Paris on the Cheap Part II: Three Days in the City of Lights

During our 2018 summer vacation in Europe, we once again flew with Norwegian Airlines from Florida to Paris--Norwegian offers very reasonable airfare when you book well in advance (though it is non-refundable).  This being our second visit to Paris (check out our first visit here) we came in with a working knowledge of the metro system and what we wanted to be sure and do during our short visit.  Of course, no visit to Paris (whether it's your second or tenth visit) is complete without a walk the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysee, past the Eiffel Tower and along the Seine river, catching a glimpse of the Louvre as you continue through the Jardins Tuileries, and finally past the Notre Dame basilica and into the Latin Quarter for a lively evening.  But we've already covered all that, so let's talk about what we did differently this time....

We tried two different Paris hotels during our trip, and had a pleasant time at both of them.  We spent one night (before heading to Switzerland the next morning) at Hotel du Printemps, which is located close to Gare de Lyon and thus convenient for folks who have early trains to areas outside of Paris.  This very affordable hotel was perfect for a short stay, the room was spotlessly clean but on the small side even for Paris, I'm not sure if it would be comfortable for two people on a week-long stay if you have a lot of luggage.  Our second hotel was the Hotel Monceau Elysee, where we stayed for two nights before our flight back to Florida.  Located 15 minutes walking from the Arc de Triomphe, this hotel was surprisingly quiet and standard in size/amenities for Parisian hotels.  Both of these hotels are located near metro stops and have A/C in the rooms, our top two criteria for summer vacations😅 although our last day in Paris the temperature suddenly dropped and we had a little taste of what Fall in Paris must be like (it's very nice!).  On a recommendation, we tried the hip breakfast/lunch restaurant Holy Belly, which was excellent--we highly recommend getting their early, there's often a line to get a table!

After seeing photos of the great modern architecture we had to visit La Defense, which is located on the far west side of Paris (you can see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance!).  Modern skyscrapers surround an open courtyard with artistic sculptures, and Les Quatre Temps shopping mall grants plenty of options for dining and shopping (plus a bathroom).  Depending on how much shopping you want to do, you can easily spend a couple hours here exploring, and we recommend it for architecture scouts especially, along with the Louis Vuitton Foundation Museum (above, lower left).  Inside this fantastic structure designed by Frank Gehry is a smaller but well-curated modern art museum spread out on several different floors that are fun to explore.  The admission cost is a little steep given the size of the museum, and it's located on the far west side of Paris, but it's a great visit for fans of modern art and architecture.  Nearby is a zoo and a large open park, as well.

Continuing our tour of Parisian modern architecture (and shopping malls), on the opposite side of Paris from La Defense is Parc de la Villlette, which has a ton of restaurants, the Philharmonic Performance Center (left), an open air movie-screening lawn, the Vill'Up shopping mall and geode dome sculpture (right), a huge Science and Industry museum, play areas for kids, a small sheep pen and more!  This would be a great area to spend a cool Saturday exploring and shopping, and maybe taking in an outdoor movie--there's just so much to see and do!  The Vill'Up mall isn't very big but has a funky selection of shops and restaurants, and is worth checking out if you have time.

But of course, we mostly associate Paris with its classic architectural style, so we also had to visit some of the beautiful churches and older shopping arcades.  Of course the fanciest and largest is the Galleries at Lafayette, but it's fun to escape the packed in crowds of tourists and walk through the nearby smaller ones like Gallery Vivienne, Passage du Caire, and Gallery Colbert, even if it's just to window shop.  We also stumbled upon a beautiful church, Eglise Saint Roch--the interior of this church could compare even with those seen in Italy, albeit on a smaller scale.

And finally, what would a visit to Paris be without a stroll through some of the beautiful parks and gardens it has to offer?  This year we made a short visit to the Luxembourg Gardens (short because I realized I left my wallet at a restaurant!), and had an evening stroll through the Tuilleries, both of which are stunning any time of year and time of day.  Along with the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, these few Parisian parks are some of the largest and most beautiful in the world, and should not be missed during your visit.

 







Even during a two to three day stay in Paris, there is so much you can see and do, largely thanks to their excellent metro system--see here for some tips on using the metro in Paris.  There's no way to see and actually enjoy every museum or monument or attraction in Paris in a single trip less than a week long, and you should leave a few things to look forward to on your next visit, as Paris is definitely a city everybody should travel to at least a couple times in their life, if possible. 

We hope that this information is useful for you on your trip to Paris, please comment if you have any questions, and travel safely!