After visiting England 2 summers ago, Tim and I were desperate to return to visit our dear friends that live right outside of London and introduce Jackson to a rich city of history. To my shock, Tim suggested we utilize the Chunnel, the train tunnel that connects England to France under the English Channel, and add Paris to our summer plans. You don’t have to twist MY arm! A legendary family holiday in London AND Paris? Immediately, yes!
This post is all about our magical time in Paris, but I have a whole blog post all about our family London itinerary that you can explore HERE!
And don’t miss our Couples-Only Holiday in England!
Day 1 – Arrival
We took the train from King’s Cross Station in London to Garde Du Nord in Paris. The entire trip is a whopping 2 hours and 15 minutes, so when Tim woke me up and told me we were in Paris, it took me a second to believe him!
We had planned ahead and saved the directions on Google Maps to get us from the Paris station to our hotel, My Maison In Paris – the Louvre. We rented a wifi hotspot but you just never know when technology will fail you, so we tried to screen shot directions in advance. I had spent hours researching the best Arrondissement (neighborhood) in Paris to stay in and the consensus seemed to be to stay as central as possible. If you’re not familiar with the Paris layout, neighborhoods are numbered and spiral out from the 1st Arrondissement as you get further from the city center.
I had already read that “aparthotels” were the way to go when finding lodging in Paris. These apartment-like hotels offer the comforts of a hotel but tend to be less expensive and give you more space. Rentals like Airbnb are also an option but I had read on several Paris posts that the locals prefer you choose aparthotels to support their economy as Airbnb tends to skyrocket the real-estate prices.
Our apartment was small but we had a kitchenette, a private bedroom for Tim and me, and a large pull out sofa for Jackson. Plus most importantly in summer, THE AIR CONDITIONING ACTUALLY WORKED!
After dropping off all of our things we slowly made our way over to the Opera District for a 7pm dinner reservation at l’Entracte Opera. This little bistro has a stunning view of the Palais Garnier, but unfortunately, the opera house was covered in scaffolding and a GIANT billboard of David Beckham while we were visiting…
The restaurant itself was gorgeous and the food was wonderful. Pro Tip: beyond this blog post, look up as many travel and restaurant blog posts as you can before traveling. I looked for the Paris restaurants that were repeated over and over again in different posts and made note of those for our own trip!
We walked the half block over to Galleries Lafayette for dessert. They have an entire building dedicated to food markets and shops so we made a beeline for the prettiest little bakery and started ordering. Another Pro Tip: ask the employees what THEY would order! We made a few selections ourselves like a chocolate eclair and a pistachio triangle, but I asked the woman at the counter what she would order and she made a selection of the best of the best. She even through in a chocolate croissant for free! She said, “let me put this on my account, welcome to Paris.” How sweet?!
We took our treats back to the Palais Garnier and sat on the steps devouring our treats with a group of locals listening to a street performer. What a magical way to kick off our Paris vacation!
Day 2 – Our Biggest Day
Oh, if you only knew how much I agonized over getting the *perfect* photos at the Eiffel Tower. I watched an absurd amount of reels and videos telling you the secrets for the best places to pose and photograph the Iron Lady. We got up early and made our way to Trocadero Gardens by 8am. There were only a handful of people there and they were all families with professional photographers getting the same shots we wanted!
Not being a professional myself, I took inspiration from the directions the photographers were giving and we got some incredible family shots. Just make sure that you’re not giving your camera to the wrong person who will run away with it instead of snapping the family photos of your dreams! We made sure to exchange photos with other families with kids.
After Trocadero, we walked to Av. Camoens for the most picturesque shots. On the way there we stumbled upon the most beautiful garden with a waterfall and bridge. Those unexpected moments of just wandering around Paris truly are the most magical! After we snapped til our hearts content, we made our way over to the Eiffel Tower.
There are major security measures taken since terrorist attacks were attempted a few years ago so there’s only one way in and out of the area. This added a lot of walking time to our schedule because we essentially had to walk the entire way around the park to our next destination.
