Paris
July 2018The train ride from Brussels to Paris is a mere 90 mins. During the short ride, we went through our plan for the next few days, and ensured the kids (Daivik was 7.5 years at the time of this, trip and we were traveling with a close friend and his family, and their daughter was 11) memorized the lock codes to the AirB&B apartment we were staying at. We stayed at a few other AirB&B apartments during the entire Europe trip, and found that the kids remained enthusiastic and had fun taking turns while punching in the codes to unlock gates and apartment doors. (this also saved us from the trouble of having to look it up on our phones).
We arrived at Paris on a beautiful morning, and before we started exploring this amazing city, we went over to our apartment in central Paris (very close to the Louvre in the 1st district) to drop our bags. The AirB&B owner had given very clear instructions that the first-floor apartment was accessible through a flight of stairs (barely 20), or through a rickety old elevator. If we were to use the elevator, no more than 1 person and 1 bag should be on it at the same time. Considering we had a few bags between the two families, we decided to send 2 bags with 0 person on the ride up. (Well, the sum total was still 2, so what could go wrong!). Well, we paid the price for breaking the cardinal rule of a central Paris apartment. The elevator doors were accordion style, and our bags had shifted during the ride up and blocked the door from opening after the elevator made its way up to the first floor. After trying everything our minds could conjure, we failed at retrieving the bags and had to call the elevator company. We did get lucky as the cleaning lady was still at the apartment. She happened to be from the subcontinent and fluent in Hindi, English and French (yay!), and was able to help navigate through the French IVR and get the elevator company to dispatch a technician.
Despite this minor setback (which taught us a very valuable lesson), we had an amazing time in the City of Love. Its always special being in Paris, however to be here in the midst of a soccer world cup, where the home team played and won a semi-final game was something else. Witnessing the thousands of Parisians take to the street, after their victory, was the highlight during our stay. It would put any of the parades the we have in the US for the World Series or Super Bowl victories to shame.
Here’s how we structured our 3 days in Paris.
Day 1
After our elevator fiasco, we headed straight down to the Ile de la Cité, Notre-Dame (1.5 – 2 hours). This medieval cathedral is considered one of the finest example of French gothic architecture and it was very humbling for me to be in front of it. The cathedral was built by 1260, and unfortunately it was desecrated during the French Revolution, when a lot of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. Interest started piquing after the publication of Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831. A major restoration project began in 1845 and continued for 25 years. Beginning in 1963, the facade of the Cathedral was cleaned of centuries of soot and grime, returning it to its original color. The facade has many interesting scenes and statues which makes for some very interesting story telling. That’s mostly how we kept the kids engaged, while we waited in queue for our turn to enter this grand cathedral. The interior is just as fascinating with all the stained-glass windows, and we spent a little over an hour just soaking it all in.
Tip: The entry is free, so there is usually always a line here during the summer months. Also, ensure you visit during the day, as at night it is very difficult to see and enjoy the lovely stained-glass windows and other intricate touches inside the cathedral
After Notre dame, we followed a guide book to walk through the Latin quarters. This neighborhood has some of the most diverse architecture in the city which includes Roman ruins and, gothic spires and the innovative Institut du Monde Arabe. The Latin Quarter is also home to the Sorbonne, one of world’s first universities, and owes its name to the Latin language and is also known for its restaurants, cafes, bistros. So, it is the perfect stop to grab some lunch.
After lunch, we made it to Sainte-Chapelle (1.5 – 2 hours). This is a royal chapel built in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century. Even if I tried, I could not put into words how beautiful this chapel is. So let the pictures speak for themselves.
Tip: My only tip for this place would be – If you can only do 1 thing in Paris – well, go to the Eiffel tower first and then make a mad dash for Sainte-Chapelle!
Our original plan was to visit the Jardin du Luxembourg. These are beautiful gardens that house the Luxembourg Palace. However, after the somewhat crazy morning, we were running behind schedule and decided to skip that and head back to the apartment to get some rest.
After avoiding the elevators this time (and every other time we went to the apartment over the next 3 days), we headed out to enjoy our first evening in Paris. Our plan was to follow a guide book and do a self guided walk along the Champs-Elysées from the Tuileries Garden, down the grand Avenue des Champs-Elysées to finally make it to the Arc de Triomphe by sunset.
Tip: If you do plan to have dinner in this area, do some homework/research on where you should eat
The Arc de Triomphe (1 hour). – The Arc de Triomphe was built to honor the men who fought in the Napoleonic and the French Revolutionary wars: The names and places on the arch are of the French generals and army victories. There was a really long line to go to the rooftop, so we did not end up doing that. However, if you do decide to go to the rooftop, you will be rewarded with excellent views of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. (Tip: Do not try to cross the busy street above, instead take the underpasses to access the Arc de Triomphe).
The sun was just about setting, by the time we were done seeing the Arch, so we headed straight to the Trocadero to catch out first glimpses of the Eifel tower (1.0 – 1.5 hours). Trocadero sits atop a hill just across the Eifel tower and offers some amazing views. Our plan was to be here just after dusk, so we could get some dusk and night shots of the Eifel. From Arc de Triomphe it’s a long walk or a short train ride to the Trocadero. With all the walking we had already done for the day, we decided to take the train. This was also the last item on our itinerary for the day, and it was a perfect way to end our first day in Paris!
