- Introduction
- Making dreams come true
- Planning
- For the boys
- Our Accommodation:
- Montmartre:
- Places we chose for our shopping trip to Paris
- Champs-Élysées
- Lafayette
- Lunch at the Eiffel Tower
- The Catacombs
- Sacre-Coeur
- Is February a good time to visit Paris?
Introduction:
Paris, the city of romance; famous for the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, the Moulin Rouge and more recently the hit tv show ‘Emily in Paris’ – so many things to entice you to this city! For many, a shopping trip to Paris, is a bucket list dream.
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Making dreams come true:
My eldest daughter told me her dream was to go on a shopping trip to Paris. She liked the idea of walking along the Champs-Élysées, arms filled with designer shopping bags, followed by lunch at the Eiffel Tower.
We had been to Paris, just the two of us, years ago. Then again with the children, twice, to visit Disney. See my DIY Guide to Disneyland Paris.
They only had a whistle stop tour of the city. So, for her 16th birthday surprise, I secretly booked for us to go.
Planning:
Luckily, her birthday falls in February, which is when flights to Paris are très cheap. I booked our flights with EasyJet.
I found a ‘lovely apartment in Montmartre’ on www.booking.com, which was petite but perfectly formed and was just perfect for 3 nights. Montmartre is a pretty area and only a pleasant half hour walk into the centre of Paris.
My best friend decided to join us and bring her family too, so it ended up being the 9 of us but not all in the same apartment.
For the boys:
I knew my son and husband would be bored to tears on a shopping trip to Paris and that their moaning would spoil the fun. I decided to book them onto a tour of Paris by bicycle, that I found on ‘Viator’: ViatorTourLinkHere, which they later said was amazing!
Our Accommodation:
We arrived in the evening and ordered an Uber to transfer us to our accommodation, which was originally a shop but that had been refurbished into a unique living space.
Montmartre:
The district of Montmartre is famous for its artistic history, nightlife and of course the Sacre-Coeur Basilica, where there is a magnificent view of Paris. Montmartre, originally a village, is situated on a hill. It is a pretty area with cobbled streets, greenery and charming buildings, full of bistros and boutique shops.
Places we chose for our shopping trip to Paris:
Champs-Élysées
Our first full day Paris, the girls wanted to visit the most famous shops and stores so we headed for the Champs-Élysées. They were eager to have a look at the designer brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel and were hoping to take home a few boutique shopping bags as souvenirs.
Although they couldn’t afford any clothes in these high end stores, they could afford small items like lipsticks, perfume and a fashion book from Louis Vuitton. This meant that the girls could take a look and get a taste of the highlife. They enjoyed the extravagant shops and had their small purchases beautifully wrapped and packaged in designer shopping bags (which they later displayed in their bedrooms).
Please note: we were advised by the shop assistant to hide the bags from view while walking around Paris, to avoid unwanted attention from potential muggers.
Lafayette:
A store we particularly enjoyed was Lafayette, which usually hosts a fashion show on Fridays (pre-booking required). Unfortunately, we were a week too early to book tickets for the show. Although the fashion show would have been a superb experience, we still enjoyed perusing the store, eating lunch, admiring the great view of Paris from the roof top. We walked along the glass bridge in store, to wonder at the beautiful glass ceiling.
After a long day shopping, for dinner, we ate at one of the many bistros in Montmartre. We made reservations in advance on Trip Advisor because we were such a large group.
Lunch at the Eiffel Tower:
Our second day was sightseeing. We walked along the river Seine, admiring the boulevards and bridges on our way to the Eiffel Tower.
My daughter had previously enjoyed lunch at the Eiffel Tower and had wanted to repeat the experience but unfortunately, the restaurant was closed so she had to make do with a baguette in the café.
On our previous trip there had not been a queue to climb up the tower. This time it was extremely busy so I would recommend pre-booking to beat the queues and reserving a table, especially if you want to dine in the restaurant there. www.toureiffel.paris
The Eiffel Tower can be seen from all over Paris and although I have been there four times now, I am always awestruck at its size and amazing construction.
The Catacombs:
After lunch, our friends wanted to visit the Louvre but because we had been there on our previous visits, we decided to leave them to it and do something a bit different. We chose to do a tour of the Catacombs.
The Catacombs is an underground labyrinth beneath the city, which holds the remains of six million people. This was a gruesome but, at the same time, fascinating experience; walking through tunnels running under Paris, full of the skulls and bones from people dug up from cemeteries long ago. The skulls and bones are arranged along the tunnels in such a way that is quite beautiful.
In the evening we enjoyed another dinner in one of the cute little bistros in Montmartre. It was so tiny that we were almost touching the people on the table behind. The french cuisine and wine were wonderful and the owners were very kind.
Sacre-Coeur:
As we were staying in Montmartre, we spent our last morning there. We enjoyed breakfast at a creperie that was situated across the road from the Sacre-Coeur.
The Sacre-Coeur is an impressive white domed Roman Catholic Church. It is a beautiful building with wonderful architecture and is the heart of Montmartre. We walked around the grounds, looking at the hundreds of ‘lovelocks’ (padlocks attached to the gates to seal a couple’s love) and admired the amazing views before sadly heading off to the airport.
Is February a good time to visit Paris?
We had been incredibly lucky with the weather; sunshine in February (The last time we had visited Paris in February it had been -10 C and everything was frozen, including us!)
The weather in the U.K. on this occasion was not so great; they were experiencing strong winds and after a long delay we had a bumpy ride home and the scariest landing ever!
February is a cheaper and quieter month to visit Paris and that includes Disney (you might find yourself balking at the astronomical prices at other times of the year). So, if you fancy a cheeky winter getaway, it is worth taking a look.
Only a few weeks later after our fantastic trip, the whole world went into Lockdown so we were extremely grateful for our February weekend in Paris!
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