A Girl’s Day Trip to Paris.

I’ve always wanted to jump on the Eurostar and go to Paris for lunch, spend a day wandering around the city and then get back on the train and be back in London by midnight. While I was in home in London visiting friends and family in July, my travel buddy C and I decided to do just that. We woke up early one morning and just a couple of hours later we arrived at Gare du Nord in time for croissants!

We started our day by getting the Metro to Montmartre, and wandered the winding lanes and streets up towards the Sacre Coeur, before getting croissants from a boulangerie and heading up to Musee de Montmatre, which is the location of Renoir’s Gardens. It’s a very small museum but worth visiting, it’s reasonably priced at about 8 Euros each, and you only really need half an hour or so there. The gardens are super cute, and there’s a collection of vintage Le Chat Noir posters.

 

We then walked over to Hotel Amour for lunch (but not before stopping off at La Mere Catherine for my traditional photo with it, haha). If you’ve read my review you’ll know how much I adore this restaurant, and along with La Gare it’s one of my favourites in Paris. We went all out and treated ourselves to a rather healthy mix of Croque Madame’s and fries, and it was pretty much the perfect lunch! After our relaxing lunch we walked over to Palais Garnier via Sephora, and then got the Metro from Lafayette to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower!
After our relaxing lunch we walked over to Palais Garnier via Sephora, and then got the Metro from Lafayette to Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower! Unfortunately there’s currently scaffolding around the fountains, so it didn’t look as pretty as it usually does, but we took a few photos and then walked down towards the river.
We walked along the river, chatting and catching up on our lives over the 10 months I was away, until we got to the Pont Alexandre III bridge for a different view of the Eiffel Tower.
From there we continued on, down the Champs-Elysees and over the Place de la Concorde towards the Jardin des Tuileries. We stopped off to buy Crepes at the entrance to the park (my favourite flavour is Apricot Jam), and then sat by the pond and ate them while people watching.
After our crepes we continued with our quest to eat all the food, and ambled over to Angelina for a hot chocolate. Sadly though it was a very hot day, and when we arrived the longings for hot chocolate disappeared, and I instead opted for an Iced Chocolate, which was just as delicious but didn’t have the same soothing qualities as the hot version.

 

After resting our weary feet we then walked across to the Louvre, and then down to Le Palais Royal. Every time I go to Paris I try and see at least one attraction or ‘sight’ I haven’t seen before, and Le Palais Royal along with Musee de Montmartre were the things on the list this time!

 

We were pretty exhausted at this point, so opted to get the bus over to Saint Germain des Pres instead of walking. If you’ve read any of my previous Paris posts you’ll know that Saint Germain is my favourite part of Paris, especially Saint-Sulpice Church and the square at the front of it.  It’s one of my favourite churches in the world, and I love just taking some quiet time to wander the church, site and reflect, and light a candle. As Catholics we light ‘prayer’ candles (you basically light a candle and say a prayer for someone), and growing up I’ve always lit a candle for the loved ones we’ve lost as a prayer for them every time I go into a church.

 

 

After Saint-Sulpice we walked around the corner to Monoprix to stock up on French goodies to take home with us. We also bought baguettes, cheese, and cold meats to have as a picnic on the train home! With heavy bags on our arms we headed over to Notre Dame, and then caught the Metro back to Gare du Nord to get the Eurostar home.

We spent the train journey home eating our baguettes and cheeses, and giggling at our mini adventure. We well and truly conquered Paris in one day! If you’re planning a day trip to Paris and want to see as much as possible in your day, feel free to follow my itinerary. I’m kinda biased, but I think it’s a good one 😉

PIN FOR LATER:
PIN FOR LATER: How to do a day trip to Paris in France, from London England! It's really easy to get the Eurostar from St Pancras and two hours later be eating croissants in Montmartre!

 

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Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

Find me on: Web | Instagram

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13 Comments

  1. Sophie
    August 20, 2017 / 9:13 am

    Ah this looks like the perfect day out. Who doesn't love Paris?!
    Sophie
    x
    A Story of a Girl

  2. Angie SilverSpoon
    August 21, 2017 / 9:45 am

    You always do everything with elegance and style!

  3. Kasha Dubaniewicz
    August 21, 2017 / 9:46 am

    Aw, I love Paris! Would also love to do the day trip from London at some point – you saw a little bit of everything in a day!

  4. Catherine Lux
    August 21, 2017 / 10:59 am

    Haha, thanks Angie! I try 😉

    C x

  5. Catherine Lux
    August 21, 2017 / 11:01 am

    It was so much fun, you should definitely do it! I think it helped that I've been so often before so didn't feel pressured to do absolutely everything in detail (like going up the Eiffel Tower, inside the Louvre etc).

    C x

  6. Catherine Lux
    August 21, 2017 / 11:03 am

    We had the best time!!

    C x

  7. Zoe
    August 21, 2017 / 1:15 pm

    Absolutely love this Catherine. I have done Paris in a day a few times and it's so nice to escape London, eat a few crepes, see the Eiffel Tower and smell some flowers.

  8. The Wine Ninjas
    August 30, 2017 / 12:05 pm

    I'm off to Paris in a few weeks, so this is very useful. I'll definitely be adding Renoir's Gardens to the list. Cheers!

  9. Travel w/ Penelope&Parker
    August 30, 2017 / 12:32 pm

    You covered a lot of ground! I've done the usual work day trips around Europe and day trips to Washington DC and to New York for work (don't ask) but never thought about an enjoyable day on the continent as a better option! Good plan!

  10. Reena LifestyleEnthusiast
    August 30, 2017 / 12:45 pm

    I love Paris, I don't know why I don't do this! It's such a great city for people watching and carb-loading! We're clearly very similar as I'd also head straight to Montmartre then focus on food all day!! Glad you had a good one!

  11. Binny Shah-Patel
    August 30, 2017 / 1:00 pm

    I love Paris and it is soooo close!! PS I will be using your Hong Kong posts as I am going there in November xx

  12. Roma
    August 30, 2017 / 2:47 pm

    The Eurostar makes visiting Paris from London so easy. I've never done it in a day but it's certainly doable!

  13. Unknown
    September 3, 2017 / 9:21 am

    This sounds fabulous. I've always wanted to do Paris in a day and will definitely be following your itinerary. Do you mind me asking what tickets you got for the metro?
    Jaz xoxo
    http://www.thelifeofasocialbutterfly.co.uk

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