Trip Report: Paris (2025)
The Eiffel Tower at night, lit up orange against the black night sky with a reflection in the river.
Trip Background: Caitlin and I just returned from a 3-week vacation in France and I thought it would be fun to write up some “trip reports” capturing and sharing some memories from our trip! A few years ago we “won” a 5-night stay at a winery in Bordeaux at a fundraising auction for Provail (one of the largest disability service providers in the Seattle area). We hadn’t done much international travel since we got married (right at the beginning of the COVID lockdowns), so we were excited to build a proper vacation around this trip to Bordeaux. We also had about 5-years of saved credit card points ready to deploy to our trip. Over roughly 20 days, we traversed across France staying in Paris, Bordeaux, Carcassonne, Nice, Monaco, and Marseille. I’ll break down each location into a few separate trip reports. While I have galleries of some of my favorite photos that I took (which I’ll link to in each trip report), I’m going to include a lot more casual photos right off my phone here as well to help with the storytelling. I hope you enjoy reading, and maybe find them useful as you plan your own trip!
This is Part 1 of my France Trip Report Series: Paris. Here are links to the other parts of this series:
Day 1: Museums
On our first day in Paris, we set out to visit two of the most revered art museums in the word: Musée d'Orsay and The Louvre. Musée d'Orsay is an old train station that has been converted into an incredible art museum featuring some of the greatest French artists in history, including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin, and van Gogh. While d’Orsay is the second-most visited art museum in France (after the Louvre), it did not feel overly crowded and we were able to explore and enjoy the art with ease.
The Louvre is…massive. We spent nearly four hours in the museum and barely scratched the surface. The Louvre was a palace long before it became a museum, and we started our exploration walking through the old residences. At the time of our visit, the residences were adorned with a temporary exhibit called “Louvre Couture” exhibiting fashion pieces from designers like Chanel, Givenchy, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. Some of the pieces were so thoughtfully placed throughout the rooms, with some fabrics appearing to be nearly identical to fabrics in the room decor.
We also spent some time just walking around the neighborhood where our hotel was. I loved the sometimes extravagant plants and floral decor that adorned the fronts of many restaurants, cafes, and stores.
That night we went to dinner at a small restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. The menu was completely in French and the waiter told us they did not have an English translation, so we knew we were in a good spot that wasn’t just catering to tourists :)
Day 2: Private City Tour, River Cruise Dinner
The next day we went on a 4-hour private tour of the city using a service called My Daily Driver. This was an awesome way to explore the city and we were able to fit so much more sightseeing into our trip than we would have had we tried to navigate around the city via taxi or public transportation. We were accompanied by a driver and tour guide who shared so much history and information along the way. Our day started off visiting the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, where many famous artists like Picasso, Manet, Renoir, and Van Gogh lived as “struggling artists” (many did not become famous until after their deaths). We visited the beautiful Sacré-Cœur Basilica, which sits atop the hill overlooking the city. From there we went to the Arc de Triomphe, a viewing point of the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame Cathedral.
That evening we did the Ducasse sur Seine river cruise and dinner, where we enjoyed beautiful views of the city and the Eiffel Tower at night. The food was amazing and service impeccable, as you’d expect from famed chef Alain Ducasse.
Day 3: Versailles
The next day we were picked up by My Daily Driver for a tour of Versailles. Our driver shuttled us from our hotel to Versailles where we met our personal tour guide. She showed us around the palace and grounds sharing history and pointing out interesting elements within the art. One interesting point was that much of the original furnishings were sold off in an auction during following French Revolution in 1973. The next time we visit, we’d love to explore the gardens and visit Marie-Antoinette's Estate and Hamlet.
The next day we set off to the train station from Paris to Bordeaux where for next leg of our adventure would begin.
Trip Notes
Hotels: La Fantaisie, Hotel Le Grand Marzarin
Restaurants of Note: La Fantaisie Restaurant, Le Beaucé, Ducasse sur Seine
Activities: My Daily Driver City Tour and Versailles Tour, Musée d'Orsay, The Louvre
Travel Tips / Learnings:
Private Tours: If you can, splurge and do the private tour! I can be a penny pincher when we travel, and even I have to admit that this was ultimately incredible value. It was so worth the personalized experience and the ability to see so much of the city without having to stress about transportation and where to go next.
Museums: Buy your tickets in advance online to avoid the ticket window line. And even if you have your tickets in advance, expect to stand in line. d’Orsay was not bad, but we stood in line to get into the Louvre for probably 40 minutes near the end of the day (we thought we were being sneaky getting late tickets). Also, make sure you budget a decent amount of time to explore the museums - they are massive and incredible and you don’t want to rush. At the same time, you would need days if not longer to see everything so it helps to have a game plan if there’s anything you want to make sure you see and don’t stress about seeing everything - you won’t.