The Journey Begins!
In the summer of 2023, my cousin Andrew called me and said, “I want to go to Paris. Do you want to go?” My response was, “Sure, when were you thinking?” He wanted to go to August, which was not a good time for my schedule. I countered by saying we could go during Christmas, and he agreed Christmas would also work for his schedule. To make the trip official, we booked our flights in July 2023. Because he lived in Washington, D.C., we decided on a round-trip, non-stop Air France flight from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), setting our trip dates for December 24, 2023 to December 31, 2023.
After our flights were booked, I started putting together an itinerary. I contacted one of my MBA professors from Tennessee Tech University, Dr. Jaime Williams, who gave amazing recommendations for our trip to Paris. I met Dr. Williams through a 2-week study abroad experience in Spain that she co-led with another professor from Tennessee Tech. Because Dr. Williams is passionate about traveling, she is also a travel advisor with MEI-Travel & Mouse Fan Travel. For general information or to request a quote, she can be contacted via her website, www.journeysbyjaimeleigh.com, or email her at jaime.williams@mei-travel.com. From Dr. Williams’ recommendations, Andrew and I looked at hotels in a variety of areas but ended up getting a great Black Friday deal through the hotel brand Accor for a hotel right off Place de Clichy in Paris, near Montmartre and Pigalle.
Andrew and I have different preferences when it comes to traveling. I like to have a solid plan for every day of a trip and book anything needed in advance. I’ll be honest: I’m a little crazy; if I had my way, every trip’s itinerary would be broken down into 30-minute intervals. Andrew likes a general plan for each day but some unplanned days, too. That way, if you learn of some recommendations from some locals or want to explore, there is room to fit it in. Considering our preferences and the fact that we were going to Paris at one of their busiest tourist seasons of the year, we had 4 days of a planned itinerary and 2 days left unplanned. This post will discuss some of the highlights of our trip to Paris, including activities from our unplanned days. Click here to download an example of our trip itinerary.
Christmas Mass and Dinner
We arrived in Paris late on Christmas Day. We got an Uber from the airport to our hotel, and we were able to check in early. After checking in, we briefly napped and explored Place de Clichy. After having a quick snack and getting a few items for the week from a convenience store, we got ready and walked up towards the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacré-Cœur) in Montmartre. It was about a 20-minute uphill walk from our hotel. However, many shops and restaurants lined the streets on the way to the basilica. If I ever go back to Paris for another trip, I want to spend an afternoon exploring the Montmartre area! There was a line to get into the basilica for Mass. We arrived about an hour before Mass started at 6 pm to get pictures on the outside. Once inside, there were small exhibits throughout. We made sure to have a seat about 20-30 minutes before Mass started. The entire service was in French, but they provided a bulletin with a link to look up a translated version and follow along.
After Mass, we had dinner reservations near Champs-Élysées at a fine Chinese cuisine restaurant called Imperial Treasure. Most restaurants are closed on Christmas in Paris, but some high-end restaurants are open. I tried to get reservations at four other restaurants ahead of time and landed on Imperial Treasure. We walked down from Montmartre and took the metro across Paris. I forgot how terrible I am with chopsticks, so I had to ask for silverware. We dined for three hours, as we had an eight-course prix fixe. Even though I am a picky eater, each course was unique and delicious!
Palace of Versailles
The next day, we had two major activities planned. The first was a guided tour of the Palace of Versailles, including a round-trip ticket on the RER train. We met with our tour guide at the Javel-André Citroën metro stop, and the group was escorted to the RER station across the street. After a 30-minute train ride on the RER C line, we walked to the Palace of Versailles. The tour included the Hall of Mirrors, the King’s State Apartments, and the King’s Private Apartments, as well as a ticket to the Palace Gardens. The paintings, sculptures, and other artwork were stunning! After the tour, we returned to Paris on the RER C and headed towards the Eiffel Tower.
Eiffel Tower
The second activity of the day was visiting the Eiffel Tower. We were hungry on our way to the Eiffel Tower from the RER station. Walking to the Eiffel Tower, we came across Frédéric Sicard Boulangerie. This quaint bakery was not a tourist trap; its sandwiches were excellent! Once we arrived at the Eiffel Tower, we went through security and checked out the gift shop on the ground level. Once it was our reserved ticket, we could take the elevator to the observation decks. My only wish is that it wasn’t so cloudy that day. However, the views from the observation decks were breathtaking! I don’t think I realized how large the Eiffel Tower is, but it seems visible in many Parisian areas. Despite not having tickets to take us to the top of the Eiffel Tower, we spent quite some time taking in the aerial views and exploring each observation deck.