Tip: The Eiffel is a spectacle when all lit up, it also sparkles after dark on the top of each hour, do remember to check the times and plan to be there to witness it!
Day 2
We started the day by visiting the Louvre (4 – 5 hours). This is both a historic monument and the largest art museum in the world. The apartment we were staying at was less than a 10 minute walk from the Louvre. That allowed us to be here right before the museum opened and avoid the long lines that had already formed, as we had purchased our tickets in advance.
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II and has a total area of 72,735 square meters. In 2018, the Louvre was the world’s most visited art museum – with 10.2 million visitors. If someone spent just 30 seconds observing every piece of art housed here, it would take over 100 full days to see everything, and we had only half a day at our disposal!
My strong recommendation would be to do some research and decide in advance what you would like to see, to make the most of your time. Also, remember covering over 70,000 square meters takes a lot of time and energy!
Tip: Book your ticket in advance, and get here before it opens, to avoid crowds and save some time
The kids After the Louvre and some great Vietnamese food, we took a break for a couple of hours in our apartment.
We had purchased timed entry summit tickets to go all the way to the top of the Eiffel tower (2.5 – 3 hours). We gave ourselves a little extra time, to take some evening shots in front of the Eifel and promptly made it to the elevators that would take us to the top. The first set of elevator takes you the second level, and from here you need to take another elevator to get to the top. Our misfortunes with elevators in Paris continued here as well, as only one of the elevators seemed to be working and there was a really long line. We spent a lot more time here than we had budgeted for, though it was a beautiful clear evening, and we got a lot of time to enjoy and shoot some incredible views of the city.
Tip: there are several considerations you would need to make while planning a trip to visit the top of the Eiffel – what time of the day to visit, whether to go all the way to the top, how much time to spend, etc. I would recommend doing your homework and planning well in advance
Our last activity for the day involved doing a Seine river cruise around sunset (1.5 – 2 hours). We had pe booked an hour-long cruise, that started from Paris’ oldest bridge, the Pont-Neuf, and passed by some of Paris’s most beautiful monuments. We had grabbed a picnic dinner on the way from the Eiffel to Pont-Neuf and enjoyed that during the cruise.
After the cruise, we walked back to out apartment by making a short detour through Louvre and were rewarded with some awesome pics of its grand exterior.
Day 3 – Versailles
For our third and last full day in Paris, we took the early morning RER suburban train to Versailles (5 – 6 hours), to tour the château and the gardens. The train ride is about 45 minutes to the Versailles station, and from there another 10-minute walk to reach the palace grounds. (you shouldn’t need to use any GPS or maps – just follow the vast throng of crowd heading out from the station, as almost everyone is heading to the same destination) we did not stick to our original plan of arriving here prior to palace opened (9:00 am) and paid a heavy price. When we arrived around 10:15 am, there were a few hundred people outside the palace gate already lined up to get in. There are 4 different lines/cluster of people:
- Line to purchase entry tickets (about 50-60 people)
- Line to enter the palace for people with open tickets (at least 300-400 people)
- Line to enter the palace for people with timed entry (25 people)
- Line to enter if you were a part of a guided private tour (varied, but always less than 50 people)
We had purchased tickets in advance, however we had not opted for the timed entry tickets, so even though we avoided the first line, we waited in line for the next 2.5 hours to get in. One of the reasons for the long lines was that we had opted to visit on a Tuesday (the palace is closed on Mondays) in the second week of July (peak summer crowds). Our premise for buying an open timed general ticket was to allow for a little more flexibility, as we had to take the train from Paris to get here. Turned out to be a bad decision, as this is by far the longest we have ever stood in any line!
We usually avoid doing guided private tours as they are much more expensive than buying the tickets directly from the official website, and you end up seeing exactly the same things. With a little bit of research, a good guide book, and the audio guides available after entry, we find it much more convenient to do the tour at our own convenience and pace, rather than follow a tour guide. Versailles proved to be an exception, as going through a private tour, would have assured us of a much faster entry.
We were already mentally and physically exhausted by the time it was our turn to get in. Once inside the palace, it was a mad dash as well, there were people everywhere and almost always we were just following the crowds and being pushed from one room to another. Despite the crowds, the palace itself is grand, opulent and strikingly beautiful, and should not be missed. After spending a couple of hours, we were all in a much better mood. However, with all the delays, we decided to cut short our visit and save some time by not going to the gardens. After grabbing a quick lunch, we took the train back to Paris, and were back in our apartment by 4:30 pm.
We had kept the last evening in Paris free of any ‘plan’, in order to do anything we might have missed or just take it easy. After 3 very productive days, we decided to take it easy, and went to have an early dinner at a nice French restaurant (how can you not have a fine French dinner when in Paris). Another reason for the early meal was to allow us to catch the semi final game between France and Belgium that was later in the evening. While our wives and kids took off to the apartment after our nice fancy meal, my friend and I hopped across a few pubs and caught most of the second half of the game. France won 1-0 and reached the 2018 soccer world cup final that night. We hugged strangers, marched on the streets with the blue army, and joined the supporters of Les Bleus in singing the French national anthem (a few drinks always make singing easier, even when you do not know a word of the song!) it was a night to remember and probably the most remarkable way to end our Paris trip!