Travel Diaries: Paris and Disneyland 2017: Paris favorites

In case you were wondering: yes, I’m basically just going through my backlog of travels I’ve made. Consider it my theme for this summer: an overview of the holiday’s I’ve been on and I’m dreaming of re-doing at one point. In this case: the trip to Paris and Disneyland I did with my bff and the bf last fall, specifically my Paris favorites!

Now, I’ve undoubtedly mentioned this before, but I love Paris. It’s honestly one of my favourite towns I’ve visited ever. I spent three weeks there in a host family in 2014, I went back at the end of that year just for a day, again in 2016 for a couple of days with friends… And now we were back again.

And when you go a couple of times? You kind of get past the big “touristic” attractions. Been there, done that, kind of… You know? So, I’m not making this a list of all the same things you can find on any travelling site – you know, the kind of site I used to figure out where to go :p This is more so a list of my favourite things to do in Paris. And if you think you might like to try any of them? Be sure to let me know below what you thought!

Food & Drinks

Cojean

Cojean is a mini-chain that specializes in “semi-” to “completely” healthy food and it’s amazing. There’s multiple stores throughout Paris (one right near the Galleries Lafayette, amongst others) and they’re probably my favourite places to go for lunch.

If you do get a chance to grab a bite there, my personal favourites are the Tzatziki Pasta salad, which has smoked salmon, sour cream, pasta, and loads of dill, as well as the Veggie Thaïe, with tofu, carrot, ginger, coriander and all sorts of deliciousness. If you’re more in the mood for something warm, they have fresh soup and usually something like a quiche as well – and I’ve never been disappointed by either of those!

Brioche Dorée

This is another one of those lunch stops that you’ll find all across Paris (maybe even France?) and you know you can find the same – good – food there. As is probably clear by the name, this one specializes in bread (brioche) and sandwiches. What’s even better, they have some pretty good menu-deals, so this really is ideal if you just want to grab something quick and move on with your visit!

They used to have this amazing sandwich with just pure slices of beef and molten cheese on it, which was absolutely exquisite. They seem to have taken it off the menu since then, though, but I have to admit: the Double Burger Classique sounds pretty good as well!

Le Minos

This is a pancake restaurant and we went for lunch there and it was amazing. Now, before you go all: “huh, you had pancakes for lunch, why?” you should know that France has some of the best savoury pancakes you will ever taste in your entire life. The Bretagne-region is especially known for it, but the ones we had here? Pretty darn good as well. There were four of us, we all took something different, and it all was really yummy.

Tout le monde en parle

This literally translates to “everybody’s talking about it” and while I’m not quite sure if that is actually the case? I could totally understand it if they were. This rooftop bar is located just about on top of the Montparnasse-trainstation and it has a pretty cool view over the surrounding areas. It’s definitely one of those places that offer you many Instagram-opportunities, and you kind of see that in the price of the drinks. But honestly? I though it was a really cool thing to do just for one night, and it’s definitely a place i’d like to go back to.

Things to do

Top of Galérie Lafayette

From one rooftop straight to another, the top of Galérie Lafayette offers you basically one of the best views you will ever get in Paris – apart from if you should climb the Eiffel Tower, that is. And what’s even better: visiting the top of the Galérie Lafayette is free! You just take the escalators up all through the store and when you come out, you’re on a roof terrace. You can see the Opéra Garnier, the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame, … Basically anything you were probably planning on visiting? You can just about see it from there. This is, by the way, also a perfect place to go eat your lunch – it’s something I do every single time I’m in Paris!

A post shared by Saar (@walkingthroughthepages) on Jul 22, 2016 at 2:56am PDT

Jardin des Tuileries

This is such a classic, but most people only really visit these gardens on their way to and from the Louvre. Here’s my hint, though, especially in summer: take about an hour and just sit there. Honestly, it was one of my favorite things to people-watch, enjoy the fact that, you know, you’re in Paris, … This is one of those places where you will see tourists and Parisians alike passing by, on their morning jog, on their way to meetings, to a lunch, … It’s honestly one of my favorite spots in the whole of Paris, at this point!

Bookstores

Shakespeare and Company

Another must-see – I honestly think I’ve been there once or twice every time I’ve gone to Paris. First of all: this is such a classic “Instagram-spot”. Second of all: there’s so many books. Third of all: the view on the Notre Dame is the best thing ever.

Missing Paris… … #shakespeareandcompany #bookstagram #books #instabooks #bookpics #bookstore #bookshop #parisbooks #booksofparis #booklover #bookblogger #bookbloggers #bookblog #paris

A post shared by Saar (@walkingthroughthepages) on Sep 15, 2016 at 9:17am PDT

Gibert Jeune

Another bookstore? Why yes, of course. If anything, this is probably one of my favourite ones in Paris – and I’ve done, like, 15 of them? The best thing is this bookstore is actually a collection of stores around the Place Saint-Michel, with every building “specializing” in one or two genres (like children’s literature, social studies and psychology, languages, stationery, …). So you can literally just pick the one that interest you most and get lost there for a couple of hours. Or, alternately, you can do them all and get a little bit of everything! (And yes, I’ve definitely done both of those 🙂 )

Chantelivre

If you’re looking for a children’s bookstore, this is the place to be. This bookstore specializes in nothing but children’s and young adult books and not only is their offer pretty extensive, their staff was honestly some of the friendliest I’ve ever encountered. Also, this store is right near the Eglise Saint Sulpice, and that church is definitely worth a visit as well!

So, these are just some of my favorite places in Paris. Honestly, I could probably keep going on, but that would take entirely too much time, so instead, I’ll just leave you with a question: what locations would you recommend in Paris? I know I’m definitely going to be going back, so be sure to let me know below!

-Saar