Paris Wrap Up

Last week I returned from my trip to Paris, France. It was supposed to be a trip of a week, but unfortunately my grandfather passed away and I had to return home.

1. Things to see

In Paris there are lots and lots of landmarks from gardens to buildings and squares but these are the ones I always go back to:

• La Tour Eiffel – The best way to walk there is from the Trocadero towards the Eiffel tower. This way you also have a great view of the tower.

• Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris
• Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
• Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees

• Hôtel des Invalides
• Jardin des Tuileries
• Palais Garnier or L’Opéra
• Musée du Louvre – The place to go and see the great Flemish painters as well as the immensely popular Mona Lisa. Of which the size disappointed me a bit.

• Musee Rodin – The biggest collection of the one of the greatest sculptors Auguste Rodin.
• Centre Pompidou

2. Where to eat

If you are in Paris you definitely have to go to the authentic French brasserie:

• Brasserie Lipp – They serve great authentic french dishes. In autumn or winter you should definitely try their choucroute, and finsih of the meal with a flan, île flottante or a house speciality the Millefeuille.

• Le Thoumieux de Jean-Francois Piège
• Café de la Paix – A great stop, in the Intercontinental hotel on Place de L’Opéra, just to have a snack in the cafe or a full lunch/diner in the restaurant.

• Hard Rock Cafe Paris – This is my regular stop wherever I am in the world.

3. Where to have dessert

• Fauchon
• Ladurée

4. Shopping

If you are looking for jewellery, then you can’t go wrong with going to the beautiful Place Vendôme. This is where all the big jewellers have there shop in Paris from Rolex to Bulgari, from Cartier to Panerai and …

For clothes and shoe shopping, and more, you can’t go wrong by going to:

• Galleries Lafayette – You can find almost every brand here from Ralph Lauren to Paul Smith, and Galleries Lafayette is always beautifully lit and has great Christmas decorations
• Printemps

5. How to get there

If you are willing to drive, Vinci parking has locations at almost all the landmarks and are clearly marked. But drive outside of the traffic jump hours, otherwise you will be stuck for long times.

Everything is also very reachable by the Paris metro system. (map)

6. Guides

If you’re planning on going to Paris a great resource is the Loney Planet website, as well as google in general.