We weren’t able to get tickets in advance to go up the lifts at the tower, but because we were there right at 9am, there was NO LINE and we walked right up to the elevators and began our ascent to the summit! While I’m glad we did it, going to the top of the Eiffel Tower was not my favorite thing we did in Paris. The view is cool, but with the intense sunshine, everything was hazy and, of course, you can’t get that spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower when you’re ON the Eiffel Tower. Our other city view locations were much better (and free!) Keep reading to see where we went!
We made our way over to Rue Cler after the Eiffel tower, which should have been a 10 minute walk but was more like 25 because of the exit/entrance restrictions. Rue Cler is a small cobblestone street filled with little food and floral shops. It’s where a lot of locals shop so we wanted to collected some goodies and take them to the park for lunch. I had not planned that Rue Cler and Luxembourg gardens are 45 minutes from each other on foot, so we grabbed a bus and made our way to the park.
Luxemburg Gardens is HUGE and absolutely stunning. It’s loaded with green garden chairs for sitting and relaxing. It took a while to find some chairs in the shade, but we ended up with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower surrounded by stunning planters with pink flowers. We enjoyed the most delicious fresh berries, a croque monsieur, a Parma ham baguette and crab pasta salad.
There’s also a man-made pond in Luxembourg Gardens where you can rent vintage toy sailboats for 30 minutes for 8 euro. Children choose their boat and receive a stick that they use to push their boat away from the edge. Even though we were tired and sweaty, Jackson ran around that pond for the full 30 minutes giggling and interacting with other children while steering his boat. It was little moments like this, just watching Jackson be a kid, that made our trip so magical.
One of the few timed visits we had scheduled was for Sainte-Chapelle on the Ill de la Cite very close to Notre-Dame. We chose this over going inside Notre-Dame to avoid the insane crowds and because, well, look at this place! The chapel is almost nothing but stained glass and walking in is simply breathtaking!
We decided to walk past Notre Dame on the way to a little cafe to rest. The lines were INSANE!
Dinner that night was at Pedzouille, a casual rooftop restaurant with an awesome view of the city.
We enjoyed a gooey plate of camembert to start followed by steak, roast chicken, frites, and strawberry Mille-feuille. From the flavors to the view to the vibe of this restaurant, it was an amazing day in Paris!
Day 3 – The Best Hot Chocolate and a Louvre Tour
After sleeping in just a bit, we made our way over to the Marais, the cutest neighborhood filled with little shops and cafes to try the viral hot chocolate at Carette. We ordered the hot chocolate with Chantilly (whipped) cream, which is served in a silver pedestal compote so you can scoop heaping piles of cream into your already thick and rich hot chocolate. Go early as there was a substantial line waiting to be seated by the time we were done. Pro Tip: there’s another Carette by the Eiffel Tower that is much more of a tourist hub. Try to steer clear!
After breakfast we walked through Place de Vosges, the oldest park in Paris just across the street from Carette. We admired the fountains and lovely architecture surrounding the park.
A quick 10 minute walk led us to the Picasso Museum for an 11:00am timed entry. Jackson had requested visiting the Picasso museum, but got bored very quickly. The art of lovely, but I wish I had taken the initiative to schedule a tour at one of the galleries where Monet (my favorite painter) paintings are displayed. We were only there an hour but I will say, the architecture of the building is fabulous!
Upon several blog post recommendations we navigated toward Les Philosophes for lunch. Reviews claimed this little bistro serves the best onion soup in Paris, and they were certainly right! We also shared the most beautiful salad loaded with vegetables and melon and topped with fresh bread and goat cheese.
Our next scheduled tour wasn’t until 6:30 at the Louvre so we decided to hop on the metro and stop into Petit Palais for their secret garden cafe. Unfortunately, the cafe was closed for renovations and I was truly gutted because I was looking forward to a slow afternoon sipping coffee in a beautiful park within the palace walls.
We explored the art at the palace (for free) and then decided to slowly walk toward the Louvre. Our feet were tired and it was hot, but we managed to stroll the entire length of the Tuileries Gardens before making our way to Palais Royale hoping to find respite.
