5 days in Paris

Hey again!

I’m coming back to you with another trip, but this time one with a higher dose of chic in it! Straight from the capital of lovers, fine cuisine and incredible architecture!

While I was in Amsterdam, going to Paris was something I have never imagined since for me it was clear that the Netherlands had enough places to explore. That was, of course, until the Dutch train company NS.nl decided to have a promotion during the month of November where every Wednesday they would have fixed priced tickets to one capital close to the country. Paris was the first destination and of course we took full advantage of it and bought two-way tickets for only 25 euros each way.

I would always take the train instead of the plane, even if the plane tickets seem to be cheaper sometimes, but when you think about the way to and back from the airports… It’s such a struggle. Especially when you need to wait in so many lines and be there so early, not to mention that sometimes your flight is delayed and it depends on the weather too, plus that what you can take in your luggage is restricted. So, for us, it was very clear why taking the high-speed train Thalys for 450 km, for 3 h from Amsterdam to Paris was for sure an amazing catch!

We also booked accommodation through AirBnb in a small studio very close to République that also had a market and some shops nearby because we wanted to use the small kitchen the place had, in order to save some money. Brace yourselves, Paris is extremely expensive. Even though, after living in Amsterdam for so long, I should not have been surprised. The ‘stay on the budget’ struggle is almost the same.

So, with the train ticket in our pockets, a back-pack full of clothes for 5 days and a confirmed message from our host in Paris… off we went!

Day 1

As soon as we arrived, we made our way to the accommodation to leave our things and started walking along the streets towards the northern part of Paris so discover:

Basilica Sacré Cœur

Only 40 min by walk from our new home, this ‘big white church’ won us whether or not my friends were religious or not, simply because the way it overlooks the city gave us one of the best panoramas in Paris (apart from the Eiffel Tower of course).

Sitting on the crest of a hill, you will have to climb a lot, so be prepared (at least mentally). Remember the journey is more important than the destination, and really, the Boulevard de Clichy has a lot of bars and kebab shops right at the bottom of the stairs that take you to the Cathedral, so you have some places to take a breath at before you start climbing a little bit more.

The church was built only 100 years ago and as it is said to have survived 13 bombs during WWII without any casualties and this is the reputation it has today among people. No wonder, since sitting on one of the highest points in Paris has a lot of magic in itself anyway. Just look at the pictures:

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Montmartre neighbourhood

5 minute away from Sacré Coeur, we reached Montmartre. This neighbourhood was by far one of the liveliest I have ever been into.

The streets are full of artists showing off their art, the cafés are alluring you inside with their mulled wine and delicious foods, the musicians are filling the air with beautiful love songs and the view over the city itself becomes sprinkled with lights when you realise why Paris is also called Ville Lumière.

The whole place is covered with cobblestone, so walking around Montmartre is extremely cosy. And the narrower the alleys, the more accurate the experience, especially when at a certain point we found ourselves at Place du Tertre – a small square filled with watercolours, portraits and caricaturists that reminds everybody about the many artists who used to live and work around here before our time such as Picasso or Van Gogh.

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Even though the atmosphere was very cosy for an early January, the prices were quite high and we made our way downwards to the south through the houses and their small gardens that actually made Parisians consider Montmartre some sort of village since it was situated so close to its outskirts once.

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We were also Amélie fanatics, but unfortunately, not big enough to think about finding the famous café. I still think we might have probably passed right next to it since it is very close to Moulin Rouge where we headed next.

Les Deux Moulins is said to be a very nice bistro, full of artists and tourists who want to have a taste of the movie’s atmosphere. If you get a seat at the sidewalk, just as you would get one at any other café in Paris, you’ll be able to watch the crowds go by like a true Parisian. We’ll save this one for our next visit. Paris is always a good idea after all.

Moulin Rouge

10 minutes more, we reached Place Blanche (that got its name from the gypsum wagons who used to spill white powder all over the streets) and we found ourselves right at the front of the famous Moulin Rouge. Of course, we wanted to take the ‘obligatory’ photo as any other tourist, but unfortunately, I have to mention the traffic nightmare this square has because of the tour busses that stop in front of it every 5 minutes. So, sometimes, the ‘obligatory picture’ might be a nightmare too.

