1 week | Aug | Mom & 16 year old son | City Exploration
Average Reviews
Trip Overview
Following a week in Iceland with family and friends my 16 year old son and I went to Paris for a week while my husband and 18 year old son headed to go hiking in Switzerland. We met up with close friends who were also traveling in Paris, a couple and their 16 year old son, and spent most of the trip doing things together as a group of 5. As the boys hadn’t been to Paris before we focused on main tourist attractions, usually at least one a day, combined with wandering/exploring the city. We based ourselves in the heart of the Marais district (and our friends were in St. Germaine so we had a ‘homebase’ their as well), which we loved. I bought the main activities' tickets ahead of time (booking tours as well as securing 'skip the line' tickets which I highly recommend!). Just a brief description of each day in this entry as most of the locations are well known! We did lots and lots of walking, used the metro to go everywhere, visited little spots along the way etc. I just put the key attractions here.
Full Itinerary
Day 1, Sunday:
Arrive early afternoon. Check into Airbnb.
Picasso Museum
Evening walk by Notre Dame
Dinner at Isle de Cite restaurant
Day 2, Monday:
Had to cancel our Fat Tire City Bike Tour due to my son being sick in the morning unfortunately.
Late morning visit to the Pompideou museum.
Shopping in the Marais district
Birthday dinner in St. Germaine
Day 3, Tuesday:
Fat Tire bike tour of Versailles – all day
Dinner at Paul/Audrey’s apartment in St. Germaine
Day 4, Wednesday:
10am: Louvre tour via Skip the Line. The audio tour was not great would recommend an in-person tour instead of the audio one. Crowds were huge, so at a minimum though get the skip the line ticket.
Wander Tullieries garden
Lunch and the famous hot chocolate at Angela’s on Rue de Rivoli
Eiffel Tower (via pre-purchased skip the line tickets that were great)
Dinner at greek restaurant in St. Germaine/Latin Quarter area
Day 5, Thursday:
Morning at Catacombs tour. Skip the line tickets bought via Fat Tire Tours. Definitely best way to go as the line was really long and we walked right in. Really enjoyed the Catacombs!
Wonderful lunch at Le Comptoir
Afternoon wandering St Germaine area – Bon Marche (shoe section, food hall!), the Hermes store (beautiful, in the location of an old swimming pool), make your own belt store near Hermes store.
Dinner at wonderful Vietnamese place Au Coin Des Gourmets with terrific owner Kha in St. Germaine
Day 6, Friday:
Notre Dame
Saint Chappelle for it’s wonderful stained glass windows
Lunch in Tuillaires garden
L’Orangerie museum
Orsay Tour in afternoon with wonderful guide Violette Andre violette.esn@gmail.com tel: 0033-651206546 Highly recommend her!!!!! She gives tours to all museums and will do day trips out of the city as well. Awesome.
Awesome tea and pastries near the Orsay at Eric Kayser (delicious!!!!!)
Dinner at wonderful Les Bougresse restaurant in Marais near the Place de Vosage. Great, cozy restaurant with wonderful food.
Day 7, Saturday:
Morning street art/graffiti tour via ParisStreetArt (tickets purchased via airbnb) with a terrific guide Veronique. Terrific tour – highly recommend!
Wander and shop in the Marais district.
Evening visit to Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee
Dinner at bistro across street from our apt
Day 8, Sunday:
Breakfast at local patisserie. Then headed to airport and home.
