Our Paris Favorites

We moved to Paris at the end of December 2017 and lived there until February 2018. It was our first experience as an expat family, and although we'd been to Paris many times as travelers, there was a pretty wide learning curve for us as residents.

You can read all about our experiences using these labels:
- Posts about moving to France
- Posts about Paris and traveling
- Posts about our Paris apartment
- My Tips For Visiting Paris

Living here had so many benefits. It's fantastic to visit sights without being jet-lagged, eat fresh bread everyday from newly-discovered bakeries, and hang out with other expats from all over the world.

I also loved welcoming so many friends and family to stay with us and getting to play tour guide. We have so many favorite places, and with each visitor we learned about someplace new.

I am NOT A TRAVEL BLOGGER, not at all, but I've put together a list of places we recommend:

Our favorite places to visit (in order): 

• The Louvre - Could not love this museum more and the girls even loved walking around. But it's ENORMOUS so pick your favorite art to visit. The further you get from Mona Lisa (which is small and always crowded), the calmer the museum gets. Explore the other wings. Also, buy your tickets in advance (even the day before!) and use one of the side entrances to avoid most of the lines. The basement, with the old castle walls, is a favorite. My girls loved the Bonaparte apartments. I loved the Peter Paul Rubens room. And there's food in the mall below the museum. Pace yourself. 
• The walk from Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame. It will take about half the day, depending on how often you stop for photos, but this is an easy walk for any Paris first-timer and it will take you past many of the big sites. 
• Walking around Montmartre is also a favorite tour route. Sacre Coer is cool, but there is a lot of other buildings to see, including the ancient church the Sacre Ceor (which was built in 1900s) replaced. There's an impressionism museum up there that recently reopened. I haven't been, but it's on my list! 
• D'Orsay - you can't go wrong in this museum of 19th century art -- realism to Impressionism and into Fauvism (just a bit). Fun fact: When Picasso arrived in Paris in 1900, his train pulled into the Orsay train station. Now, his paintings hang there!
• The Jardin du Luxembourg was an absolute favorite if the weather is nice. The playground is 2.50eu/kid to enter, but so fun. Our girls spent hours in this playground. And the grounds are a lovely walk. The St. Germain neighborhood is just to the north -- they have the best restaurants. And there's a coffee takeaway spot called Judy just to the west of the playground entrance. Oh, and the Pantheon is nearby, too. 
• The Paris Opera - You can get advance tickets for a guided tour, or (if the line is reasonable) you usually get in for a self-guided tour. It's stunningly beautiful inside. And the neighborhood is pretty exciting, especially with the Galeries Lafayette just behind it. Read more. 
• The Petit Palais - We finally went with Camp Paris and loved it. If there isn't an exhibit you're interested in, the Palais has small permanent exhibit that is a quick and lovely sight. (Plus, I think it might be free.) 

Our favorite restaurants: 

• No. 41 in the 16th (this one is near our apartment)
• Il Grano in the 17th, delicious Italian
• The Hardware Societe Paris in the 18th, close to the Sacre Coer
• L'Eclair on Rue Cler in the 7th
• Ippudo in St. Germain has the best Japanese Ramen 

Our favorite shops: 

• Cyrillus is a clothing store that's just my style (but, don't ask me to pronounce it) and around my price range. They're easy to find around Paris, too. 
• Galeries Lafayette is a mega department store near Opera, we love the cafeteria upstairs with yummy ice cream and a great view, and it's a beautiful place to browse. Plus, it's open on Sundays. 
• BHV is another mega department store we discovered next to Hotel de Ville and it's pretty amazing ... especially during the twice annual sales in June and January. So good! 
• For kids clothes, I'm finding a lot of adorable items at DP.AM. I got the girls PJs there that are high quality at a great price. 

My favorite Francophile links:

• The Earful Tower, a podcast about Paris by a charming Aussie.
• Instagram account Vivre Paris, just to keep up with current events. 

Feel free to share your favorites, or ask questions in the comments.