Perfect Paris Days

Paris is known as the city of love. I would agree with this solely on the basis that I've only ever been with people I do love. I've been with my family and I've been with my very best friends and every time I've fallen in love with the city more. On my first visit I didn't really get the hype, and I think this was probably down to me being a moody 14 year old at the time, determined to hate anything my parents offered me. My most recent visit was my most Paris-y of all in terms of circumstances. As I said, I've been once with family, to kick start a train journey to Spain, once with a best pal on a let's-do-it January trip, and once, for only 8 hours, with two of the fabbest friends, to celebrate turning 22. This time though, I went with: a BOY *gasps*. And I realised I actually have a few good tips about how best to see the city, and fall in love with it too. So here are a few perfect Paris days if you're heading there any time soon.

Breakfast - la Madeleine - Tuileries Garden - Champs Elysees - Arc de Triomphe

One thing to avoid when you head to any city for a short break, is spending all your time on the subway/tube/metro. It's much better to take the time to figure out how you can hit all the spots you want to in close quarters, so you can walk in between them. Sandwich your walks with food stops either side, and you're good to go! The very finest Parisienne breakfast is a good way to start, so how about some damn good pancakes? 

With streaky bacon, fried eggs, maple syrup and BOURBON BUTTER, the Savoury Stack at Holybelly 5 is an indulgent way to line your stomach ready for the walk. If I started every day with a stack of them I'd probably die in like 10 years, but my happiness would at least double. Walk off your pancakes through little side streets of Paris, and stop for a sit down on the steps of l'eglise de la Madeleine. 

Then continue on to the Tuileries Garden for a sunny/leafy/chilly walk depending on the season. From there you're just following the main road up through the Christmas market if it's November-January, onto the Champs Elysees. Paris' main shopping street has lots to entice you with, just make sure you pop into Sephora for make-up heaven, and then to Laduree to pick up some macarons (or pretend Chuck Bass got them for you). The Arc de Triomphe gets closer as you make you way up the road, and once you've had a few pictures, you'll be ready for a nap, having walked about 6k! This route is just here if you did want to use it.

The Louvre - Brunch - Notre Dame - Shakespeare and Company - Dinner

If you want to suffer for your art, get to the Louvre after 10am, cause you'll queue the whole morning away for sure. If you are okay with not suffering for your art, then get there before 9am, do a swift walk around to find the Mona Lisa and take in the serenity of the Cour Marly (pictured above). Then when you're ready, head up the road to Angelina's on the rue de Rivoli. Okay so before I joked about having a Parisienne breakfast and then told you to go for a very unFrench plate of buttered up pancakes, but Angelina's is ACTUALLY a perfect Parisienne brunch. The interior design is just beautiful (below), and although the food is pricey,  brunch and lunch aren't so bad. The hot chocolate is also featured as number 1 hot chocolate in the WORLD on every top 10 list I've ever seen.

When you're ready to walk some more, head to the Notre Dame, which is about a half an hour along and across the river. The ticket machine gives you a time to come back for your trip up the tower, so while away the hour or so in Shakespeare and Company with the most beautiful books. Then, after you've explored the Notre Dame, head back to your hotel to get changed for dinner and drinks. One of the most instagrammable restaurants in Paris is Pink Mamma, situated right next to the Moulin Rouge, so you can grab a pic of that too. Pink Mamma doesn't take bookings (GAH) but it's okay because I actually found an awesome restaurant nearby as a back-up! So give Pink Mamma a go, and if the wait is longer than an hour, skip around the corner to Le Garde-Temps for the kind of food that makes Masterchef John go 'it's classic French cooking Greg, I love it'. There are a few rooftop bars that offer a view of the Eiffel tower, and Le Perchoir Marais is my top pic, although queueing can be annoying. Of course, my smuggest tip of all is to find someone who will take you to Paris and surprise you with a room that has a view of the Eiffel tower anyway...

If You Only Have A Day 

If, like me, you wish to be extremely EXTRA on your birthday, and go on an 8 hour holiday for it, then read on my friend. I spent some time figuring out how you can see all the sights in Paris, even if you wouldn't have time to explore them. Head straight to Angelina's for brunch, or lunch, depending on your Eurostar timings, because it's so classic Paris that you'll feel like you've got your train-fare's worth once you've set foot inside. Then, walk along river towards the Arc de Triomphe, because you can hit a lot of the best spots doing this, without spending half your day on the metro. We did the Notre Dame, Shakespeare and Company, the Tuleries garden, the Champs Elysee (with a pit stop for macaroons), before getting to the Arc de Triomphe. None of this felt like a rush, and it's mostly a straight line along the river and through the gardens. The perfect end the day is sitting on the steps of the Trocadero and staring at the Eiffel tower and the Paris cityscape until it's time to get the metro back for your Eurostar home.

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