Long Weekend in Paris in October

It was such a special treat to spend my birthday in Paris this year. We’d been living in Munich about a month when we went to Paris. It was pretty surreal to get on a plane and be in Paris in an hour! Pat and I both kept saying that it felt like we weren’t in Paris because we got there so fast.

Paris Day 1: Friday

We boarded our plane in Munich at 9am and we were in Paris by 10:30. We dropped our bags off at our hotel, the Hilton Paris Opera, and hit the ground running in search of food. I can’t say enough great things about the Hilton Opera! I think it might be my favorite hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Everyone who worked there was so friendly and helpful, the rooms were beautiful, and the location was perfect. We were able to walk everywhere all weekend and our hotel room had a view of the Eiffel Tower! The service at the hotel was one of the best experiences we’ve had traveling.

So once we dropped our bags off, we decided we wanted to orient ourselves in the city by walking around some of the major sights near our hotel on our way to get food. We walked to the Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, and the Eiffel Tower.

After we got up close and personal with the Eiffel Tower, we turned around and walked through the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood. The Saint Germain neighborhood is one of my favorite parts of Paris because it is full of charming cafes and boutiques. We decided to get sandwiches to go (French bread!) and ate them picnic style in Jardin des Tuileries.

Once we finished eating, we went to the Louvre. We decided to go on Friday figuring it would be less crowded than on the weekend. It actually wasn’t too crowded and we really had a great time. We downloaded a self guided tour and walked around while listening on our earbuds.

We had a dinner reservation at Le Fontaine de Mars in the 7th arrrondisement. Again, I can’t say enough good things about the Hilton Opera. While I was planning our trip, I quickly learned that reservations are necessary at most restaurants. However, most restaurants in Paris do not have an online reservation system. At this point, I did not have a European phone so I couldn’t call in and make a reservation. So I emailed the concierge at the hotel about two weeks before our visit and sent him a list of our top choice of restaurants with dates and times. Within 10 minutes, they emailed back and had made reservations at our top choices! Such a life saver.

So on Friday night we had dinner at Le Fontaine de Mars and we agreed that it was our favorite meal of the trip. We ordered an appetizer of eggs in wine sauce, Pat had wild boar for his entree, and I had duck confit. Everything was amazing. And since it was my birthday we had creme brulee for dessert, which was the best creme brulee of my life. When we walked out of the restaurant, the Eiffel Tower was sparkling! This happens once the sun goes down every hour on the hour for five minutes. It’s my favorite sight in Paris!

Dress is old from Dillard’s, similar style available here and here, black heels available here.

Paris Day 2: Saturday

We woke up bright and early for our photo session with Fede! We started right at sunrise at the Trocadero to avoid having a ton of people in the background. I am so happy that Fede recommended this, because we went back to the Trocadero that afternoon and it was PACKED. And poor Pat almost got his eye taken out multiple times from selfie sticks.

The weather that morning was the worst it was during our whole trip – cold, windy, and rainy. So after our session we all needed some coffee to warm up. Fede suggested a cafe in the Petite Palais art museum, which was really good. I definitely needed the caffeine at that point!

Dress on major sale here.

Afterwards, Pat and I headed back to our hotel to change into clothes more suitable for exploring the city. We had heard that the best way to see Paris is by foot and we found this to be true. Luckily, the weather warmed up and the rain went away. We spent all day walking around and exploring all of the different neighborhoods in Paris. Our favorite area was Saint Germain, so we spent the majority of our time there. We stopped at a cute little cafe for lunch, wine, and people watching. The weather was perfect fall weather so we sat on the patio.

Outfit details: Coat, also available in black and on major sale here. Sweater available here, jeans here  (this is my favorite brand for petite jeans, petite sizes available here), and boots here.

During our walks we saw the Ponte Alexander III bridge (and a rainbow!), the Eiffel tower again, and we also walked down the Champs Elyese to the Arc de Triumph. Pat had watched Paul Hollwood’s Big Continental Road Trip on German Netflix and wanted to see the crazy traffic in person.

That night we had a dinner reservation at Monsieur Bleu, thanks to the Hilton Opera concierge. Their truffle pasta was amazing! Monsieur Bleu is right next to the Trocadero, so all during dinner we could see the Eiffel tower lighting up from our table. After dinner, we walked to the Trocadero to watch the Eiffel Tower light up.

Dress was purchased during Reformation‘s huge summer sale and is no longer available, but I found a similar style here.

Paris Day 3: Sunday

We started off the day walking through the Le Marais area, which has delicious restaurants with lots of variety, great shopping and Place Des Vosges. We stopped for croissants and coffee at the cutest little place, Poilane, which is supposed to have the best bread in Paris. Ina Garten always gets bread here when she is in Paris, so of course we had to stop and it definitely lived up to our expectations. SO good.

After  our fill of French bread goodness, we kept wandering through the streets of Le Marais. It was very lively at this time of day, all of the cafes were packed and there were street markets. We stopped in any store or boutique that looked interesting to us, which was such a great way to spend the morning.

 

We then crossed the Pont Notre Dame and had fun browsing the book stalls on the banks of the Seine. Most were in French so we didn’t end up purchasing any. Afterwards, we headed over to the Notre Dame Cathedral and took a tour. I’ve heard there can be a very long wait to go inside the cathedral, but we waited only about five minutes. There are a ton of cute cafes around Notre Dame, so we walked around for a bit taking in the scenery.

 

Our flight left mid evening, so we spent the rest of the day exploring more neighborhoods and sitting outdoors at a cafe. Of course, before we headed to the airport, we stopped one more time at the Trocadero for views of the Eiffel tower and Nutella crepes!

Scarf available here.

As I type this post, I’m already dreaming of being back in Paris. The flights from Munich are relatively cheap and about an hour, so hopefully we’ll be back soon!

Shop all of my outfits from our Paris trip here: