By Leah Gabriella Cardenas

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to visit Paris. My tenth birthday party was Paris themed. In elementary school, I wore shirts with the Eiffel Tower on them all the time. I even had the 2015 American Girl Doll of the Year, Grace, who went to Paris in her story. 

When planning weekend trips during my study abroad in London, I had to make sure that Paris was one of them. So this past weekend, I went to Paris with three of my friends. Here is what we did and what I would recommend. 

My friend and I took the Eurostar early Saturday morning. It was just over two hours from London St. Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. Once we arrived, we met with our other two friends and left our bags at a hotel as we couldn’t check into our Airbnb until later. 

From there, we headed to lunch. We didn’t realize we’d get off the Metro right by a famous viewpoint of the Eiffel Tower, Place du Trocadéro. When the iconic landmark came into view, my friends and I visibly gasped. I even got a little emotional thinking about how ten-year-old me would have been sobbing had she gotten to see it herself. 

After taking a few pictures, we headed towards the Arc de Triomphe. Along the way, we stopped for lunch at Le Kléber Brasserie. I had a croque monsieur which was better than I thought as they put an extra layer of crispy cheese on top. At the Arc de Triomphe we opted to just admire the outside rather than spending €22 to go inside as well.

Then, we walked all the way to the Musée de l’Orangerie for Monet’s Water Lilies. We weren’t able to get tickets beforehand so we had to get in a longer line. We were told it would be almost an hour wait, however, it ended up being less than twenty minutes.

Tickets were only €11. Once inside, we went straight to the Monet rooms. The murals were even more impressive than I could have imagined. They were so huge and beautiful that I think I could have spent all day looking at them. This is definitely one of the museums in Paris that everyone should visit.

We then walked through the Tuileries Garden and towards the Louvre. We decided not to go inside because of the price (€79) and we were exhausted by then. However, I do hope to eventually go back to Paris and visit the Louvre.

After a short rest at our Airbnb, we got dinner at La Casa di Alfio right by the Eiffel Tower. It was nice as the food came fast and we were able to sit outside. We made our way to the Eiffel Tower and somehow it looked even more impressive at night. We took pictures from on the Pont d’Iéna bridge and then waited for the tower to sparkle at 11pm. I’ve probably seen thousands of videos of the moment but it was even more magical in person.

We eventually headed to the Latin Quarter and tried to get into the famous underground jazz club, Caveau de la Huchette, that was featured in the 2016 film La La Land. We were told it would be a 45 minute wait to even be let in line which we’d then have to wait in for even longer. It was already past midnight so we opted for a much less crowded piano bar down the street. It ended up being a good last minute decision as we immediately got to sit comfortably and listen to live music.

The next day, we woke up bright and early to have breakfast at Cafe de Flore. The famous cafe known for its dark chocolat usually has a line, but we were able to sit right away. All four of us got a croissant. My three friends got dark chocolat with whipped cream while I had a coffee. The service was excellent and the hot chocolate was deliciously rich. I understand the hype now and would go again.

Then, we walked to Shakespeare and Company, a famous English-language bookstore. There are no pictures allowed inside the store so I kept taking mental ones for myself. The interior was eclectic and they have a wide selection of books. I, of course, had to pick up one of their tote bags. Just across the Seine was the Notre Dame Cathedral. We didn’t go inside because of the line, but we spent some time just admiring the outside. 

We wanted to have a little picnic so we stopped by La Grande Epicerie to get a baguette, french butter, jam, and cheese. The four of us also got our own macaron. Then, we took the Metro to the Eiffel Tower and set our mini picnic up right next by the famous monument. I got to live out my “California” by Joni Mitchell moment by sitting in a park in Paris, France. Then, every few minutes I found myself looking up as if I couldn’t believe the Eiffel Tower was truly there.

The next morning, we had to be out of our Airbnb by 11am so we quickly packed and tidied up. After leaving our bags by the train station, we headed to Montmartre for some last minute souvenir shopping. We walked up the many steps toward the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. From the top, we had a gorgeous view of the city of Paris. 

We walked around to shop and see the many live artists. I had to get a postcard and magnet for myself and my mom. We then stopped for lunch at Au Cadet de Gascogne. I had salmon and ratatouille. Now, I understand the Disney movie more as the dish truly is classic and homey.

Soon, it was time to make the one hour trek to the Château de Versailles. Once we finally got there, we first visited the gardens before going inside. We of course saw the chapel and the Hall of Mirrors. One of my friends and I had to take the Eurostar back to London in just three hours, so we were rushing through the palace. I still felt that I got to see the major attractions as well as take in the gorgeous art and architecture.

It took us about an hour and a half to get back to Gare du Nord. I would have definitely bought our Palace of Versailles tickets earlier had I known that only the later, discounted time slots would be available and meant we would have to speed-run our visit. Luckily, our train ride back to London was smooth.

Here are some tips I’ve learned from this weekend. Our Airbnb was nice but it was located in the 19th arrondissement which was pretty far from the major tourist attractions. I would recommend staying somewhere more centrally located so you don’t have to spend as much time on the Metro. However, the Metro day passes are very worth it at only €12.30 per day. Coming from London, I also think the Eurostar is the way to go as it was convenient and fairly fast. You just have to pay a little more but it’s worth it. I’m glad we ended up going to the Palace of Versailles even though we rushed through it. It’s just a little outside of Paris full of beautiful art and history.

Now, I already miss Paris. The city definitely lived up to my childhood dreams if not having exceeded them. I do feel that I need to go again and for a longer period of time. We were able to squeeze in a good amount of sightseeing in just three days, but I know there is so much more to Paris. Still, ten-year-old Leah would be very proud.