As one of the top tourist destinations in the world, Paris has something for almost everyone. There’s so much to enjoy about Paris- the food, culture, and people watching. But, I have learned after two trips to Paris that your preparation, budget and accommodations can really make or break your experience. My first trip to France (and Europe) left me questioning why anyone liked to travel. I went as part of an EF Tour in high school that traveled around France in giant tour buses. While I really enjoyed the cultural experiences the trip offered, I learned that the multi-day tour bus experience was not for me. Also, several meals included green french fries, and I left the country wondering why everyone made such a big deal about French food when it seemed pretty terrible after that trip.
A second trip to Paris in the fall of 2018 made me understand why people rave about French food, and I learned how much more fun you can have exploring Paris when you do it on your own time, and your own two feet.
Why Paris?
For our fall of 2018 trip to France, my husband and I decided to plan a gourmand experience for his birthday. We wanted to experience the famous restaurants of Paris, and see the museums at our own pace. We also wanted to go wine tasting, so we booked a half day champagne tasting tour in Reims to have the wine tasting experience without having to change accommodations during our trip.
Planning:
Sadly, the airbnb we booked, with a balcony view of the Eiffel Tower, as our base for the trip is no longer available for reservations. When picking our accommodations, we knew we wanted a place in a central location with a kitchen so we could shop at French markets and cheese shops to mix up our dining experiences, and have a balcony that allowed us to drink coffee or wine with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
We also created a spreadsheet that organized the attractions we wanted to see, and which days they were open and closed. This matrix got somewhat complicated as we planned what to see on which day of the week based on closings, the locations of the attractions, and what was on the Paris Museum pass or not. This helped us determine which days we wanted to use the Paris Museum Pass to maximize its value since we did not need it for the duration of our trip.
Here is our list from 2018 for what is closed or noteworthy by day of the week:
| Saturday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Holocaust memorial, make sure we have a dinner reservation this night | Markets close at 1PM | Orsay, Rodin, Marmottan, Picasso, Catacombs, Petit palais, Victor hugo’s house, Quai branly, Versailles, Market streets like rue cler, and more lesser known | Louvre, Orangerie, Cluny, Pompidou, Delacroix, Chateaux Chantilly, Fontainebleau | Later hours at the louvre | Sewer Tour | Sewer Tour |
Next, we created a pinnable Google map of the restaurants, bars, cafes and attractions we wanted to see. This helped us plan what we wanted to do by day, and also allowed us to be somewhat spontaneous once we got to Paris too based on our location. We sourced our attractions list from friends, the Micheline guide, articles in Bon Appetit and Food and Wine, and a PDF guide we purchased for like $5 that I can no longer find the name of. Since it’s been over seven years since our trip, many of the restaurant and bar suggestions may no longer be helpful.
To plan our dining experiences, we created a list of three-star Michelin Restaurants, and their reservation policy at the time. We then identified which restaurants were on the top of our list to try to get into, and then which would be the ones we would reserve if we could not get into our top tier list. Below is the reservation policy we researched at the time of our travel:
| 3 Star Michelin in Paris | Reservation policy |
| Guy Savoy | Currently open |
| L’Ambroisie | 2 months |
| Arpège | Currently open |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | 3 months |
| Épicure | 3 months |
| Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée | 3 months |
| Le Cinq | 3 months |
| Pierre Gagnaire | 2 months |
| Astrance | Currently closed through 8.27- no bookings during that time |
| Le Pré Catelan | Currently open |
| 2 Star | |
| Kei | must email. Closed in August |
| Le Grand Véfour | currently open |
| L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – St-Germain | email requests through website |
| Passage 53 | booking 2 months out |
| Le Meurice Alain Ducasse | 2 months |
| Carré des Feuillants | 2 months |
| La Table de l’Espadon | available |
| Sur Mesure par Thierry Marx | must email |
| Le Grand Restaurant – Jean-François Piège | 2 months out |
| Le Gabriel | 3 months |
| Sylvestre | 3 months |
| Le Clarence | 3 months |
| Le Taillevent | 3 months |
| L’Abeille | 3 months |
| Maison Rostang | 3 months |
Finally, we also booked a half day Champagne Tour in advance so we could venture outside of Paris for a day of our trip too.
Experience:
Our gourmand tour of Paris exceeded expectations. The food and wine were beyond incredible. The dinner we had at Le Cinq may be the best meal of my life, and it was so cool to meet Alain Passard while at L’Arpège for lunch, after seeing him on the Netflix show. I will say there was one three Michelin-star restaurant I would not go back to, but you will need to message me to learn more about that experience.
As a couple who also loves fine cheese, we enjoyed being able to go to different cheese shops around Paris to pick new varieties of cheeses, and then take them back to our airbnb for lunch or dinner. Barthelemy was our favorite shop both for the variety, and because it was adorable inside too. It was fun to be able to make our own wine and cheese boards from the local shops after visiting museums and stores around Paris.
Having a kitchen for this trip was a huge benefit so we could mix fine dining with some low-key dinners and cheese plates on our balcony watching the evening Eiffel Tower light show at night. We were also able to save leftovers in the fridge, and purchase some larger scale desserts from the delicious pastry shops without having to worry about them going bad being left on the counter of a standard hotel room.
We of course had an amazing time at the museums and other attractions too. Going in late fall meant we had fewer crowds to contend with, and we were able to see some stores already decorated for Christmas which made things extra beautiful and festive. Another unique part of this trip was we saw Notre-Dame before the fire, which also made for our second attraction that was destroyed after we visited. The Arch in Gozo being the first we are aware of.
The champagne tour we booked was also incredible. We were able to visit family owned vineyards you cannot easily find sold in the United States, and see how champagne is produced on both large and small scale vineyards. I would recommend the Champagne Tour Co. to anyone looking for a champagne tour company as they provided an excellent experience. After the tour we had lunch in Reims on our own, and we learned several of the lunch specials at the restaurant we picked came with their own bottles of wine – which can easily make for an over-indulgent wine day.
Lessons Learned:
Watch the local news, and always have an emergency situation plan. The most wild part of our trip was walking up the Champs-Élysées, and being met by police in riot gear and yellow vest protestors. It ended up being the first of many yellow vest protests, but at the time we had no idea what the heck was going on. We were taken completely off guard, by the dense sea of people and were lucky we did not get separated from one another. Several attractions were forced to close without notice, and we even struggled with street closures to make our way back to our airbnb that day.
Bring a travel cooking kit: You never know how sharp knives will be in your airbnb and what kitchen utensils it will have. We brought a small knife, some cheese knives and other tools to ensure we could dine in without issue.
Travel Gear:
- Travel Umbrella: We experienced some rain, and this umbrella was small enough to fit in my purse.
- Pairing knife: I love traveling with this knife because it has a cover that makes it safer to pack in my checked luggage without worrying about cutting myself while unpacking at my destination or at home.
Final Thoughts:
Our gourmand tour of Paris ended up being our last trip before I got pregnant, and it was such a fun way to end that life phase. Compared to our next trip we took to the Faroe Islands and Copenhagen, while I was pregnant in the Spring of 2019, the trips could not have been more divergent in experience. I am excited to go back to Paris at some point with my kids to find more family-friendly restaurants for them, and show them the incredible museums and sites Paris has to offer.
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