12 Hours In Paris
A few months before my long layover I took my first trip to Paris. Take a look here. This time around I visited with my husband who had never been before. We had an overnight layover that we packed with sightseeing, because why sleep when you can explore! (To be honest we slept on the 7 hour flight from NYC to Paris)
2 Key Tips:
If you have an overnight layover stay close to the airport.
Don’t try to see everything. This trip we had 2 must see attractions.
Since our flight departed at 6am the following morning, we opted to stay at Novotel Paris Coeur d’Orly Airport. This hotel is relatively new and directly across the street from the airport which was perfect. Novotel has the basic amenities that you need for a quick stay. After dropping off our bags and freshen up it was time to hit the Paris streets which is roughly 35 minutes from the airport.
7PM - First stop the Louvre. Our flight was delayed which resulted in us missing our timed entry and ultimately not being able to go inside. I had every intention on channeling my inner Beyonce in front of Mona Lisa, but it will have to wait until next time.
You would think since we had limited time that we would zip around the city by car to every location… nope! I love walking through the streets of new cities and exploring the unknown. So, instead of hopping in a car to get from the Louvre to Arc de Triomphe we took a 40 minute stroll, stopping for dinner along the way.
8:45PM - We stumbled upon Baroche, a small but well designed bistro. Admittedly, I was hunangry at this point and didn’t have much time to do any research. However, there were items on the menu that sounded great, the place was packed with guests and they all seemed to be enjoying their meal. Sold. I’m glad to report I was not disappointed.
10:15PM - We finally made it to the Arc de Triomphe. Standing in the middle of the street just to get the perfect picture we took in the site and decided not to go inside. This trip took place during the World Cup so while we were taking in the sites, cars full of celebrating Portugal fans drove by waving flags, honking horns, and yelling as their team had just advanced. From here we went to the Eiffel Tower.
11PM - The Eiffel Tower is quite a site to see, but experiencing the light show with my husband was magical!
Instead of going to the top of the Eiffel Tower we walked along the river bank and enjoyed being tourists. Before we knew it, it was 1am so we headed back to the hotel.