Palais Royale is an old palace with unique courtyards filled with modern features like these black and white columns that make for a stunning backdrop for photos! Although we had walked for what felt like forever, Jackson somehow rallied and had the time of his life sprinting and jumping from column to column. Our time there ended up being one of my favorite moments of our trip!
We grabbed a bench in the park at Palais Royale until our Louvre tour.
To ensure Jackson enjoyed our time at the Louvre, we booked a kids’ scavenger hunt tour. It was pricey but we had our own personal tour guide for 2 hours who showed us all of the most important pieces at the museum. She kept Jackson engaged as she educated us and then directed him to find clues along the way.
Touring the Louvre on our own would have been incredibly overwhelming, so if you have kids, I highly recommend looking into a kid-focused tour! Pro Tip: The museum is open extended hours on Friday evenings. Try to book your visit then because there are significantly less people!
Our tour guide was also a really great photographer so we go so many awesome family photos at the Louvre!
Day 4 – An Unexpected Secondhand Treasure
I did so much research in advance for the flea markets in Paris. You can actually read all about my own tips and experiences in THIS POST. We spent the morning at Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves. It was a 20 minute bus ride from the area we stayed in.
When we were done shopping, we headed to the Opera District ahead of our 3:00pm tour at Palais Garnier. We grabbed lunch at the food building of Galleries Lafayette. They have a huge selection of cuisines and lots of tables scattered throughout the building so you can order food from several locations and sit down to enjoy everything.
We decided to walk down a block to the Printemps Haussman, which is a luxury women’s department store with a free view of the city from the rooftop terrace.
On our way back into the building, I noticed a sign for “secondhand and upcycling.” Turns out, the entire 7th floor of the Printemps is a secondhand clothing and accessories store! The day we were there a few jewelry designers were also helping customers to customize and make their own charm necklaces and bracelets using upcycled jewelry from local thrift shops and flea markets. We didn’t have time to make jewelry before our Opera tour, but we made sure they would be open long enough for us to return after our tour!
The Palais Garnier is nothing short of exquisite! The ornate and lavish details are worth every cent of the tour ticket price! We walked around for about an hour and felt like that was a sufficient amount of time to see everything there.
Back we went to the Printemps to make our jewelry! Jackson wanted to make a charm bracelet and I made a charm necklace. It’s my favorite souvenir of our entire trip!
This day was also Fete de la Musique, which takes place every year on the 21st of July to celebrate summer solstice. The streets were PACKED with people, bands, and DJ’s, so navigating to our apartment was very difficult – especially with a child in tow. Parisians say it’s their favorite day of the year, but if you’re not into big groups or loud music, maybe avoid Paris on July 21.
Day 5 – Macaron Baking Class
We started our day by grabbing pastries at a bakery close to our apartment and taking them to Luxembourg gardens to enjoy by the Medici Fountain. Highly recommend taking the time to just sit, relax, and enjoy a croissant in Paris’ parks!
As I mentioned in my Parisian Flea Market post, we explored one of the many pop-up flea markets hosted in the city every weekend which was located right outside the park and in front of the Pantheon.
Next we took a bus to the Marais where we had booked a family friendly macaron baking class! Jackson (9) is completely obsessed with macarons so booking a cooking class was a no brainer! The instructor was fabulous with kids and we learned all about how to make a successful macaron, notoriously one of the most difficult desserts to bake.
Because we were near the Bastille, we decided to walk over and check out the area. I wouldn’t say it’s a “must see” unless you’re really into history. But what I DO highly recommend is walking an extra 10 minutes to Rue Cremieux. It’s a residential stress where all of the houses are brightly colored with the cutest little cat murals. The street does have signs requesting privacy for the residents, but if you’re quiet and don’t linger too long, it’s absolutely worth taking a quick stroll to admire this stunning side street!
After dinner, Jackson requested that we return to Palais Royale to run around. How could we say no to that?! Little spontaneous moments like this just made our trip so special! Plus the Palais was only a 10 minute walk from our restaurant!
