Pre-Tour: Three Days in Paris!
To break up the long haul to Athens and get our bodies accustomed to the seven-hour time change in Greece, we decided on a 3-day pre-tour stop in Paris. We had unfinished business with the Eiffel Tower (more on that later) and Bonjour, it’s Paris!
We spent almost as much time researching and planning three days in Paris, than 14 days in Greece! Paris is a mecca of historical sites, museums, restaurants, gardens, and shopping, it’s important to thoughtfully plan an itinerary (Rick Steves to the rescue!), have back up plans, and decide on an arrondissement. We found a cute apartment in the 7th, steps from the Eiffel Tower and Seine Port.
For transportation, we used the Batobus, the hop on hop off Seine boat, and created our itinerary based around the nine stops. The Batobus worked perfectly. More expensive than the Metro, but cheaper than taxi's, we easily traveled to every point of interest while enjoying the incredible architecture and sites along the Seine. Our last evening, we rode the Batobus the entire loop, taking in les beautés de Paris!
What did we do?
First, we pre-booked a private van transfer from Charles De Gaulle airport to our rental. Once settled into our apartment, we walked down the beautiful, busy tree lined Ave de la Bourdonnais to the quaint, Italian café Sapori di Parma, where we ate during the Family Tour. Same family, almost the same menu. They don’t speak English (or much French), but got by with our limited Italian. There were only a handful of tables outside. The meal was delicious and the setting was parfaite for our first in Paris!
We visited Île de la Cité and viewed the immense undertaking in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame. There are bleachers set up to watch the work being completed. We walked through Saint-Chapelle and were awe-struck by the soaring walls and colorful stained-glass windows. We also explored Paris’s oldest garden, the Jardins de Plantes. We ate a delicious takeaway lunch in the garden, surrounded by the beautiful foliage. The zoo Le Ménagerie had a wonderful array of animals and walking paths.
We shopped. While we didn’t go inside, the exterior of the Louis Vuitton store made an impression! We leisurely walked from the Batobus stop at the historic Hôtel de Ville to the famed Champs-Élysées. We devoured crêpes as we strolled past the Louvre and bustling streets.
We toured The Hôtel des Invalides, Museé de l’Armée and Tomb of Napoleon. The Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, is a treasure trove of remarkable indigenous and tribal art.
Meals were exceptional. We appreciate diverse cuisine, and ate Italian, Chinese and French during our stay. We were concerned at first about not having a classic hotel breakfast, but no worries, a 5-minute walk around the corner we enjoyed breakfast, café au lait, pain au chocolate, croissants and other delights from Maison Bergaron Boulangerie each morning. And every evening we wandered back for délicieuses pâtisseries!
.jpg)
We used 2-day Paris Museum Passes to visit multiple sites!
%20(1).jpg)
La Tour Eiffel
On our first tour, going up the Eiffel Tower was a priority. We reserved tickets in advance for our free afternoon. Some members took advantage of touring the Tower after the scenic evening Seine cruise. We had tickets for the next day, our legs were weary, and we walked back to our hotel instead. The next morning, we were alerted that the Eiffel Tower was closed due to a worker strike, our tickets refunded. Complete anguish! Why didn’t we go up the night before? We wandered under and gazed at the iconic metal structure that afternoon, but the fact we couldn’t ascend stung. The kids were heartbroken that evening and we all vowed we would one day return to Paris.
Fast forward five years, and return we did! Reserving tickets in advance was harder this time. After several unsuccessful attempts, we finally got tickets. We arrived early, waited in the security line (a new addition). Found the queue for the time slot of 21:00. Our tickets were for 21:30. The line didn’t move for 10-15 minutes. The lines at the elevators were long, wrapping around the queues. When it was 21:30, Steve asked a worker what was happening. One of the elevators had broken down for 3 hours, backing up lines significantly. They were only allowing lift tickets up to the 21:00 time slot. Anything later had been refunded. We could come back tomorrow and wait in line for tickets, or we could walk the tower instead. What? Is this seriously happening?! Incroyable! We deliberated. Deliberated some more. Took a lot of deep breaths. Then began climbing.
Not only did we walk up the 674 steps, we also walked down them too, as it seemed faster and easier than waiting in the long lift lines. The lift to the summit was a nice a break, our legs were on fire! The views from every deck were magnificent, and while the summit was shoulder to shoulder with people, we managed to find a tiny opening to take in the sites and lights from 906 ft (276m) above Paris!
Even though some of us had sore legs for a few days (Rachel)…definitely take the stairs, at least for some of the visit. It offers such a different perspective. You feel like you are a part of the structure of the Tower, a tiny speck of support. The feel of the rough brown paint on the hand rail, peeling in spots to reveal the early reddish paint, acts as a historical guide as you ascend. Even walking down at night, the blinding bright lights in the stairwells remind you that you are someplace significant.
Upon exiting, we sat on empty benches facing the glory of the Tower illuminated at night. Since we were on the Tower during the hourly sparkle light display, we decided to wait 45 minutes for the next show at midnight. Instead of the sparkles, the lights turned off. Including all the lamp posts around us! Feeling a bit lost, we walked back down the path to the Tower. We were promptly met by a pleasant, albeit confused, security guard who kindly walked us to the exit. Other than a handful of workers, we were the only tourists under the Tower. It was a wonderful few minutes walking toward the sortie. No crowds, no drama, just peace and quiet. Even the trinket vendors at the exit were retired for the night. What could’ve been another disappointment turned into an absolutely magical night, nuit magique!
The experience was worth the five-year wait. The kids are older and their memory of that night will leave an indelible impression!
