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Ah, beautiful Paris! It had been about 18 years since I last visited Paris. So time for a reacquaintance during a weekend in Paris.
Weekend in Paris
When you go to Paris for a weekend, you can choose to stay in the city center. This is logistically convenient, but this time we opted for a nice Airbnb on the outskirts of the city. It was much cheaper and easier to do. Taking the train from where we stayed to the center of Paris was only half an hour. Since Paris is quite spread out it is a good idea to check before hand if you need to take a subway anywhere else. Depending on your itinerary for the day.
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Macarons from La Duree
Maybe this one is a bit of a no-brainer, but if you love macarons (which are those ridiculously expensive but also ridiculously delicious cookies made with almond flour)a visit to La Duree is a must during your weekend in Paris. La Duree has several locations throughout the city and you can also buy them at various other places, but keep your wallet handy because they are (very) expensive.
Street Art (Free) Rue de Rivoli 59
One of the best (free!!) tips is a visit to the street art “museum” at 59, rue de Rivoli. This is not technically a real museum but rather a gathering place for artists. They sell their art there and the building might seem small from the outside but there are actually 9 floors (I think it was 9..) filled with street art. The stair case in particular is quite stunning.
And if you love art, you can buy lots of nice (and not so nice) things there. Worth a visit!
Of course you can also just walk around. Admission is free, but a donation is appreciated. Have a look at the video above for a view of the staircase.
French Bastards for Cruffins/Croissants
If you need a refreshment along the way, a visit to The French Bastards bakery is highly recommended. We bought ridiculously delicious cruffins there and the croissants seem to be great too. Not that you can’t find them in other places in Paris, as you are – after all – in the land of the croissant! And a weekend in Paris cannot be complete without a few croissants.
AirBnb outside the city center
A weekend in Paris is not cheap, although you can probably find hotels where you can sleep cheaply. Whether it’s good or not is another question. We stayed in Garches, which is just outside of Paris, in a small but nice AirBnB.
From the AirBnB it was a 10 minute walk to the train station and from there a half hour train ride to Paris St. Lazare. That was pretty convenient and it saved us a lot of money.
At night we did take an Uber back to the apartment. After walking a gazillion steps I didn’t feel like walking to a subway station anymore so an Uber was quick and convenient. The price was between 25 and 35 euros. Which I found acceptable as it’s still quite a drive through busy Paris. Definitely a good option for an overnight stay, I thought! Another bonus is that the parking in front of the apartment was free. We came to Paris by car to pretty convenient.
Eiffel Tower Light Show (free)
Of course you can admire the Eiffel Tower during the day, but it might be even more fun to do so at night when the Eifel Tower is illuminated. The best place to see the light show is from the Trocadero. You will have a great view of the Eiffel Tower and the city. Starting at 22:00, the lights of the Eiffel Tower flash for 5 minutes. This happens every hour. Fun to watch! And free…
Take the elevator up to the Centre Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou can get pretty crowded. If you really want to visit the museum on a weekend in Paris, there is little choice but to queue. But what if you just want to go up “briefly” to admire the view? Then go to the left of the building and take the elevator up to the George restaurant. You don’t have to sit there, as you can enjoy the view from the top. Or take the opportunity to have a bite to eat.
Enjoy a weekend in Paris
All in all, a weekend in Paris is a great way to get away from it all. Of course, you can also visit the gardens and the Château de Versailles (which was only a 20 minute drive from our apartment) which we also did. I do have to say that Versailles was not my favorite part of the trip. It’s beautiful yes, but also extremely busy.
But if you’re in the area it might be worth a visit.
