Bonjour! Last June, Kyle and I spent nine days in France and it was one of the most incredible life experiences so far. France was at the top of our bucket list, especially after learning how to taste and appreciate wine. We spent time in the major cities, but also rented a car to travel to some of our favorite wine regions in order to experience the terroir for ourselves. The travel guide blog posts are a tad atypical from my regular content, but I figured I would share our itineraries for the cities we stayed in for those who are interested in traveling to Paris, Nice/Monaco and/or Lyon (will add links after publishing)! For the wine lovers, there will be full blog posts dedicated to our stops in each wine region in the Rhône Valley and Bourgogne.

Our France Itinerary

We started with four days in Paris, then we took the train to Nice and stayed there for two nights, taking a day trip to Monaco. To continue our adventure, we picked up a rental car at the Nice airport and then drove north toward Lyon, stopping at châteaux in the Rhône Valley. We then stayed in Lyon for two nights and continued back to Paris, stopping at châteaux in Bourgogne along the way.

We began our adventure by taking the redeye from Boston to Paris, spending the first four days of our trip in the city of lights! Audrey Hepburn was right when she said that Paris is always a good idea. The city captured my heart and was one of my favorite places visited during our trip. Around every corner, there was beautiful architecture and quaint cafes. We checked off many bucket list items in the short amount of time that we were in Paris, however, I cannot wait to go back and experience the magic again!

Where We Stayed

During the first leg of our trip, we stayed in a small, boutique hotel in the Latin Quarter called Hôtel de Notre-Dame. It was steps from the RER/metro and the iconic Notre Dame church. There were an abundance of small bars, restaurants and cafes in the streets surrounding the hotel. The location of the hotel was perfect, it was close to the metro and in a quiet, authentic part of the city.

We also stayed in Paris the night before our flight back home, but this time, we stayed at the Pullman Paris Tower Eiffel and had a stunning balcony view. The service was incredible, but it was in a touristy part of the city, which felt a little more disingenuous than our first hotel.

Where We Ate

To no surprise, the food in France is absolutely incredible. Before traveling to Paris, we thought about making reservations, but we did not want to be tied down to a strict itinerary and decided to find restaurants on the fly. It was one of the best decisions we made because we ended up enjoying some of the best local cuisine just by wandering the streets.

Breakfast

• La Crème de Paris Notre-Dame - for quick and easy take away espresso & croissant before getting on the metro. You can also sit-down and are treated to beautiful views of Notre-Dame!
• Les Deux Magots - we stopped here for breakfast before going to the Louvre on Monday morning. The hot chocolate was so thick, it was like drinking melted chocolate bars! Because we went here on a Monday, it was the perfect spot to watch the local Parisians of Saint-Germain on their way to work.
• Le Recrutement Café - we walked here on our last morning in Paris and shared a crepe over espresso! If you walk across the street, the views of the Eiffel Tower are gorgeous.

Lunch

• Bistrot Richelieu - a traditional French restaurant close to the Royal Gardens and many museums. We had an amazing rosé here!
• Angelina in the Louvre - we stopped here in the late afternoon for lunch while we were wandering the halls of the Louvre. The views were absolutely incredible!

Dinner

• Le Comptoir des Fables - tapas style food in the 7th Arr.
• Hèbè - a more traditional French restaurant with Mediterranean influence prepared by a 2 star Michelin chef. This one was ~100m from our hotel and an absolutely incredible local meal!
• La Petite Bretonne - crêpes served with very efficient service in the 6th Arr.! The dessert crêpes were ~to die for~.
• Le Cotte Roti - this was my favorite restaurant in Paris. Located in the 11th Arr., it was a little harder to travel to than the other restaurants we visited. However, the wine, food and service were beyond incredible. Our sommelier was very accommodating, friendly and helpful to us as we were trying to order from the menu, which was all in French!

