After 8 years, she was just there again, towering in front of me towards the blueish-greyish morning sky, as if stretching after a good-night sleep. I’ve seen her so many times, from different angles, in so many different lights: glimmering in the sunshine, standing still despite rain and cold, standing proudly in wind, fading into the sunset and having its golden lights on as the evening darkness slowly embraced her. I’ve seen her with the flashy lights running up and down her body every hour in the evenings, and also when she turned into complete darkness and waved good night at 1 a.m. But probably this was the first time when I saw her right after waking up. I was one of her first guests that morning. It was only 6 a.m., and my initial morning dizziness left me as if it had never been there. Since I was there again: at the Eiffel tower.
That is where our spontaneous weekend trip started. We took the bus all the way from London to Paris. We left Oxford on Friday, right after work, to catch the evening bus which would send us to another world while we’re sleeping, and make us wake up in one of my favourite cities. It sounds magical and dreamy, but it wasn’t really like that. It was an uncomfortable bus. Sitting becomes a pain after a couple of hours as you don’t have enough room to stretch your legs, and you’ve already tried all sitting positions. Fortunately, the journey is interrupted by the ferry trip from Dover to Calais, which means 1-1.5 hour of lying down or just bending over a table – depending on how lucky you are to get a good spot on the board of the ferry. Then back on the bus again, but this time you feel that tiredness will overcome the comfort issues. Finally, you’re dreaming, dreaming about the morning, how it will feel to return after 8 long years to the city which meant home to you back then. You’re dreaming about a cosy French café with small round tables on the street, and the chairs facing the busy crowds of passers-by and cars, with you sitting there and letting the world rush in front of you while you’re staying still. You’re dreaming about having a strong black coffee which you can already smell as the garcon politely places the cup in front of you. And finally, you’re dreaming of a fresh, flaky butter croissant going perfectly with your coffee, which melts in your mouth as you take a sip of your coffee. I personally love the merge of the buttery taste with the delicately bitter coffee, they complement each other so well…
Suddenly the bus slows down, and you need to get back from your dream-world to make it really come true. However, in that moment you just don’t want it at all, you rather want a cosy bed to curl up in, and go back to your dreams. But it’s not possible, you have to be present at the Gallieni station, awake enough to find the way to the underground – which is very easy by the way – and decide on which ticket type to buy. We decided on a 2-day pass, which proved to be a good choice, so I’d recommend this option for anyone who plans a weekend visit to Paris. Even if you plan to walk most places – as we did – it’s still worth it.
So finally we were on the metro, where the noises and the smell touched me as familiar as if I’d still commute there every day. Memories flooded me, mainly because we took the same line (nr.3) where I used to live, and heard the station names every day: Porte de Bagnolet, Gambetta, Pere Lachaise etc. Then I started to tell stories to my friend about my life in that neighbourhood, about Pere Lachaise, about the “lapin du metro” (= the rabbit of the metro), how the different metro stations are different in style, and all of these insignificant things. For him, it was the very first time in Paris, so I kind of felt responsible for giving him an insider guidance of the city, not only a superficial mainstream touristy one. 🙂
I was becoming more and more awake, filled up with excitement like a child, who’s about to unwrap a Christmas present, as we approached the Invalides metro station. We started our sightseeing tour at Napoleon’s, who was peacefully resting under the golden cupola, which was now even brighter as raided by the morning sun’s rays. It was as sublime as Napoleon must have been in his victorious battles.
From here, it’s only a short walk to get to the Eiffel tower. That point I really felt the need to fill myself up with the coffee and croissant I dreamt about on the bus. Most of the cafes were not open yet, some early ones were just about to get ready for their early customers. We walked across the Pont d’Iéna (Bridge of Iéna), up to the Trocadero, where all seemed like being behind the stage before a concert or a play. Everybody was getting ready for the big show, the arrival of the audience: the buffets filled up with bakery goods and sandwiches, the coffeemakers started up their machines, chairs and tables were put out in front of the businesses, street sellers appeared and packed out their easily foldable sheets with keychains with miniature Eiffel Towers, scarves, and bags on them. Finally, we found a café – exactly one with the tables and chairs facing the roads, which weren’t jammed yet. We only had a coffee at the end, and agreed to have breakfast later.
