I’ve been dreaming of Paris since 11th grade French class. After worldwide travels to Thailand, Spain and Nicaragua, I finally realized my dream but not for ten days, or a week, but rather a weekend. Yes, I know you’re thinking how can you possibly see everything you have wanted to see in a weekend? It was a whirlwind trip for sure, but I’ll certainly go back since now I’m more familiar with the lay of the land and know where I want to spend more time exploring. Below is a four-day itinerary for a long weekend where you’ll see all the important sights of Paris and get all your steps in.
We left on a Wednesday evening, flying direct out of Raleigh, North Carolina to Charles De Gaulle Airport. We slept on the flight and woke refreshed when we arrived. We used points to get the upgrade to first class and had the seats that lie down. They weren’t as comfortable as we thought. (On our trip to Thailand, we purchased the comfort plus seating and felt those seats were the better value.) We arrived at our hotel, Canopy, a Hilton property around 9:00 am. This hotel was so close to the Eiffel Tower that we could easily see it from the front of the hotel. After we dropped off our bags with the concierge and freshened up a little, we headed out towards the renown Eiffel Tower. There was fog that day so we couldn’t see the top and opted not to take a tour to the top because of that reason. We walked around the base and took lots of photos. After seeing the tower, we stopped for lunch at a local café near our hotel called Carette. Then we headed out on a walk to the Arc de Triumph.
We used our phones to find the landmarks I’ve always dreamed about seeing and since our hotel was in a great location, the Arc de triomphe and the Champs-Élysées were only a short walk away. I walk daily so this trek was an easy one. I really loved getting to see the city as someone who lives there would – by foot! The historic Arc is in a circular rotary, and you must cross multiple lanes of traffic to get to it. Andy of course remembered this is famous for all the action movies he’s seen, but I remember it for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and once being the gateway to the city. There were beautiful sculptures up and down the Arc and walking around it was like stepping back into the Napoleonic Era. The Arc de triomphe sits atop the Champs-Elysées, which is where all the best shopping is located in Paris. I couldn’t help but think of that silly song that we had sung in our French class back in high school as I walked along the world famous Avenue. “Oooo Champs-Élysées! Oooo Champs-Élysées!”
For dinner, we ate at a small restaurant near our hotel. The next day, Friday, we awoke early to head out on a tour of Normandy leaving at 7:00 am. We traveled by bus for about two hours towards the Normandy D-Day sites and the United States Cemetery. Our tour started with a long drive to our first stop, which was a museum of our American involvement in the invasion in France. Our two tour guides were so knowledgeable and really kind. Even though the ride was long, their storytelling of the events leading up to D-Day kept us all on the edge of our seats. We were so amazed at the courage of our grandfathers who gave so much to defend our freedoms and many times during the day we were brought to tears by their sacrifices. Part of the tour was a stop for lunch on a beautiful seaside port town and also a stop at an estate to sample Calvados, a type of brandy made from apples of the Pays d’Auge. It’s fermented apple cider that is aged in oak barrels and was surprisingly nice (I prefer red wine so trying cider was new for me.) We enjoyed the tasting, and the beauty of their estate was peaceful. At the end of our tour, we visited the American Cemetery at Colleville-Sur-Mer. We arrived near the end of the day and was able to view the retiring of the colors and the playing of Taps. Once again, I was teary-eyed as I thought of the hallowed ground I was standing on and the young lives that were ended too soon defending liberty and freedom. Mentally exhausted after the toll of the day, I took a short nap on the bus ride back to the hotel, so I was refreshed for our late dinner. As we walked by cafes throughout the city, I was amazed at the number of people sitting with friends, enjoying coffee so late at night. That’s so French!
On Saturday, we went to a tour of the Louvre to see the top masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The tour gave us a speedy entry with no lines, and we were part of a small group with a lovely tour guide. We started off viewing Greek sculptures and then into French and Italian paintings. Viewing the Mona Lisa was interesting as the actual masterpiece is very small. Our tour guide explained that it didn’t use to be famous, but it was stolen from the Louvre and then because infamous! I didn’t realize how big the Louvre was and although we only saw the masterpieces, which was a 3-hour tour, we could have easily toured the historic museum for several days.
After the tour, we ate lunch at the Louvre’s café, which was a perfect déjéuner! After that, we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral. It still had lots of scaffolding over it after its fire in 2019, but was set to open in early December. It didn’t look like it was ready to open but a month later it did in fact open much to my surprise. After viewing the Cathedral, we walked back up the Sein to see the smaller version of our Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from the French in the late 1800s. From there we walked back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.
The concierge at our hotel arranged for us to have an anniversary dinner at Joia. We wanted to try a Michelin star restaurant (just like Emily in Paris) but that would be tough to get last minute reservations. (Remember to book months in advance if that is something you want to do.) The restaurant they chose for us was owned by a company that had other Michelin star restaurants, so we were as close as possible to having that experience. We never would have found this place or tried their amazing culinary style if it had not been recommended by our concierge at the hotel. Joia, Bar and Restaurant was amazingly delicious and the restaurant itself was beautiful.
Over the course of the three days, we walked several thousand steps averaging about 13 miles each day except for Friday when we toured by bus to Normandy. Leaving Sunday, I was content that I got to see everything I initially wanted to visit, with a list of new things to see when I return. We were refreshed by all the walking, great food and wine, and eager to return home with little to no jet lag at all!