Paris

All my romantic notions about myself come alive in Paris. I remember the first time I went in 2012, we arrived at dusk. My first sight of Paris was Hotel de Ville lit up at night. I nearly wept. It was one of the most beautiful, elegant, enigmatic, indelible, and captivating cities I will ever see. I have waited all of my life for that moment, and yet, nothing I saw, touched, or experienced came close to my fantastical imaginations.

Paris was a dream. And each time I go, I feel like it still is.

Favorite Restaurants | Restaurant Saturne. Frenchie bar a vins on Rue de Nil

Favorite Parisian Meal | Pate. Foie gras. Moules (mussels) if they're in season. French pastries of all kinds!

Favorite Paris Experience | Meeting locals, sharing plates and wine at Frenchie bar a vins on Rue de Nil

Favorite Museum | I'm a sucker for Impressionism so it's Musee d'Orsay, hands down.

Favorite Place for Souvenirs | Museum shops of the Louvre and Musee D'Orsay. Pylones.

First time? Definitely get a Paris Pass to skip all the lines at the major museums.

DIY Travel Tip | Instead of a hotel, rent an apartment in the 3rd Arrondissement. You don't need a car. Get (and keep) a metro map. It's so easy to get to Point A to Point B. Walk all around the City, but please, not in running shoes. Learn how to say "please" and "thank you" and ask for directions and understand directions. I swear by a podcast produced by Radio Lingua called "Coffee Break French".

Need to Go Back For | Septime (Restaurant). Ballet at the Palais Garnier. Crepes at Cafe Breizh. Rodin Museum. Diptyque Candles. An encore at L'Eclair de Genie (have you heard of those?!)

Paris Faux Pas | Oh I have so many! I dyed a white shirt pink in the laundromat. That's what happens when you can't read French. I set off the alarm at the metro because I attempted to open the train door on the wrong side of the track. I rode a bicycle to Champs Elysees and a cop "pulled me over" for not stopping at a stop sign. Desole! Je ne parle pas francais! I got lost on my way to Musee Marmottan Monet and could not figure out for the life of me how to get there from the train stop. A FIlipino guy appeared out of nowhere and he gave me directions in Tagalog! The irony is that the museum has closed by the time I got there.

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{1st/2nd Arrondissement}

I liked walking around this neighborhood, especially along Rue Montorgueil, a popular Parisian street for foodies.

One night in Paris, I and the Dutch hung out at Frenchie Bar a Vins by Gregory Marchand (across the street from THE Frenchie - tough to get a table) and had one of our most epic nights in Paris. We met some locals, drank plenty of French wine, and shared plates and plates of the gorgeous food.

Frenchie Bar a Vins

Rue Montorgueil

A street filled with shops for foodies

Le Marais {3rd/4th Arrondissement}

I discovered Le Marais when a friend took me there in 2013. I fell in love with the neighborhood that the following year, we rented an Airbnb there. It's not touristy which is perhaps what we love most about it.

The Jewish quarter of Paris is in the Marais so if you are craving for some Jewish food, Rue des Rosiers is where you ought to go. Also in the Marais is the Museum Carnavelet which is all about the history of Paris. It's free to get in.

Marche des Enfants Rouges

the oldest market in Paris

Marche d'Aligre {12th Arrondissement}

I love Paris markets! It's the best way to find local food all under one roof and learn how the Parisians shop.

Canal Saint-Martin {10th Arrondissement}

A friend took me here and it's reminscent of Brooklyn in New York. Boho, young, alive. The sun was out and Parisians languish next to the canal. After a bite and a browse at a bookstore, we took our desserts canal-side.

Montmartre {18th Arrondissement}

Montmartre can be a neighborhood packed with tourists during the day drawn to Sacre Ceour and the Moulin Rouge. It is in the north of Paris and is away from most tourist destinations. Montmartre draws the artists as far back as 1800's. Renoir would paint scenes from parties held in Montmartre and Van Gogh used to live in this arrondissement with his brother, Theo.

Monmartre

I literally ran into the house where Van Gogh lived while in Paris.

Sacre Coeur

Marche Aux Puces de Saint-Ouen {Website here}

I have a fetish for old, beautiful plates. I'm trying to build a collection of antique mismatched plates from my travels. Imagine what kind of conversations that would spur at the dinner table! It blows my mind how these pretty things have survived centuries. No different from historical sights like fortresses and towers, monuments and palaces, these things too carry a little piece of that same history with them - stories of wars, plagues, revolutions, loves lost, loves won. I especially like the idea that these objects were made at a time when artisan hands made them, and not some robot in China.

Paris is filled with old things, but they are beautiful and elegant, just like its architecture. Since I can't take the Grand Palais home with me, I will settle with a couple antique plates. This is my kind of Parisian shopping!

Paris' Greatest Hits

And of course, I have my own share of memories and photos of Paris' landmarks and tourist sights.

Tour d'Eiffel

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We love Airbnbs in Europe because it's here we find ourselves in the thick of local living. Linked below are our favorites in Paris.

If you've never used Airbnb before, click here to get a $25 discount on your first booking!

Montmartre

Le Marais

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