I still can’t believe I am fortunate to say this was my third time in Paris. My first trip was on family spring break trip in middle school.
This time in Paris was truly my favorite experience. The warm spring weather, food, and surprisingly comfortable couch surfing made our time très bon. Maybe Paris gets better with age? Or maybe I enjoy more of Parisian culture the older I get? I was definitely not as focused on collecting Eiffel Tower key chains this time around.
Lodging
Paris was our first time truly couch surfing on the trip. At this point in the trip we had been staying in a mixture of dorm hostel rooms, private budget hotels, and renting rooms through Airbnb. Given the incredibly high cost of accommodations within the city, I highly recommend couch surfing and sharing spaces as a budget friendly way to get the most out of Paris. Prices allowed us to stay within the city and experience more of Paris on foot.
We rented a “Shared Space” on Airbnb from a young french culinary student and his brother. Every night we unfolded couches in their one bedroom apartment living room to sleep. In the morning we stripped the bed linen, folded up the couches, and tucked our backpacks in the corner. I felt a little guilty we were bringing our not-so-clean backpacks into their spotless Parisian apartment, but our hosts were incredibly gracious.
Our hosts shared coffee with us, offered suggestions for fine Parisian dining, and opened a bottle of French wine while we discussed our travels.
Food
We ate everything in Paris, from a wine and cheese picnic in the park, to a warm baguette out of a vending machine. (I am still kicking myself for not taking a picture. I was so excited I forgot to document it) With a little over a month left in our trip a food budget really went out the window. Our host was horrified to discover that for our first night in Paris we went out for burgers. We were walking, and noticed a couple eating the rarest burger any of us had either seen. After that we went back twice.
Sights
We tried to visit as many Parisian sights as possible – the Notre Dame, Luxembourg Gardens, Pont Alexandre III, Pere-Lachaise Cemetary- and did not regret any of it. On a rainy day we took everyone’s first trip to The Louvre– somehow I never made it on my previous trips! We weren’t aware of a bank holiday and missed the Catacombs when they were open. That will have to be for the next trip.
Our last night in Paris was spent at the Eiffel Tower- an event my recovering hip had been training for! You can purchase an elevator ticket to get you to the main level, but we unanimously agreed that we were born to climb the Eiffel Tower. We began our accession right as the sun was beginning to set, so by the time we got to the top we were rewarded with the beautiful lights of the city.
