When I first moved to Sweden, I promised myself that I would try to visit as many countries as I could within the next few years since I'd be living so close to so many of them in Europe. Well, I finally was able to check a new country off my travel bucket list: France! Max and I had been thinking of seeing the band Fall Out Boy on their European tour and almost went with Amsterdam as our destination choice, but since I'd always wanted to visit Paris, I figured that would be a great city to go with, and it was!
Our flight was super easy, and only two hours long! Being in the same time zone meant we had no jet lag, so yay for that! Where things got tricky was when we tried to hop on the train to take us into Paris from the airport. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to board as an unaccompanied bag was left on the train, so everyone had to take a shuttle bus instead, which, frankly, was a total nightmare. And then the train ride was a little uncomfortable with a million people stuffed together, but once we finally got there and I stepped outside for the first time, all of the annoyances of that morning faded away. We hopped into a taxi and made our way to our hotel.
We spent four days and three nights in the city of lights and stayed at
Hotel Josephine, which is an eclectic small boutique hotel located down the street from the Moulin Rouge and an arm's stretch from Montmartre in the South Pigalle district (9th arrondissement). Pigalle is super hip with little bistros and cafes everywhere, and we loved it. I think what drew me to it was the fact that it was less touristy than other parts of the city.
The hotel itself was super colorful and the staff was very friendly and kind. Our room was on the 5th floor and we had an amazing view of our neighborhood from our balcony. Artwork of Can Can girls adorned the walls in our cheery green wallpapered room. We opted out of the breakfast, but I'm sure that was delicious, too. Oh and I should mention that lobby offered tea, coffee and water for free, and if you chose to not have your room cleaned during your stay, you would be gifted at the end of your stay. We opted to take that route because I was so curious about what the gift was, and it ended up being a little set of fruit jams! I bought a mini baguette yesterday and tried all of the flavors and they were delicious! I would definitely recommend Hotel Josephine to anyone traveling to Paris, just keep in mind that it is on the opposite side of town where the Eiffel Tower is, if that's your thing.
(view from our room)
(our cute room!)
Day One
Our first day was mostly spent relaxing in our room and walking around the neighborhood. We stumbled into a very cute bistro called Le Bla Bla. I wasn't particularly hungry but I saw nutella crepes on the menu so I had to order them, and Max ordered an asian style shrimp pasta dish, and we had a few beers. It made me happy that even a small bistro in Paris would be as colorful as my outfit, and the food did not disappoint. In fact, we ended up going there on our last night to have a drink, too!
In the afternoon, we made our way to where the Opera House was so that I could check out the Marimekko collaboration at Uniqlo and I bought a few things. We also found a really cool "department store" for street clothes called Citadium where Max found a hat and I bought the cutest straw crossbody bag by Pull & Bear. The women's clothing floor was seriously insane and if I had more money I would've bought so much more. I'll definitely be going back there when we visit Paris
again.
Address for
Citadium (where you can find Pull & Bear on the 2nd to top floor):
56 Rue de Caumartin, 75009 Paris, France
At night we went to See Fall Out Boy and finally passed out around 1 or 2 am! First day was a success.
Day Two
For our second day, we walked through Montmartre. One of my all-time favorite movies is Funny Face and since they filmed a few scenes at La Maison Rose, I knew I had to go and snap a photo there. It was at the very top of a hill in Montmartre and was just as adorable as I'd seen in photos, and we even met a few Swedish people taking photos of it as well.
Address for La Maison Rose: 2 Rue de l'Abreuvoir, 75018 Paris, France
In Montmartre, you will also find the restaurant from one of my other favorite movies, Amelie! I wish we hadn't just eaten or else I would've opted for a meal at the table where Amelie sat in the movie. Next time!
Address for Cafe 2 Moulins: 15 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris, France
In Pigalle also lies the most colorful basketball court you will ever see! It was closed when we walked by, but we took some photos of it anyway because my outfit was screaming for it.
Day Three
Our third day, we decided to be really ambitious and make our way to Saint Germain (which is on the complete opposite side of town!). To start, we walked through Pigalle, then into La Marais, through through the Latin Quarter and finally into Saint Germain. Along the way, we saw the Notre Dame, had amazing eclairs in La Marais, and I bought new glasses from a really cool company called Izipizi from the one and only Merci shop, which I'd read so much about. Had to take a photo outside with the cute little red car, as well!
While walking though La Marais, we stopped and ate burgers at a very colorful restaurant called
PNY Marais, which is run by the same people who have Cafe Henrie in New York City. I'd been so excited to try this place and it did not disappoint.
Stopped for some drinks at another cute spot, the cafe at
Hotel Grand Amour, also in La Marais. Look how cute the decor is! I totally geeked out taking photos of it, and I have no shame.
As we finally started to make our way into the Latin Quarter, we took some photos at Rue Cremieux, a street famously known for the rainbow-hued buildings. It was BEAUTIFUL in person and we were lucky that there weren't too many people taking photos so we practically had the whole street to ourselves!
In the Latin Quarter, it was my mission to find the steps where Owen Wilson sat and got picked up by the buggy in Midnight in Paris, and we found them! I was so tired by then that I don't remember much of the area, but there were some cafes and a record shop on that street.
6 Place Sainte Genevieve, 75005 Paris, France (Quartier Latin)
Day Four
Our final day was spent visiting the Eiffel Tower. To be honest, I really don't like touristy spots, so this was not one of the highlights for me. The Eiffel Tower was beautiful and we were lucky to be there on a sunny day, but next time I visit Paris I probably won't be hanging out there much. I really preferred the quieter areas such as South Pigalle and the lower parts of Montmartre. I would love to spend more time in La Marais as I feel like we missed some of it, and would also love to check out more of Saint Germain. That's the cool thing about Paris - there's always more to see! I already have a hundred places added to my list for next time.
Below you will find the addresses for where I went on my Paris adventures! If you've been to any of these places, I'd love to know in the comments! Thanks so much for reading! xoxo. Jenna
STAY //
Hotel Josephine / Address: 67 Rue Blanche, 75009 Paris, France
EAT //
PNY Marais / Address: 1 Rue Perrée, 75003 Paris, France
Le Bla Bla /
Address: 66 Rue Blanche, 75009 Paris, France
Maison Landemaine / Address: 56 Rue de Clichy, 75009 Paris, France
DRINK //
Grand Amour Hotel / Address: 18 Rue de la Fidélité, 75010 Paris, France
SHOP //
Des Petits Hauts / Address: 4 Rue Tholozé, 75018 Paris, France
Merci / Address: 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris, France
Bonton / Address: 5 Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, 75003 Paris, France
SNACK //
L'Eclair de Genie / Address: 14 Rue Pavée, 75004 Paris, France
Odette Paris / Address: 77 Rue Galande, 75005 Paris, France
Pepone Cafe (for macarons or crepes) / Address: 10 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris, France
PHOTO OPS //