Printemps Galleries

Situated at 15-20 min away from Moulin Rouge, by the time we reached the galleries it was already dark. However, to our amazement, I still believe they were most beautiful in the dark when the shop windows came to life through the moving polar bears and puppets that were the décor of some of the most famous seasonal brand products: Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Dior, Chanel, Longchamps, Hermès, L’Occitane and many more. I’ll leave the photos speak for themselves. It’s a spectacle:

Lafayette Galleries

These ones had more things to admire in the interior with its fabulous circular display and grand Christmas tree right in the middle of everything. You can imagine we could have bought a lot of things from here. It was not as if we didn’t have the money and we were travelling on a budget. It was just that we didn’t need anything at the moment.

Jokes aside, here you can observe the breath taking interior and the shopping spree everyone is on at its finest. You are in the capital of fashion after all. We only wanted to have a short stroll and admire the Christmas tree that has a different shape every year. An interesting thing we observed there was that most of the sales people were Asian and that was most probably because the clients were mostly Asians too.

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Day 2

Pont Neuf

The oldest of the 37 bridges in Paris, built in the 16th century, Pont Neuf actually means ‘new bridge’. It spans the river Seine in the centre of the city, leading on to where Notre Dame is.

Also, what we found interesting about this bridge was the figures carved on it, but unfortunately, we couldn’t see them from the bridge itself. You need to take a boat and cruise along the Seine to see them up close, but that is something we preferred not to do and rather go to the famous spots the city has to offer.

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Notre Dame Cathedral

We started our second day with the beautiful French cathedral Paris is so famous for – Notre Dame, after waiting more than 1 h 30 min in a line. So come with a lot of mental preparation to wait a lot for your turn since you and others want to see the view from the most famous church in the world as well.

Nevertheless, the upper terrace is what we enjoyed the most. The 360 degrees panorama will give you some of the best shots of the Seine and the square in front of the cathedral. It is definitely breath-taking.

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Louvre

After 20 minutes of walking from Notre Dame, we reached Louvre.

No matter the weather, Louvre is the best place to spend at least 3-4 hours (we killed 5). Although it used to be a fortress (you can also see the original walls from 1190 in the basement), then a Renaissance style palace in the 16th century, then the home of King Luis XIV before he moved to Versailles, after the revolution, its doors were finally open to everyone to admire the over 2500 pieces of art displayed there: Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, etc.

We entered through the glass pyramid in the courtyard of Napoleon. After waiting in a line for at least 30 minutes since France is still under a red alert and they need to check everyone before entering pretty much any important building, we entered below the pyramid and went to the ticket office. Again, we got inside for free because we were below 26.

As in every museum that we went, we got ourselves the obligatory map and started the tour, trying to see the list of the things we had in mind before coming here. Of course, Mona Lisa was there too, but I would have never imagined seeing so many people struggling to see it in such a huge room. Let alone the painting was alone on its own display wall. I was amazed by the power of ‘popularity’ with this once, especially when most of the people were trying to make their way in front, take a selfie with the painting and go away.

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You cannot observe the details in it because you need to keep a secure distance from it, as it is also guarded by at least 4 people all the time. It was for sure not the environment I imagined such a remarkable piece of art would create so that you could enjoy it in peace.

In the end, it is said you cannot make the museum in one day, but I think we learned pretty much of some floors since we got lost while desperately trying to find Napoleons apartments and towards the end of our visit and were finally leave home.

Day 3

The Pantheon

We started this day with a visit at the Pantheon that you can easily recognise from its tall columns at the entrance and high dome right over the crossing of the cruciform shape the building has.

The entrance was for free again and inside we were able to see the beautiful mosaics and paintings on the walls and ceiling, let alone the central Foucault’s pendulum made to prove that the Earth is spinning. If you spend enough time here, you will see for yourself the hanging ball naturally moving to another line which stood as a first solid explanation of Earth’s rotation movement.

If you go downstairs, you will also be able to see the remains of some great French personalities such as: Braille, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Marie Curie.

Jardin du Luxembourg

After we finished our visit to the Pantheon, we continued our walk to the Luxembourg gardens that are not so far – only 10 minute walking distance. It was also one of the best I have ever enjoyed lately, especially after we were lucky enough to find some metal chairs to sit on and bath in the warm sun in front of the fountain, after a walking for so long during the last two days in the cold. This was the first day when we enjoyed Paris on a sunny weather.

