Paris Day Trip
Both Ro and I didn’t have much interest in spending a ton of time in Paris. I always believed it was overrated, with other parts of Europe being more authentic, and thus more enjoyable.
However, we decided to go for a day trip from London and this was the best compromise for us.
How We Got There
I LOVE the train experience in Europe. I would give anything to have better access to trains in America. It’s truly my ideal way to travel.
We took the Eurostar from London St. Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord. We took the earliest train out from London (6:01am) and the latest train back from Paris (9:13pm). You do experience a time change of one hour - so we arrived in Paris at 9:15am and arrived back in London at 10:30pm. The ride takes about 2 hours.
The train ride was so easy and so nice. We went through the Chunnel (the English Channel tunnel) and they even offer free Wifi! I felt really off that morning, so I slept the entire ride.
Tickets increase in price the closer you get to your departure date, so try booking the tickets as early as you can. They were around $95 in July, and we bought them at around $150 I believe.
What We Saw
Paris is MASSIVE. It is not very walkable. I definitely recommend making a map and marking sights and shops you want to visit and try going by neighborhood - or arrondissement.
We took an uber from Gare du Nord to Shakespeare & Co. - a famous indie bookstore I wanted to visit. It was packed, so I didn’t buy any books, but did buy a sweatshirt. Shakespeare & Co. is also right across the street from Notre Dame, so we meandered over there.
From Notre Dame, we wanted to visit this store called Merci. It was about a mile and a half away so we walked that way. They have great totes, hats, sweaters, and home goods. It is a bit tucked away, but a treat when you find it.
As I said above, I was feeling rather sick this morning, so I had us stop at a boulangerie and I got a sandwich. There was a line of old French people so I knew it was a good shop. I did not get the name of it unfortunately, but I’m sure it isn’t much different than most other shops tucked off the main streets :) I got a baguette with prosciutto, cheese, and butter and it revived me!
From Merci, I realized our lunch reservations were coming up! We got an uber again because it was in Montemartre, which was about 30 minutes away due to traffic.
From lunch, we went to Polene - which is a newer French designer brand. They have very unique, almost avant-garde purses. I bought my sister and I a numero sept, mine in an emerald lizard leather, and my sister’s in a gorgeous emerald calf leather. Ro got the same bag in a larger size and in a beautiful brown color.
Me with my new bag in Lisbon a few days later
I will say that while I LOVE my bag, they only had 2 sales associates working inside and I feel they wanted to offer the designer shopping experience by having a sales associate bring you a brand new, never touched bag - they simply didn’t have enough staff to help with the demand. We waited outside for about 45-minutes and the line steadily grew longer and longer. Ro’s bag also did lose some hardware 3 days after buying her bag. They sent her a return label and are shipping her a brand new bag - but that still shouldn’t happen so soon after purchasing a designer bag…
After Polene, we went to Galerie Lafayette. It is a stunning mall, but very busy! I bought some fragrance and then we decided to continue walking. We went to the Dior Gallery so I could buy some postcards. We could see the Eiffel Tower from here, which was surprisingly emotional for me?!
Our dinner was in Montemartre again, so we took an uber back up to that neighborhood and walked around after dinner. We were right next to Sacre Coeur so we walked there and marveled at how massive it is!
Where We Ate
We ate lunch at Pink Mamma in Montemartre and it was so good. Ro and I both got the pappardelle with ragu and it was amazing. I was full and could not stop eating it. You could tell the pasta was fresh and homemade. They also have neapolitan pizza that looked soo good. They’re technically only for one person, but I bet 2 could split.
I would recommend stopping in any tiny little shop to grab a baguette sandwich. The one I had was life-changing.
For dinner, we ate at Le Moulin de la Galette and it also was amazing! It was $40 for 3 courses. I got the onion soup, sea bass, and creme brulee. Ro got the fried king prawns, risotto with king prawns, and creme brulee.
What We Bought and Price Breakdown
I bought quite a lot in Paris… I’ve been saving for months and knew I wanted to be able to spend money without really having to stress while in Europe.
I bought 3 Caudalie items (vitamin c moisturizer, detox mask, and beauty elixir) and a La Roche-Posay sunscreen for $39.50… a MASSIVE discount compared to the United States where the moisturizer alone is $42.
Polene - $650 (got $75 back from VAT refund). I got one for my sister because she is graduating college this year!
Jo Malone Perfume - $120 (lost this receipt so I didn’t get the 12% back). I fell in love with Jo Malone earlier this year and I knew I wanted to purchase the larger size option of my favorite scent. For reference, my travel size was $80 in the US, and the largest size was $120… Definitely a money saver. I also got a free engraving on the bottle :) I bought this at Galerie Lafayette.
Merci tote - $40
Dior Postcards - $2 each - bought 4 so $8
Shakespeare & Co. Sweatshirt - $40 (honestly wish I didn’t get this).
Pink Mamma lunch - $65
Le Moulin de la Galette dinner - $45 including glass of wine