Things to do in Paris

Since our daughter was 3 years old, she has had a slight obsession with visiting Paris and visiting the Eiffel Tower, I believe Paris is the one city in the world that represents our daughter the best. It is chic, it is beautiful, romantic and has so many hidden depths.

We decided to visit Paris at the beginning of August, for 2 days and 1 night – we were desperate to see whether it could be done and whether we would enjoy a fast-paced city break in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities!

We had a lot of places to see on our itinerary and they started off with going the Louis Vuitton exhibition called LV Dream.

LV Dream Exhibition & LV Café

The LV Dream exhibition is a free admission (but must be reserved online beforehand) and showcases the history of Louis Vuitton through tons of designs of bags from the beginning all the way to the present day. Each room centred on a different aspect of things LV makes, the history of each piece and there are staff on hand to tell you more and answer any questions you may have.

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As the exhibition finishes, you are offered the chance to go upstairs to view their pop up, where 1000’s of pieces is available to buy and order. And there is a LV Café which serves up coffees, patisseries, and other foods. We, of course did both and enjoyed it thoroughly!

LV DREAM | LOUIS VUITTON

After this we took a stroll down along the Seine, bought some Paris themed tat and then made our way towards the Louvre. With its unique design, it is a great place to get a photo and to see the museum (if that’s what you are into). Our advice would be to get there as early as humanly possible; we were there at about 12.30pm and the queue was insane, it looked like it would be around a 2-3 hour wait, just to get into the Louvre.

We were feeling quite hungry and this stage and decided to walk through the Le Jardin Des Tuileries where there are a few restaurants available. This route also leads you to the Champs Elysees, which is where we went for a quite spot of shopping before our next destination.

Eiffel Tower

At this point we had been walking the whole morning and early afternoon, so we decided to get an Uber to the Eiffel Tower, where our daughter got so overwhelmed with how big and beautiful it is! Seeing it for the first time through her eyes was great, she loved it and liked how busy and bustling the area was. We got our standard Eiffel Tower Instagram photos and then set off to do the River Tour Cruise which is located next the tower.

Myself and my husband have been here previously and had dinner at the top of it too (which we both highly recommend doing).

River Tour Cruise – Paris: 1-Hour River Seine Cruise | GetYourGuide

Before we departed the UK for France, my husband had purchased a 1-hour River Seine Cruise from GetYourGuide.com. It was very reasonably priced at £13.76 per adult and £6.88 per child. The ticket is open for the day you select, and you can do the cruise from 10am until 10.30pm. On the first day we had done so much walking that when we finished looking at and taking photos of the Eiffel Tower, we made our way to the port, which is a short walk from the tower. We waited a short time for a boat to be available and with the weather being a little bit ropey, we decided to stay downstairs (which proved to be the best option as the heavens opened and there was torrential rain for the whole hour we were on the boat).

The tour let us see all the main sites in Paris and let us rest our very tired legs. We started at the Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Musee d’Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre Museum, Place de la Concorde and then back to the start at the Eiffel Tower. While sitting downstairs there is audio guide available in 12 languages and was very insightful and we learned a lot about the history of Paris from that hour.

Overall, I believe the River Cruise is a good option when you are in Paris, it is a relatively cheap sightseeing option, and it shows off the history and the beauty of the Parisian’s most famous sights.

Notre Dame

Whenever we go to Paris, we always make a point of visiting Notre Dame Cathedral. This time we decided to have a look from a distance at this extraordinary building, part of the building is currently being renovated due to the fires a couple of years ago but nonetheless it still looks incredible.

Café’s, Patisseries and Restaurants

Paris is known for its untold amounts of bars, restaurants, and cafes, that are literally on every street corner, and I believe you can get some good food pretty much everywhere in Paris. We found a couple nice ones while walking around the streets of Paris.

That being said, my husband had researched some of the best Patisseries in Paris and decided upon one which is stone’s throw from Notre Dame, and this was called A. Lacroix. They make on the day the most beautiful cakes, breads, sandwiches, and other patisseries. My daughter was happy as they did good macarons also.

Gallerie Lafayette

Now, we have a confession, and we were super embarrassed that neither of us have ever been to the Gallerie Lafayette. From the photos and videos, we have seen of the building alone, we should have been their multiple times! As soon as you walk in, it is very similar to Selfridges in London until you get to the middle of the ground floor and the building is spectacular, and gorgeous! It is by far the nicest department store I have ever been to and let alone the shopping is of a very high standard to. It is a must see if you have the time.

Other Sites to Visit:

• Arc De Triomphe – At the top of the Champs Elysees, it is an iconic building and definitely one which needs visiting and photgraphing.
• Champs Elysees – for you shopping needs, much like Oxford Street in London – it has bars, restaurants and of course lots of shops.
• Park Walks – you are never 5 minutes away from a lovely scenic and quiet park. We took a couple “time outs” on our long first day stroll which were very useful and also very pretty.
• Place de la Concorde – A wonderful monument with lots of history is a must see!
• Versailles – Former residence of King Louis XIV, is a bit outside of the central Paris but if you are a history buff, it should be on your list.
• The Wall of Love – located in Montmarte, this unique wall art was created in 2000 and is 100% on our list of things to see on our next trip to Paris.
• Shopping at the Bouquinistes –

If you want any more information about the sights in Paris and how to book tickets in advance, I do believe GetYourGuide.com is a good option and would recommend using them!

Book Things To Do, Attractions, and Tours | GetYourGuide