In May 2023 my sister and I hopped on the Eurostar to Paris for a long weekend. We’d visited when we were younger and had ticked off a lot of the key tourist sights, so were keen to try and experience Paris more like locals this time! We stayed in the Marais neighbourhood which was a great base for us to explore from, with lots of things in walking distance. Here are some of our top recommendations:

Places to explore

• Our favourite street that we strolled down was Rue des Martyrs and I had the best pain au chocolat of the trip at Maison Arnaud Delmontel. Plenty of lovely shops to browse.
• A fun picnic spot is Square du Vert-Galant which is a tiny park on the tip of the Île de la Cité.
• Musée d’ l’Orangerie was purpose built to display eight of Monet’s Water Lilies murals on curved walls and features works from lots of other masters too. It’s a smaller, more manageable art gallery to visit.

Rue des Martyrs

Musée d’ l’Orangerie

• Merci is a destination concept store selling stunning homewares, clothes and all sorts of beautifully designed items.
• For any skincare fans make sure to pop into a French pharmacy – it was very fun to spot a couple of our favourite brands such as CeraVe (face wash and moisturiser) and Eucerin (SPF50 face suncream) at cheaper prices.
• And of course we strolled through several jardins and along the Seine too, perusing the various market stalls and indulging in ice cream!

Merci

Jardin des Tuileries

Seine

Dinner spots

• Chez Janou – amazing traditional bistro famous for its chocolate mousse, booking in advance is a necessity.
• Bouillon République – casual French diner style with great food at an affordable price.
• Les Philosophes – a last minute choice on the day, we enjoyed some delicious beef daube!

Rue des Martyrs

Gramme

Brunch spots – for there is no such thing as too much brioche French toast!

• The Hardware Société – originally from Melbourne, no reservations.
• Gramme – keep an eye out for the daily specials.

Next time I would love to do the flea markets of Paris although I might need to bring a larger suitcase!

Au revoir!

Alexa

P.S. If you enjoyed reading this post, you may like to read Solo Porto Trip and 7 City Break Tips.