Drinks

• Cave Vino Sapiens - wine lovers, this one is for you! The owner of this wine store/tasting bar is well connected to merchants and has some very tasty, unique wine! We were easily able to strike up an engaging conversation with the sommeliers behind the bar. We loved the cabernet franc pictured below! Make sure to stop by if you are near the Eiffel Tower.
• Café d'Orléans - we stopped here after visiting the catacombes! It was a great place to enjoy a glass of champagne and people watch in the 14th Arr.
• Le Metro Restaurant - steps from our hotel, this cafe was open late and of course, had a great selection of French wine!
• The Long Hop - an English pub that was always poppin' when we walked by, so we decided to stop one night! They had local sports on TV and plenty of local beers on draft.

What We Did

As this was my first time in Paris, we checked off many of the hot spot destinations. We bought a 4 day Paris Pass because we knew we wanted to visit many of the major attractions included on the list of the pass! I would highly recommend buying one (not sponsored) if you plan on visiting many attractions during your visit. All of the attractions listed below are on the Paris Pass with the exception of the Catacombes.

• Saint Chapelle - the most incredible chapel we visited. The stained glass was breath taking - my jaw dropped after we walked up the stairs into the main room. Make sure you reserve a time slot online beforehand!
• Conciergerie - this was the royal palace until the construction of the Louvre and then it was used as a prison during the French Revolution. The most famous prisoner was Marie Antoinette who was held here before her execution.
• Musée de l'Orangerie - this was my favorite museum in Paris! However, I am a huge Monet fan, so that biased me a bit. The paintings span entire walls, engulfing you in an immersive experience. It was like you were in the painting.
• Musée d'Orsay - this is an art museum located in an old train station. It is a must see if you are in Paris! They have an incredible amount of art and sculptures throughout multiple levels of the station. My favorites included Monet, VanGogh and Bonnard.
• Versailles - we visited both the palace and the gardens. The grandeur of the palace did not catch me off guard, until I saw the Hall of Mirrors and the sleeping chambers of Louis IV. I did not think that that amount of detail was even possible until I saw it with my own eyes! We bought macaroons at Ladurée in the palace gift shop and ate them on the lawn of the gardens. A few of the must see fountains in the gardens are Apollo, Enceladus, Apollo's Bath and Latona. Make sure to reserve tickets to both the palace and the gardens ahead of time! We took the train from Paris and arrived around 10:15am for a 10:30am entry. The security line was very short. When we left around 4pm, however, the line was ~200 people long!
• Louvre - we could have easily spent 4 days in this museum. It is HUGE and there is SO much art! Of course, we saw the Mona Lisa, The Winged Victory of Samothrace and The Coronation of Napoleon. But some of my favorite works of art were The Intervention of the Sabine Women and Sleeping Hermaphrodite On Bed. Napoleon's apartment is also a must see! Plan to spend an entire day here if you are into art and be sure to reserve a time slot online beforehand. I would recommend getting in line ~30 minutes before your reservation time.
• Catacombes - we reserved tickets for 6pm on a Saturday evening and there was absolutely no one in line! We arrived ~30 minutes before our reservation time and I expected to wait in line for at least an hour after reading horror stories online about entry. This was the perfect time to go should you plan on stopping here in Paris. The shear amount of bones was astonishing. Some of them date back to the black plague!

There are an abundance of beautiful parks and public spaces in Paris. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Tuileries Garden
• Palais-Royal Garden
• Walk along Port Debilly - this has the best views of the Eiffel Tower!

And a couple places we walked by, but did not visit:

• Parthenon - there are breathtaking views of the Eiffel Tower from the courtyard!
• Notre Dame - it is still under construction from the fire in 2019.
• Arc de Triumph - we stopped here after shopping at Polene and yes, the traffic was as crazy as it looks in movies!

We had an absolutely incredible time in Paris and cannot wait to go back again. We interacted with many very kind people, which was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Being my first time in a foreign country, I came into the experience with certain expectations on how we might be treated as tourists. I was, thankfully, incorrect and we were very welcomed by almost all of the people we met. Asking if the person you are interacting with speaks English - "Parlez vous anglais?" - went a long way. This travel experience restored some of my faith in the world - there are many more kind people out there than I had thought beforehand. This is one of the many reasons I plan on going back to France one day! :)

Up next, we took a bullet train to Nice to spend two nights on the French Rivera.