Paris in Springtime
Our hotel for three nights was the Rochester Hotel on the Champs d'Elysees. a beautiful 4* hotel, great central location, impressively clean, super modern bedrooms, wifi, lovely buffet breakfast and a traditional Parisian bar on site too. There is no restaurant, however there are plenty of local eateries within walking distance. In fact, we had dinner locally around the corner at Le Comptoir de l'Artoise. Typically Parisian, privately owned, super food.
I had booked the 2CV Paris Tour - a relatively new way of seeing as much of the city as possible! Our driver collected us from our hotel and then we set off in an original 2CV with open top! The driver also runs a commentary so you learn a great deal about Paris history and the amazing buildings. We saw all the sights and nipped through alleyways and one way streets really getting a feel for the buzz of the city. After 2 hours, you can be dropped wherever so we chose the Eiffel Tower as we had tickets for that day. Definitely pre-book your tickets for the Tower, they allocate so many per day and if you don't buy in advance, you could end up being disappointed or waiting in a 2-hour queue! We went straight in and up in the lift without waiting. Fabulous views as you would expect and we paid the extra few euros to go to the very top where there is a champagne bar waiting for you! After this we walked up towards the Arc de Triomphe where you can pay to climb the 284 steps to the very top - but what a view! Down to earth, back to our hotel and we had booked the Hard Rock Café for dinner which was great as expected.
On my birthday morning, my husband arranged a champagne breakfast in bed and the hotel did not disappoint! Feeling full, we took the subway down to the River and boarded the Bateaux Parisiens Seine Cruise. This was a lovely hour spent for only €15 each. After a brief lunch at a creperie, we had a walking tour booked of the Montmartre. Our local guide was amazing, very knowledgeable - we started at the Moulin Rouge and ended up at the Sacre Coeur. Dinner that evening was at Le Mesturet - which was a highlight as our evening meal was fabulous!
Our final day saw us paying a visit to the Montparnasse - a structure in Paris which does not seem to fit as it is a modern day skyscraper. Again we bought tickets in advance to avoid the queue. In 38 seconds, the lift takes you to the 56th floor. The outdoor panoramic observation deck offers a 360° view overlooking the whole city of Paris, and the view of the Eiffel Tower is the highlight of the show! There is a Café and a souvenir shop on the floor below which also has floor to ceiling windows and amazing views!
By this time, we were ready for our flight so went back to the hotel, collected our luggage and called an Uber to take us to the airport. Overall, I felt very safe in the capital, the subway was cheap and easy to use, Wi-Fi in most areas and the people were very friendly.
If you have any questions about my trip or would like to book any of the excursions and sights I have mentioned, please get in touch!