A first trip to Paris

London has always been my favorite city. I rarely travel anywhere else. While this trip was no exception, I did manage to squeeze in a couple of days in Paris. It was a short trip, not even 3 full days, but it was amazing. Paris is truly a magnificent city, full of history and stunning architecture. I plan to return and wouldn't hesitate to recommend you add it to your places to visit asap!

I arrived at noon (see previous post) and found my way to the Paris Metro. What a lovely subway system. The stations are beautiful and interesting; the signs are abundant and helpful – and bilingual! My favorite were the exit maps. Since most stations have multiple exits, some far apart, these were helpful to determine which exit we should use.

First stop the Hotel Lindbergh. I picked this from the thousands of options – so overwhelming for a first time visitor. I really had no recommendations from friends so I had to wing it. I chose this one based on its character. It had an aviation type theme based on the Lindberghs. It looked nice and had some good reviews.

We were pleasantly surprised at how nice the hotel was. The staff were beyond helpful and the room was clean and modern. Paris hotel rooms are notoriously small and this was no exception but it was tasteful, the bed comfy and we were able to move around and unpack our things. Plus, they had an elevator (an elevator that only fit 2-3 people, but an elevator nonetheless).

I insisted that the first site I had to see was the Eiffel Tower, so that is where we went. We still had plenty of daylight so we were able to view it from all angles. This one being my favorite:

 

The rest of the afternoon we stopped at some of the big sites like Arc de Triompe, walked down the Champs-Elysees (stopping in the most bizarre McDonalds to use the toilets. They had kiosks on the wall where you placed your order - no human interaction necessary - and lovely cases with French baked goods and coffees), crossed over to Notre Dame and ended in the Latin Quarter.

There is a small street in the Latin Quarter, Rue Dante, that had no less than 7 comic and manga shops! Of course we had to go into all of them. Comic books are certainly art, but boy do the French take it to a whole new level. Their comics are hardbound and usually twice the size of American comics (not in length, more so in general book size).

I had some trouble at the start with the language. But most places had bilingual signs and most of the restaurants had either a separate English menu or were in both French and English. We had no trouble maneuvering our way around the city on foot and on public transportation. I did find the lack of wifi in the city annoying but we relied heavily on an offline map app from Pocket Earth that was absolutely invaluable to our journey. So much so that I've already got their New York and Amsterdam maps lined up for our next trips.

Food of course is a big consideration on any trip. We ate like kings. Croissants, baguettes, sandwiches, quiche, even the pizza, we did not have a bad meal in Paris.

For such a short trip, we packed a lot in. It was very cold so we probably used the metro more than we would have liked but we also took advantage of the buses which allow you to stay warm but be above ground so you're not missing anything. The people were very helpful and patient, especially with me where I didn't know any French beyond hello, please, thank you and good bye. There was quite a bit of rain, but we did have one amazingly sunny morning which enhanced our trip up the Funicular to the Basilica du Sacre-Coeur:

What a view!

Our trip ended as quickly as it started and soon we found ourselves back at the depressing Gare du Nord and on our way back to London. It is such an easy trip you could definitely make a day of it, but I would recommend a longer stay.

More photos here!

Up next - Boston Whovians invade London!