In terms of accommodation, we kept it very simple: a dorm bed in a hostel, which turned out to be really good. I can recommend the place full heartedly, if you really go for simplicity, and just need a bed where you can sleep. It is the Smart Place Paris Gare du Nord, which is really close both to the Barbes Rochechouart and the Gare du Nord metro stations, walking distance from the Montmartre area, and the Sacre Coeur. Nice and informative receptionists, friendly community area, kitchen, baggage room with tag identification, clean room with bathroom, and all of this on a relatively cheap price – at least compared to other places in Paris, not talking about hostels in general in other cities. On top of this, it’s not in a bad area as you might think from the closeness of the train station, but it’s far enough from there. There are even good restaurants nearby, where you can try the French cuisine, for example a sizzling Boeuf Bourguignon or some mouthwatering roasted duck with pepper sauce dripping from its sides, accompanied by some semi-dry fruity red wine – magnifique! I also recommend to try some desserts at the end, a creme brulee or a parfait, or really any gateaux (=cake) could be a perfectly sweet ending of a day and start for a great night.
So what can you really see during a weekend in Paris? Not much, but just enough to have a good idea about the romantic, coffee-infused atmosphere, the grandiose architecture, the rich history, and the wide variety of programs you could make here. A weekend in Paris is a real teaser, and should raise the urge to get back here for at least a week, when you could immerse in culture, art, nature, you would have enough time to taste more and more from the repertoire of the French menu, taste and smell more and more cheese, drink wine, sit in cafes, go on a boat trip on the Seine, follow the buttery, sugary, freshly baked bakery products’ scent into a little boulangerie, and choose a pastry. But let’s not run forward this much. Let me take you through the route which I did with my friend, but be aware, it may contain lots of walking and incredible sights.
If you jump back at the beginning of this story, you will find us at the Trocadero, after having a glimpse at the Invalides and paying a visit to the Eiffel Tower. From the Trocadero, you can find an avenue which is one of the 12 points of the star centered at the Arc de Triomphe, and by following it, you’ll end up at the pompous arch, where you can pay your respect to the Unknown Soldier guarded by the eternal flame. If you fancy, it is possible to climb to the top of the arch, and see where the 12 starpoints lead. We didn’t do it this time, but headed to our hostel to get rid of some of our stuff, and then have some proper breakfast.
As I said before, the hostel was in walking distance from the Sacre Coeur, so we climbed all the way up there, with our last bits of spare energy after the night on the bus, with no proper sleep, and already with 5 km in our legs. First the view of the white cathedral with the picturesque blue sky in the background and the lush green garden in front of it, then turning around, and the view on the awakening city, made us forget about how tired and hungry we are – at least for some minutes. Finally, we made it up to the top, and we were still early to avoid the queues, so went in the cathedral. You probably know the feeling when you can watch a film all over again, and still like it, can still laugh at the jokes, and you don’t get bored of it. This is how I feel about Sacre Coeur and the entire Montmartre area with its narrow winding streets, painters, street musicians, cosy restaurants, art galleries, and hidden museums (like my personal favourite: the Salvador Dalí museum) – it’s impossible to get bored of them. I would highly recommend for anyone to allow some time and dare to get lost in this quarter, and discover it in a bohemian way.
Our breakfast destination was The Hardware Société Paris, which is a magical little place with croissants, pain au chocolat, wide variety of tall, layered, creamy cakes loaded with fruit or chocolate, that almost start to talk to you and beg you to eat them. Oh and the repertoire of coffee! It’s probably not a coincidence that people are willing to queue up to get a seat in this wonderland. You can guess what I went for: yes, butter croissant with coffee. I felt so happy and so ready for the day!