Among the 450 parks and gardens of the city, Luxembourg and Tuileries are two of the most famous and we for sure took advantage of the chairs and the beauties of this garden to recharge for more than 1 h here. What can I say… watching people passing by this way or simply enjoying a glass of wine near you is something that you can experience at their finest only in Paris probably.

Jardin du Tuilerie

Another 40 minute of walking later, we reached the other famous Gardens of Tuilerie - the gardens that you can see right in front of the pyramid of Louvre. These are pretty much just like Jardin du Luxembourg, with the same metal chairs and fountain with ducks, but maybe with a much more impressive view from my opinion. Still, it is not just as quiet because it is so close to the hustle and bustle of the city.

Here it is also the place where we found a lot of people trying to sell miniature Eiffel Tours or keychains as souvenirs so of course that after 5 minutes of negotiations we got 2 and 2 for only 5 euros and this is quite cheap if you remember we were in Paris.

Apart from this, there’s not much to say about this place. It is all about enjoying the sun and the garden, but if you want there’s also The Jeu de Paum museum of photography and The Orangerie that was used to grow orange trees (hence, the name) and that was also chosen by Monet to be the home of his painting ‘The Water Lilies’.

Place de la Concorde

Definitely the place to go for the ‘Parisian view’ since you can see the Arch of Triumph in its full splendour at the end of Champs-Élysées. Still, it is a place for grief since it stands as a remembering monument of the people that were executed in the centre of the square during the revolution. The obelisk was however a gift from Egypt as we easily figured it ourselves, judging by the hieroglyphs engraved on it.

Champs-Élysées

The perfectly straight line of this avenue that starts at Louvre and ends right at the Arch of Triumph is the most famous avenue of the world and of course one we couldn’t have missed either. Now it is simply a shopping avenue full of expensive brand shops and hub-stores.

Even though the place is full of people and it’s quite difficult to enjoy a tranquil walk because of the crowds, we definitely enjoyed the elegant facades and trees arranged in perfect parallel lines along the whole avenue, until you reach the Arch of Triumph. This is when we understood why the high-Parisian society liked to frequent this place so much back in the days. But then again, who wouldn't.

L’Arc de Triomphe

From Place de la Concorde to The Arch we walked more or less 30 minutes. Sometimes it is also about the destination so after a beautiful walk on the famous Parisian avenue, we crossed the traffic through an underground passage that got us right at the bottom of the Arch where we entered for free (if you are younger than 26 years old).

Short history lesson: It was built by the order of Napoleon for his new bride Marie-Louise, but ironically enough, the construction was only finished when he was brought back to France from exile in order to be buried.

Inside, we visited the museum and climbed the way to the upper terrace to admire a stunning view of the 12 streets that intersect at the arch and make it look like a star from above (hence the name ‘L’Étoile').

You can also spot the Eiffel Tower from there and what’s more, right when you want to finish your visit you need to also stop at the base where the tomb of the Unknown Soldier is to pay your respects.

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Day 4

Palace of Versailles and the gardens

We dedicated our fourth day to go to Versailles. We bought a return ticket at the beginning of the day as we tried to avoid the monstrous lines we usually found in Paris and arrived at Versailles at 10:00 when they opened. Trust me, if you want to avoid wasting 1-2 h of waiting, go right when they open. By the time we went out, around 12, there was such a long line outside of almost 200 m. I am not even joking. Not to mention it was also a 5 person thick line.

So, we took the RER C line from Central Paris and then the VITY to Versailles Rive Gauche, which is the last stop.

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When we arrived there, we discovered that the palace was pretty much like IKEA – you enter from one side and cannot go back unless it’s the other end where the exit is, but the good news is that in one hour you will see pretty much everything and you will also be able to dedicate the rest of your visit to the gardens.

We went to Paris in the beginning of January so you can imagine the gardens were not as impressive as you would find them on Pinterest when the flowers are in fool bloom. That is when I promised myself that next time I’ll come to Paris it’ll be summer, or at least spring.

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Eiffel Tower

The famous piece of Gustave Eiffel that was supposed to be up for only 20 years in order to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution, it is now the reason why the skyline of Paris is so easy to recognise all over the world.