Disneyland Paris and La Vallée Village
If you know me, you know that I love theme parks. I couldn’t make a trip to Paris and not stop at Disneyland Paris! Located about 20 miles outside of Paris, Disneyland Paris is similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, in that there are two parks, and their entrances are within walking distance. Disneyland Paris has several attractions similar to other Disney parks, such as Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Check out my blog post about how we did Disneyland Paris in one day for more details!
Little did I know, we took the RER A towards Disneyland Paris a few days later to go to La Vallée Village. However, instead of getting off at the Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy stop like we did for Disneyland Paris, we got off one stop prior at Val d’Europe. One of the benefits of going to France and some other European countries is you can often get VAT tax refunded on purchases over €100. There are many great areas in Paris to go shopping, such as Champs-Élysées. However, La Vallée Village is an outlet shopping mall with many designer and luxury brands travelers seek out while in Paris. In other words, you can shop for top designers and luxury brands cheaper and get the VAT tax refunded when you leave France. However, the outlet stores may not have newly released merchandise like their flagship stores in the heart of Paris.
Louvre Museum
One of my favorite activities in Paris was viewing artwork at the Louvre Museum. Because Paris is swarming with tourists during Christmas, tickets sold directly through the Louvre were sold out when we went to book them in advance. Tickets directly through the Louvre typically costs €22 per person. Instead, we booked a 2.5-hour guided tour through Viator to gain admission to the museum. We met with our tour guide at the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, facing the Louvre pyramid. We went through many exhibits on the tour and barely scratched the surface of all the Louvre had to offer. After the tour, we could explore the rest of the museum independently. In all honesty, it was difficult and confusing to navigate the museum, even with having a map. Since we were hungry when the tour ended, we only viewed a few more exhibits before leaving. However, I would like to go back again and explore the Louvre Museum more!
The most popular exhibit in the museum is Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Located on Level 1 in the Salle des États of the Denon wing, the Mona Lisa is tucked behind a bulletproof case in the center of a large room. In all honesty, the painting itself is quite small. When I entered Salle des États, a horde of 500 people was between me and the painting. Every couple minutes, museum staff would tell people at the front of the swarm snapping pictures of the painting that their time was up and to exit to the sides of the room. I thank God I am not claustrophobic because I easily waited 30 minutes in the middle of the horde to snap a few pictures of the Mona Lisa. Because of the commotion of people, it was hard to take in the beauty of the painting in the precious minutes I had in front of the crowd. However, it was well worth the wait!
Avenue des Champs-Élysées
Of all the areas in Paris, we found ourselves at Champs-Élysées the most during our unplanned time. A popular destination of interest for tourists, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, is gorgeous and known for many shopping, dining, and entertainment options. Stores and restaurants lined both sides of the street. A great shopping spot was Galeries Lafayette. Architecturally stunning and decorated beautifully, each of the eight floors has stores wall to wall. Unlike shopping malls in America, with walls separating each store, the stores in Galeries Lafayette had no walls, and it was like a continuous canvas of merchandise. Different floors had different types of merchandise. I went to a bookstore on the sixth floor and looked around at souvenirs. It was incredibly busy since it was around Christmas, but well worth the visit. We also had a phenomenal culinary experience at Brasserie Fouquet on our second night; I recommend it to anyone visiting the area.
Along the Seine River
I am thankful that our last day in Paris was left unplanned. We did so much during our short time in Paris, and my body needed rest. We ended up just relaxing at the hotel most of the afternoon. In the evening, we ventured out towards the Cité metro stop. After we got off the metro, we spotted the Notre Dame Cathedral. There was some bleacher-like seating across from the cathedral, so we took a moment to sit and take in the beauty of the architecture.
After visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral, we crossed a bridge over the Seine River and visited an English bookstore called Shakespeare and Company. The line to visit this store was out the door! This cramped bookstore did not allow any phones to be used inside, and it had an area upstairs for fanatics to relax and read a book. It was one of my favorite stores to explore in all of Paris! I bought two books, and they stamped the inside cover with their logo. After probably spending an hour at Shakespeare and Company, we walked to Rue de la Huchette to look for a steak dinner. An alley lined with restaurants up each side, we found the delicious Red Grill Steakhouse – Restaurant de Viandes Maturées for our last dinner in Paris.
Conclusion
I loved visiting Paris! There are so many activities and experiences for all types of travelers to do. I want to return because there were so many places to see and food to try that we did not do in our short visit. There are also other regions of France I would love to tour. The French cuisine did not disappoint, and I generally had no issues with not knowing French when communicating with others. If an opportunity arises to visit Paris, please take advantage of it; you will not be disappointed!