And speaking of spontaneity, last minute we decided to head over to the Arc de Triumph because we had skipped it on our first evening in Paris. I had purchased tickets to climb to the top for sunset, but after doing some research I learned there are almost 300 stairs to the top in a tight, winding staircase. The heat was intense during our stay so the thought of climbing 300 stairs in 90 degree heat in an unventilated tight space was not appealing to us. Our last minute decision to hop on the metro and check out the Arc was one of my favorite moments of our trip. We stayed for an hour to watch the sunset over the Champs-Élysées.
Day 6 – The Tallest Spot in Paris
A trip to Paris would not be complete without exploring the small town/neighborhood of Montmartre. We decided to ride the Promotrain to the top to avoid all the stairs that you’re welcome climb if you’re so inclined (pun intended).
The Sacre-Coeur is simply breathtaking, but the crowds can be intense. I suggest walking around to the back of the church and locating the hidden park that offered beautiful views of the architecture without mobs of tourists.
From there, we simply strolled around, stopping to let Jackson sketch – once he learned Montmartre was the artists district and famous artists liked to sketch there, he insisted on taking his sketch book.
We were sure to walk past La Maison Rose, the cutest PINK cafe! Unfortunately it was closed, but I have a feeling it would have been packed given the crowd standing outside simply waiting for a photo.
We found lunch at Grenouilles where they offer traditional raclette – a wheel of cheese is melted and you scrape the top melted layer off onto potatoes or whatever you wish. At Grenouilles, they put the French melted cheese over a baguette sandwich, and it was probably Tim’s favorite meal of the entire trip!
After riding the train back down the hill, we walked to a large pharamacie to shop FRENCH SKIN CARE. There are many reasons to make time to purchase skincare and other beauty products while in France. First off, the quality is so much better than American skin care. And second, while you can buy many of these products here in the states, the prices are way cheaper when you buy them at the source! Thirdly, they offer a TAX REBATE when you spend a certain amount. Most French pharmacies require you spend 100 euro to qualify for the rebate; however, the one we shopped required you to spend 200 euro. Never fear, because I spent almost 300 euro when it was all said in done. Don’t judge me, this stuff is just THAT GOOD! Pro Tip: make sure you bring your passport to the pharmacie. It’s required to fill out the form. The pharmacists completes the form for you, stamps it, and then you take it to the airport and submit it to the tax area at the airport.
shop my French skincare haul
Now that I’ve been using these products for the past few weeks, I can confidently say how much I LOVE them! The 72 hour deodorant from Vichy is a GAME CHANGER!
We spent our last afternoon in Paris with pastries in the park at the edge of Pont Neuf.
On a whim we hopped on board this Seine River Boat tour which was such a perfect way to end our time in Paris! We had hoped to do the boat tour in the evening to watch the Eiffel Tour sparkle, but that girl has summer hours and she doesn’t start her show until 11:00pm, well after the last timed tour.
We chose to have dinner just below our apartment at Nelson’s. From the ambiance to the service to the food, this was my most memorable meal from our stay! We started with onion soup and THE MOST delicious salad I’ve ever had: fried goat cheese croquettes, fresh figs, pecans, pickled red onion – say less!
Jackson enjoyed the avocado toast while Tim and I shared the steak frites. While we were stuffed to the gills, I just had to try the crepe Suzette! While the flambe show was fun, I can’t say I’d order one again. But Jackson’s chocolate mousse was divine!
Day 7 – Saying Au Revoir
It was less than a 10 minute walk from our apartment to the station to catch the train to the airport. Between the restaurant options, the central location, and the close proximity to public transportation My Maison In Paris – Louvre was the perfect place to stay!
We walked about 20,000 steps a day during our time in Paris and the June temperatures ranged from 85 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t miss our full list of everything we packed and wore at the bottom of this post! My sneakers were a game changer for my feet!
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xoxo, L
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These Valina slip-ons from Easy Spirit were so cute with dresses and super comfy! Use code LINDSEY20 for 20% off!