We went there in a late afternoon, after almost 1-2 h in the line, we had to pay 5 euros to be allowed to climb the stairs up to the second level (we were travelling on a budget so…). Prepare for a long stair climbing since to the first floor we had to climb probably more than 600 stairs and a little bit less until the second one.

We spent probably 2 h on the first platform, taking photos from every angle and direction before climbing to the second floor. Before that, we enjoyed here some macarons and walked along the edges while admiring the view and looking on the walls displaying some famous people that visited the tower once.

At the second floor, you can also find a restaurant and a skating rink if you go there during winter season like us. Moreover, from there you will also see the large scale painting that is underneath the tower and that you can only see through a glass floor platform, made especially for it.

Musée d'Orsay

This was not a museum we had on our visiting list, but as soon as we found ourselves in front of it, we simply decided to enter and discover why its name is so familiar. After waiting in a never ending queue to be checked by security again, we entered for free and discovered the wonders of this museum that actually competes in terms of beauty with Louvre itself.

What it is most interesting about its interior is that what it used to be a train station in the mid-1800s, is now home to some of the most praised artists of the world: Van Gogh, Renoir, Matisse, Monet etc. It was about to be demolished in the ‘30s after the authorities decided the platforms were too short, but eventually they decided to renovate it and declare it a National Monument that now keeps an extraordinary collection of Impressionist art.

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Day 5

The Dôme des Invalides and the Military Museum

On our last day, the weather didn’t help much so we decided to go somewhere inside again. The tomb of Napoleon won and to our surprise, after 10 minute of wait, we started our visit at the national military museum of France. Long lines were not an issue at this museum like they were anywhere we went during the past days.

After strolling around the museum, we reached the chapel and then the tomb where Napoleon’s sarcophagus is displayed in the centre of a circular grand room. To get a closer look, we took the stairs to the ground floor and at the centre of the dome, surrounded by colourful mosaics, we were able to finally see up close Napoleon’s tomb resting on a huge pedestal.

We found out later on that his body rests inside six coffins of iron, mahogany, lead, ebony and oak. Whoever might think of stealing it, would have a lot of work to get inside for sure.

Musée Picasso

After we visited the Dome, we took the metro to Picasso museum to meet our French friend who wanted to visit this place with us, since he has never seen it either.

I started my visit having in mind what Picasso used to say ‘Give me a museum and I will fill it’, and we definitely felt like we were taught art lessons while walking through this museum’s rooms, since his sketches and masterworks are displayed in a beautiful journey through his life. No wonder he said that since by the end of his life he finished more than 13. 000 artworks.

Although I didn’t find it very impressive, if you have enough time like we did, you should definitely give it a go since the entrance was free again.

Pompidou Centre

The last thing we used our last hours in Paris for before heading to our train back to Amsterdam was Pompidou, since it was only 12 minutes away by walk from Picasso Museum and it also had free entrance.

Believe it or not, art lovers around the world made Pompidou the third most visited attraction in Paris. This is probably because the exhibitions are changed periodically so no wonder people feel like coming back.

For us, the building itself is a work of modern art so we spent maybe 1 h on fast forward trying to see at least the best of the bests before leaving, because we could stay more, but we were still able to admire: The Violinist at the Window – Matisse, Fountain – Duchamp or La Blouse Roumaine – Matisse.

There was also one museum outside, right behind Pompidou, dedicated to Constantin Brâncuși, who we were in shock to find, since he is an extremely famous Romanian that we take a lot of pride in. Although he spent most of his life in Paris as every Romanian would know, we were still surprised to find an entire museum dedicated to his works, and even located in such a central area right next to Pompidou. We didn’t have enough time, but then again, there will be a next time in Paris for sure.

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After all, I can say 5 days in Paris have not been enough for everything that we wanted to do and see. There are still so many places to visit and experiences to have that my friend that we travelled with (who has already been to Paris 10 times before) said that even 1 month would not be enough, so… save yourself some traveling money because you have enough trips to make until you are 26 at least. It would be a pity to waste so many free entrances, right?

I don’t know if I mentioned the fact that we only used the metro/train to go to Versailles and back and maybe just on the last night when we were too tired to walk, but apart from that, we only walked in Paris in order to save money and of course to properly enjoy the cosiness of the streets. I still remember the app on my phone that said we did 40 km in one of these days. My legs were sore for days, but it was something I was gladly remembering Paris by.

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