For the third stop of our honeymoon, we headed over to Paris. We landed around 3 pm from Luxembourg, and took a taxi from the airport over to the Westin Vendome. The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful, but be warned that the rooms themselves are pretty small, and the closet so small that we could really only hang a few items. We splurged for a room with a balcony and a view of the Eiffel Tower, which made the room itself even smaller to accommodate the balcony, but definitely worth it. We had breakfast outside every morning, and drinks each afternoon.
We were pretty exhausted from our day of travel, so we started out with drinks at La Teerasse in the middle of the hotel. It’s a beautiful open courtyard with drinks and a few small snacks. Some of the tables have swings as seats, but they were always full when we arrived. We had a nightcap here almost every night and brought the drinks back up to our balcony.
After our drinks, we changed and headed out for our first dinner at L’Avenue. We’d heard that it was one of the best restaurants in Paris, and boy were they right. We started with escargot and foie gras (as we did at LITERALLY every meal while we were in Paris) and the other star menu item was the lobster spaghetti with an ENTIRE lobster in it. I honestly wanted to go to this restaurant twice it was that good. It’s only a few blocks away from the Champs-Élysées and there is a ton of great shopping nearby if you need to kill some time before your reservation.
The next morning, walked to Cafe Claus for brunch. Our friend had recommended it and it was the CUTEST brunch I’ve ever had. This particular location is also right across the street from the original Christian Louboutin, so it’s a great excuse to do some shopping while you leave your husband in line 🙂 They don’t take reservations, so be prepared to wait for at least 30 minutes for a table. They have a few different brunch options, all of which come with an egg dish, a fruit dish, some pastries, a coffee and a glass of champagne. While the wait is often long, they don’t rush you at all once you sit down, so you can really enjoy the meal.
After brunch we walked over to the Forum des Halles for a coffee, and then wandered through the mall a bit. My lashes had started to look a little rough after the wedding, so I stopped by a MAC to get some new ones put on, and we did a bit of shopping to cool down (it was SUPER hot that day).
Afterwards we walked by the Cathedral of Notre Dame – if you didn’t buy tickets ahead of time, just skip it. The lines are like 2 hours and then you have to climb FOREVER. I had done it once about 10 years ago so I opted to take this quick photo and then try to escape the HUNDREDS of tourists.
Our true destination was the Shakespeare & Company bookstore just across the water from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We snagged another coffee and some waters from their adorable cafe, and then spent about an hour wandering the various rooms of the bookstore.
As we headed towards the Catacombs, we passed the beautiful Place Alphonse Laveran. We stopped for a while to rest on one of the benches outside.
We stopped at a cute restaurant called La Terrasse Saint Jacques because we were exhausted and needed water and wine before waiting in line at the Catacombs. The outdoor patio was adorable, but we didn’t take any photos because we were so distracted by the SWARMS of bees that were all around, especially once they brought out our wine. After a quick drink, we felt ready to wait in line for the Catacombs.
I tend to be the type of person who plans little more than my hotel and train tickets when I travel abroad, but Paris is absolutely one place where you should book ahead. The Catacombs allows you to buy tickets in advance for a particular time slot, and then show up and basically walk right in. We didn’t prepare, and ended up waiting in line for about 2 hours in the blazing sun. It was definitely worth the wait, as the Catacombs are one of the craziest things I’ve seen, but if you have the opportunity to book ahead DO IT.
That night when we got back to the hotel we were exhausted from being outdoors all day and absolutely starving. We didn’t have anything planned and hadn’t made any reservations in advance, so we asked the hotel concierge for a recommendation within walking distance. He recommended Chez Flottes, which was about two blocks down from the hotel. I expected it to be ok, but it was EXCELLENT. We had our usual foie gras and escargot (literally, every meal), and then for an entree we had an incredible pork dish in a sweet sauce.
That night we went back and grabbed a few drinks from La Terrasse to bring up to the room and then had our champagne and macaroons the hotel had given to us for our honeymoon. The views couldn’t be beat, and it was incredible to watch the Tower light up each night!
We started day 3 at the Librairie Galignani, which claims to be the oldest English bookstore in the country. It was massive and the front room was full of beautiful coffee table books. If we weren’t already almost overweight with our luggage, we would have bought a ton.
Afterwards we walked through the Tuileries Garden on our way to go the Supreme store. Eric was super excited to shop but unfortunately when we got there, we found out that you have to arrive super early in the day, wait in line, and get a ticket to come back at a later hour. He ended up opting to just buy things online instead, and at a super cute boutique we found called Father and Sons that had a great sale going on.
We stopped at the nearby L’Avant-Comptoir des Cochones at Marche Saint-Germain for Parisian tapas after shopping. We’d been recommended this spot by some friends of our, and also heard that it was one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite spots in Paris. You enter in and the entire menu is hanging from the ceiling, most of the cards with photos of the item. We recommend ordering a bunch of small plates, and then asking the bartender for a recommendation on the best wine to pair with it. He chose a great Rosé to go with our meal and it was super refreshing. Everything we ate was DELICIOUS, but callouts are definitely the foie gras macaroon and the pork.
Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower, and as we walked over we stopped at a quick Boulangerie for coffee before waiting in line. The Eiffel Tower is another Paris attraction that I highly recommend getting tickets for in advance. It will allow you to book a time slot and cut the entire line. Luckily for us it was too crowded, and we only had to wait about 45 minutes to get up to the top.
After the Eiffel Tower we walked down by the Flamme de la Liberte on our way to the Champs-Élysées. The flame is a replica of the flame on the Statue of Liberty and is meant to be a symbol of the friendship between the United States and France. However, since 1997 it has become a memorial for Princess Diana, who died in the tunnel directly behind the flame.
At the beginning of the Champs-Élysées, we stopped at a cute restaurant called Le Bistro 25 to fill up on wine before shopping. We saw the table next to us order this amazing salmon and avocado tartar and couldn’t resist!
We walked the whole expanse of the Champs-Élysées, stopping in a ton of stores along the way. Out of all the stores, the flagship Louis Vuitton store is definitely the standout attraction, with a line typically wrapping around the corner of the building. Once inside, you can walk the multiple floors (4 or so? I lost count!) of beautiful bags and accessories. There is even an entire massive room just for luggage! Honeymoon Eric was out in full force, and we splurged on a duffel to help us take home all the things we were buying along the trip.
As our last stop in Paris we had dinner at Candelaria Taqueria. It’s a divey Mexican spot with only a few tacos on the menu. Eric was pretty confused as to why I picked this spot out of all the delicious French restaurants, until we finished dinner and ventured through the kitchen door and down into the speakeasy below the restaurant. The tiny, hidden bar hosts an expansive cocktail menu, and we spent a good hour and a half enjoying before we headed back to our hotel.
It was a perfect last night before heading off to our next destination – Nice!
Did we miss something amazing from our itinerary or have questions about your next trip? Let us know in the comments!