As we had a sunny day, we rather wanted to spend the day outside, than going into any museums. A less touristy spot, I’d really recommend to visit is the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. It is one of the most beautiful parks I’ve been to, thanks to its wild impression it has with its waterfall, winding little stream, hilly location, and tall trees. You cannot see through the park, it’s fragmented by the ups-and-downs, which makes it an even more out-of-the-city experience, like an oasis in the middle of the city elevated from the ground level, offering you a stunning view on Paris. Perfect spot for a wine-and-cheese picnic, for playing games, or just having a nap while soaking in the warming rays of the sun.
I wouldn’t want to exhaust you with all the details of our day, like which streets to take, which bar to try out, mainly because we were just strolling around and whichever place looked appealing, we went there. That’s what I recommend to everyone, some spontaneity never hurts. 🙂
So we still have a whole day to explore as much as our legs bear. We decided to take the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, and walk along the Champs-Élysées. Though it is quite a nice walk with having a chance to see the Grand and the Petit Palais, and walk out to the golden bridge, the Pont Alexandre III, be wary that it is a 3.5-km-long walk to the Louvre, so prepare your legs. Before reaching the pyramid of the Louvre, you will also see the Place de la Concorde with the obelisk of Luxor in the middle, and you also walk across the Garden of Tuileries with the “little Arc de Triomphe” at its end. If you fancy, you can always pop in to say hello to Mona Lisa, but the Louvre can be overwhelming and exhausting, so you might want to leave it for the time of a longer visit. Believe me, I visited the Louvre at least 4 times to cover different bits, and I always felt very tired when leaving, simply because of the amount of artwork you have to take in and digest.
We just continued our tour towards the Notre Dame, entering the island via Pont Neuf, passing the Conciergerie (Marie Antoinette’s prison, today museum), the Palace of Justice and the Sainte Chapelle (gothic-style chapel with Christian relics, including Christ’s crown of thorns). All of these are worth a visit once you have more time. Finally, we reached the home of Quasimodo. Long queue of course, as you’d expect, but I would definitely recommend to stand it through, as the interior is just something you would not find anywhere else, especially the giant rose window.
From the Notre Dame, there are several ways to take depending on how tired you are, how good the weather is, and what your interests are. We decided on walking through the Latin quarter, where also the Sorbonne is, and took the way up to the Panthéon, which is a grandiose building competing with the St.Peter’s basilica in Rome and the St.Paul’s cathedral in London in terms of grandity. It also gives final resting place for remarkable French people such as Voltaire, Rousseau, or Alexandre Dumas. Another interesting thing you’ll find here is Foucault’s pendulum, which demonstrated the Earth’s rotation.
A last “compulsory” destination was the Luxembourg garden, which is perfect to sit around with a beer, and just watch the people. Especially interesting to look at the children at the little lake playing with sailing boats: boarding them on the water, following them around, and catch them at the end. How much they enjoy it, and the whole scene feels like going back 100 years, when there were no phones and computers, but this could have been the main source of entertainment. It is really easy to spend hours here without even noticing the passing of time. So did we, filled our energy stocks up, before heading back to the hostel, and going to the bus station.
As we still had enough time, we decided to walk more from here: first, along rue Mouffetard, which is full with bars, restaurants, pubs, shops, and which is a really good place to eat out and go out. Then we reached the botanic garden, the paradise of the special plants and flowers. With our final efforts, we got to a little port, the Arsenal, where boats sleep calmly waiting for their next adventures. It used to be our favourite spot with my friends back in time, where we sat in the evenings, watching the boats, talking and had some drinks before we went out to our favourite Cuban bar. It just felt so good to walk along here again, and to remember all the old memories from that university semester. Finally, we reached the Bastille Opera House and the Bastille. We also reached our limits of walking, but every painful step was worth it. Here our tour really ended, nothing else left just collect our stuff from the hostel and go to the bus station.
I felt happy, tired, and that our tour was complete. Audrey Hepburn’s words have been proved once again: “Paris is always a good idea”, so say YES if your friend comes up with the idea of visiting it at Thursday lunchtime, it’s surely enough time to get prepared. 🙂