Paris travel diaries

Paris is such a beautiful place to take a long weekend if you are like me and love cultural cities where you can dress up and browse the city.  I love dressing up every day when I'm in Paris and everyone else also dresses so stylish, so I love to outfit spot and get inspired.  For a traveller who loves fashion and culture, Paris offers up the perfect combination of grand museums, historic neighbourhoods, designer boutiques, great food and architectural landmarks into a single walkable experience.  You can make the trip as expensive or as cheap as you like as you don't have to pay to go in everywhere, just pick your essentials. I went last for my 30th birthday with my husband and I loved it, but this time going with my sisters, it felt like a very different trip.  I always seem to go in April, the weather is always so beautiful and ranges between 18 and 24 degrees.  I'm not going to run through the whole itinerary here with you today as I've already done a Paris travel diaries if you go back a few years, but I am going to list my top thing to do in Paris if you are planning on going and where I still need to go to when I return.  

1) Vintage shops

I absolutely love vintage shopping and I did my research from Tiktok before I went to find some good shops.  I mainly stayed in the Le Marais area and I went to Bobby's, Chez snow and Domain Retro and there were some incredible pieces.

2) Champ de Elysée's

If you love designer shopping, this is the street for you.  It's very touristy though, so maybe go earlier if you want to beat the crowds.  I planned to buy a pair of Chanel sunglasses here as I wanted to be able to say I bought them in Paris.  When I return next, I need to go to Galeries Lafayette, which a beautiful glass domed luxury shopping centre and I can't believe I have never been.

3) The Louvre

This is worth seeing from the outside and paying to see inside also, it's an amazing experience.  You can spend hours in there and get super lost, but my favourite things to see are the Mona Lisa, the winged victory and Napoleons apartment.  The apartments are so mesmerising, I'm in a Trance every time I see them.  If you want a picture like the one I have below, you need to be there before 9am, otherwise it's too busy!!

4) The Eiffel tower 

I have seen the Eiffel tower many times and it's a must see, but I will say it is overrated for going up.  I have done it and if you really feel you want to then you go for it.  My personal opinion is it looks best viewing outside in the day, go have a picnic in front of it and then come back in the evening and see it sparkle at night.  It is stunning!!!  But going up, the view of Paris from up high is a little under whelming.  There's some cities where the views are incredible like New York, Dubai and Tokyo, but I just don't feel like Paris is the one, so I would save your money.

5) Monet's lillies 

This is a must have to see also, but go early as it feels slightly less busy than going from Lunch onwards.  It's very calming looking at the incredible lilies' and works of art, I can't describe how calm I felt leaving the Musee de l'orangerie.  We didn't have time to go to Claude Monet's garden, which is his former home on the outside of Paris, but I really would like to go in the future as it's supposed to be so beautiful.

6) The Notre Dame

 I went to see the Notre Dame a few years ago and it was just after it had been burnt down, so it was very gothic looking and it was really sad.  It was so nice to go back a few years later and see it completely transformed.  It really is magnificent and you must go and see it and walk around, it feels very meditative.  One of my favourite things to do when I travel is go into the religious building, they're always so pretty.

April 2022 picture's

April 2026 picture's

7) See a Ballet 

We saw a Romeo and Juliet ballet and it was amazing, but we were slightly disappointed as we thought it was going to be in the Royal opera house and it wasn't.  Still a great experience, but the Royal opera house is insanely beautiful, so I would like to go back and see a ballet there for the experience.

8) Montemarte district 

This is a really nice afternoon visit, even just for the vibe,  There's so many street artists and cute little shops and cafe's, it's really nice to have a wonder around.  It was once where the likes of artists such as Pablo Picasso used to sit and do street art.

9) Chocolate Chaud 

This is a must to have in Paris and I have a few recommendations.  The first time I came to Paris I went to Angelina and it was incredible and so thick!!! We did have to queue for a while though, but it was worth it and the room is really stunning.  This last time we went to Le Cafe Marly where the views and the vibes were immaculate as it was overlooking the Louvre.  The hot chocolate was a lot lighter though, so it depends what you are going for.  I preferred the slightly lighter hot chocolate and the vibes of Le Cafe Marly personally.

10) Food recomendations

There's a few food places that I have tried and loved in Paris that I will list.

Le Copains - Gluten free bakery

Pierre Herme macarons

Chapon chocolate Mouse

Les Antiquairies - Steak and Chips

Cafe de flore for onion soup or the cheese board

Things to do when I return:

• Galeries Lafayette - I can't believe i've never been, but I must when I next go, it's a beautiful glass domed luxury shopping centre.

• Claude Monet's garden, which is his former home on the outside of Paris.  It's meant to be one of the most beautiful gardens in the world and was the inspiration for his paintings, especially the water lillies series

• Royal opera house is insanely beautiful, otherwise known as Palais Garnier. I would like to go back and see a ballet there for the experience as it's full of multicoloured marble, lavish gold decorations, sculptures and chandeliers.

• Dior Musum - Unfortunately I looked at tickets too late for this, but i'd love to see La Galerie Dior in Paris.  It tells the story of the House of Dior and shows all the incredible archived pieces.

• YSL museum - Unfortunately this was closed while we were in Paris, but this is also something I need to see when I return.  It's a museum that is housed in the actual building where Yves saint Laurent designed his haute couture collection from 1974 to 2001, which is so special!