After our stint in Iceland, we flew over to Paris, the city of lights! I looooove Paris and have always thought it would be the perfect honeymoon destination. Leon, on the other hand, had never been before and was a bit skeptical and didn’t know if he would like it that much. When he asked me what Paris was like, I said it was kind of like New York, but slightly slower-paced and more beautiful. People also know how to live more (the same could be said about all Europeans). Although he was iffy at first, Leon’s impression completely changed by the end of our trip. Leon is now just as in love with Paris as I am, and we both can’t wait to go back someday in the near future!
Here’s how we spent four glorious days in Paris:
DAY ONE:
After checking into our hotel in the afternoon, we walked across a few districts to go to dinner. My biggest tip for making the most out of your time in Paris is to walk everywhere. You see so much more of the city this way, it’s less chaotic than taking the metro, and most stops are only 30-45 minutes away from each other (time flies when you’re surrounded by beauty everywhere).
For dinner, we went to Le Christine, which we found on a whim on Google Maps. Would I recommend? For night one in Paris, it was fine. The first night traveling anywhere tends to include a low-stakes dinner, and Le Christine fit the bill - it had decent food, but not particularly memorable dishes and lots of American patrons. The main takeaway I got from that dinner was that Leon apparently has a New York accent, according to our server (despite being in NYC his whole life, Leon in fact does not have a New York accent).
After dinner, our walk back to our hotel included crossing the bridge on the Seine, which looks incredibly magical and Ratatouille (the movie)-esque at night.
DAY TWO:
To prevent tourism burnout, we were very selective about which big landmarks we wanted to see during the few days we had in Paris. Since it was Leon’s first time, I let him pick, and one of his choices was the Arc de Triomphe. We rested in the shade and admired the architecture.
Note: there is an underground walkway to get to the monument. You cannot cross the street above ground to get there, which I completely forgot at first (we were standing across the street, confused as we watched traffic rush by without any crosswalks, for a good 20 min before we saw the subway-like entrance that gave us tunnel access. Don’t jaywalk this one, it’s too dangerous).
Next, we went to Musée d’Orsay. Leon didn’t want to go to The Louvre, since he had heard from friends that it was much too crowded and The Met is better. I prefer Musée d’Orsay anyway - it’s much quieter, less crowded, and smaller than The Louvre, with plenty of great art and interior architecture that makes it something to behold in itself.
For dinner, we went to an all-time favorite: Chez Michel. My brother, David, found this restaurant last year when we visited with family, and we were all impressed by how delectable yet affordable all their dishes were. For 45€, each person gets an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Lots of locals come here, and the restaurant has an unassuming and welcoming feel to it.
After dinner, we returned to our hotel (Hilton Opera) and redeemed our free champagne vouchers (the hotel knew we were on our honeymoon and treated us with the vouchers upon our check-in!). The champagne was yummy, but the lounge was a bit dead (as you can see), so we’ll probably take the champagne straight to our room next time hahah.
DAY THREE:
On our third day, we set out for Versailles. We got away from the bustling streets of Paris by taking an hour-long train ride, and found ourselves in this quaint town. If you’re taking a multi-day trip to any metropolitan city, I highly recommend scheduling some time (at least half a day) to take a break from the busyness by exploring a quieter town nearby. Even though our visit to Versailles wasn’t intended to give us a breather (we were mainly there to see a friend and the Palace), it ended up being the rest didn’t know we needed!
We met up with my dear friend, Lucile, for lunch at La Cantina Versailles. I met Lucile 5 years ago in Santa Barbara, while I was wrapping up college and she was studying abroad. Through the years, we’ve met up a number of times and it is always so sweet seeing her. Lucile is from Paris, but moved to Versailles recently and La Cantina is one of her favorite local eats. The pizza was amazing and the Aperol spritzes were the size of our heads for a ridiculous price of 8€ (you’d be paying at least $20 for a glass in New York).
For the rest of the afternoon, Leon and I explored the Palace of Versailles, which Lucile calls “the castle” :) It was grand and majestic, but packed! Unlike this staircase photo.
After romping around Versailles, we trained back to Paris and went to Magma for dinner. Magma was our fine dining pick of the trip, with a 7-course tasting menu at 70€ per person (again…a steal compared to New York). The vibe here was lowkey but tasteful, with a nice mix of locals and tourists. I loved eavesdropping on the first date that was happening at the table behind us - the guy seemed more into the girl, but according to Leon, who could see them the whole time, it was going well.
We walked back to our hotel after dinner, and declared the night too young to turn in before getting a quick nightcap. We stumbled upon a cocktail bar called “Drinks&Co” right next door to our hotel, and asked ourselves how we didn’t see it earlier on our trip. It was the cutest place with some of the most creative cocktails we’ve seen/tasted. We tried the Taj Mah Al (a curry-infused cocktail) and the Ras’N’Roll (a rhubarb spritz).
I took a photo of the menu for design inspo (sent to David, who designed all our wedding stationery) and to document these unique drinks.
DAY FOUR:
On our last full day (we flew out the next morning), we went to Montmartre, Paris’s art district. I love how charming and slightly grunge-y Montmartre is. We went to fetch a box of madeleines (arguably the best in Paris?) from Pâtisserie Gilles Marchal. Leon’s mom loves madeleines, and we saved gift shopping for the last day to ensure freshness upon our return.
Leon asked if I wanted a picture, so here I am in one of the many tight alleyways in Montmartre. We got the tote from Pâtisserie Gilles, which I’m still obsessed with. You can’t see it here, but the front has a print of a giant madeleine.
Next, we stopped by a chocolate shop called Maison Le Roux, which we randomly found on our way down from Montmartre. We ended up buying a ton of assorted chocolate (dark chocolate, matcha chocolate) and fruit jellies (“Pâte de fruit” apparently) for our family and friends. The man at the store was super patient with us as we kept asking him to add just one more box of chocolates to the existing pile. At one point, he let us try one of the fruit jellies. When my eyes widened with surprise at how delicious they were, he laughed at me as if to say “Of course they’re good; what do you think we sell in Paris”). He packaged each box with great care and gave us a couple free fruit jellies to go!
Our free fruit jellies in a citrus flavor.
To round out our shopping day, we spent some time shopping for ourselves in Printemps and Galleries Lafayette, two iconic malls in Paris. Here’s Leon in front of his (almost) namesake.
Our last activity of the trip was going on a dinner cruise on the Seine. To transport to the harbor, we caved and took a car (one of the only times we did so all trip). By this point of the trip, our feet were dead and I wasn’t about to walk across the city in heels.
For our dinner cruise, we chose Bateaux Mouches, my family’s favorite. Their boats have open rooftops for taking in sights in the open air, and their food is actually quite decent for being cooked in such large quantities. On the roof, we met a couple from New Jersey around our age, who had just gotten engaged! We congratulated each other on our respective life milestones, exchanged mini life stories, and took photos for one another.
Capturing our last Parisian golden hour of the trip.
And finally, a snippet of a gorgeous sunset on the Seine to close out this lengthy recap. Paris, we love ya. Au revoir for now, or as the Americans say, ‘til next time!
If you’re still here, thanks for reading and let me know if you check out any of the spots mentioned!
What an amazing honeymoon trip you had! So happy for you and Leon. So glad that you guys had such sweet time in Paris❤️🌹Enjoyed your post every much. Thank you much for sharing…..❤️🌹