Paris
4
 DAYS IN 
Paris

Paris was a fun, long weekend trip. Bless whoever made the 2-hour train Eurostar a reality. I went with two extremely busy friends - one with work and the other shopping - so we didn’t plan much to make our schedule more flexible.

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I thoroughly enjoyed Paris. A controversial opinion given that many of my friends had a contrary impression of Paris being dirty, rude, busy, etc. These aren’t false allegations, but much of my focus was on the food, the museums, and the sights. Being used to cities like London and New York City likely desensitized me to certain parts of cities. However, the shopping aspect wasn’t as pleasant, with the long, painful queues and the lack of standards in many of these stores (spoiler: Chanel).

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The only thing we booked early was Girafe, which is not worth it unless you get the outdoor terrace with unobstructed views of the Eiffel, Pink Mamma, and Moulin Rouge (disclaimer: it is not remotely similar to the musical but excellent).

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TRANSPORT | The Paris metro was very well-connected, but its poor reputation for pickpockets meant that we covered most of the places on foot, which was possible for most of the attractions since we stayed in the city center. I only took the metro to the Palace of Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.

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DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY | There were so many things I wish I had done, especially the tons of incredible museums Paris could offer. Les Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay, Musee National Rodin, Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen, Fondation Monet (in Giverny), and all the croissants I could find. I didn’t regret visiting any places, so I needed a much longer trip to squeeze everything in!

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WE STAYED AT Mandarin Oriental, Paris, which was terrific - one of my favorite hotel experiences! The location was perfect - it was in the 1st Arrondissement and within walking distance to most of the major attractions in the city and across the river.

Day 2: 

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CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES

GALERIES LAFAYETTE

MOULIN ROUGE

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Day 2 was dedicated to shopping in classic Parisian fashion. We covered most of the 1st Arrondissement and the shopping street around Champs-Élysées. It was nice to have a chill day walking around, and I particularly liked the new Dior flagship at 30 Avenue Montaigne, which had recently opened in April 2022. Apart from that, we skipped a couple of big brands like Chanel and LV, where the queues were on a very different level.

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We had lunch at Pho 14 Opera (what an odd guy eating Vietnamese on a 4-day trip to France), which was reasonable based on any standards. Prices were on the lower side, so I ordered two mains, thinking the portions were small. However, there were jokes about me; I couldn’t finish my first bowl.

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We went to the top floor of Galeries Lafayette for the sunset, which has one of the best views of the sunset in Paris. It was the perfect transition before walking to the Moulin Rouge for the cabaret.

We wanted to eat at Bouillon Pigalle near the Moulin Rouge since many people recommended the Bouillon chain for good and cheap food. Still, the queues were insane - it was easily an hour-long outside, so I had to leave that for another trip.

Day 2: 

‍

CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES

GALERIES LAFAYETTE

MOULIN ROUGE

‍

Day 2 was dedicated to shopping in classic Parisian fashion. We covered most of the 1st Arrondissement and the shopping street around Champs-Élysées. It was nice to have a chill day walking around, and I particularly liked the new Dior flagship at 30 Avenue Montaigne, which had recently opened in April 2022. Apart from that, we skipped a couple of big brands like Chanel and LV, where the queues were on a very different level.

‍

We had lunch at Pho 14 Opera (what an odd guy eating Vietnamese on a 4-day trip to France), which was reasonable based on any standards. Prices were on the lower side, so I ordered two mains, thinking the portions were small. However, there were jokes about me; I couldn’t finish my first bowl.

‍

We went to the top floor of Galeries Lafayette for the sunset, which has one of the best views of the sunset in Paris. It was the perfect transition before walking to the Moulin Rouge for the cabaret.

We wanted to eat at Bouillon Pigalle near the Moulin Rouge since many people recommended the Bouillon chain for good and cheap food. Still, the queues were insane - it was easily an hour-long outside, so I had to leave that for another trip.

Day 3: 

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MUSÉE DE L’ORANGERIE

PALAIS ROYAL

TUILERIES GARDEN

LOUVRE MUSEUM

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I squeezed all my museums in one day, which, to no surprise, was quite overwhelming. I would’ve been broken without taking an hour to chill around the fountain at the Tuileries Garden.

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Out of the incredible museums I visited, Musée de l’Orangerie was my favorite. It’s quite a small museum, but there were Cezanne, Renoir, Manet, and many others, with the highlight being Monet’s large water lilies murals. I’ve seen Monet’s water lilies in many major art museums (and even the large ones in MoMA NYC), but it's still worth it!

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We had lunch at Auguste, which was one of the best meals I’ve had. It’s a one-Michelin restaurant, and their 3-course meal on a weekday was super worth it. I live to eat, and I live through and through. I rarely go to fine-dining restaurants, so it was a truly unique experience to see food taken to the next level.

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The Louvre met all my expectations - they had an expansive collection of art from the Michelangelo Gallery to the Winged Victory of Samothrace to the Great Sphinx and the (overrated) Mona Lisa. The Louvre Pyramid is a flagrant misrepresentation of the Louvre’s side because I wasn’t even close to covering half the compound by the end. Two hours in, I only wanted to sit by the Grand Bassin Rond at Tuileries Garden.

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We had a dinner reservation at Girafe at 10 pm (because we booked too late), so we decided to visit one of the many speakeasies in Paris. We went to L’Épicier and had great vibes and drinks despite its claustrophobic space! Then we ended with Girafe, but it was pretty underwhelming - we had a significantly obstructed view of the Eiffel Tower because the terrace wasn’t open, and the food was typical but overpriced. At least the Eiffel Tower sparkled every hour.

Day 4: 

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EIFFEL TOWER

MONTMARTRE

SACRE-CŒUR BASILICA

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We had to squeeze in Montmartre and Sacre-Cœur with half a day left. It’s probably my favorite part of Paris because it is so charming, and you get spectacular views overlooking Paris.

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The only bummer was that we booked Pink Mamma way in advance, but the kitchen caught fire right before our reservation, and they had to close. Bummer!

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Nonetheless, still a great trip, and I can’t wait to be back!