way. We selected the option to arrive in London around 7 am and return to Paris around 8 pm. It was definitely enough time to see a lot of the major attractions. Once we arrived, we purchased tickets with the Big Bus Tours company because we thought it would be easier to see everything we wanted to see. Here’s a list of the attractions we saw and some photos I took:

The Red Telephone Booth
Big Ben
The Buckingham Palace
London Bridge
Platform 9 3/4 – Harry Potter

If you want to see more of my experience in Paris, France, make sure to check out some of my posts/reels on my Instagram page – @iamdestinyparks. I hope my story resonates with you in some way and that you’re inspired to visit Paris.