Where to stay, how to get around, and where to explore in Paris with only 24 hours
This trip was my second trip to Paris and it was just as exciting as my first trip a little over a year ago. Both times I was only there for about 24 hours, so I’ve got it covered for you on how to get the most out of your time here.
There are a few things I did not get to do this trip that I did the last time I was in Paris. I will try to make a separate post with those things for anyone who may want to see them!
Transportation
Paris is fairly easy to navigate. I used Apple Maps on the train setting for the fastest and easiest directions. I recommend getting the 10-pass pack of train tickets if you’re there for a short time like me, but they have larger ticket pack options if you are there longer. They are rather inexpensive compared to a lot of places I have been. The only downside to the trains in Paris is how CROWDED they get, so be sure to hold your stuff tight to your body and I recommend zipped purses for the ladies.
Where to stay
I stayed at the Courtyard Porte de Versaille on this trip. It was a 5 minute walk to the train stop making it super convenient to get to the city center without having to pay hotel prices in the center of Paris. The staff was delightful and the room was fairly large for a European hotel.
What to do
You will not be bored in Paris that’s for sure! It is a very large city. Some things are further away than what is “ideal”, but that is where the convenience of the trains come in to help.
I went on this trip with my fiance’s sister and we bought GoCity passes for our trip. We mainly bought these passes for the Eiffel Tower tour because it was booked any other way to get tickets to the inside of the tower, but we ended up doing the HopOn HopOff bus that was included in the passes as well to see more of the city with our limited time. It was very touristy, but honestly so much fun.
Eiffel Tower: The first time I was in Paris I did not go inside the Eiffel Tower and this time I did. We only went to the first floor because we did not pay for the elevator, but it was so worth it, the view of the city was INCREDIBLE! From the inside you can see the different colors the tower used to be painted which was fascinating to me, I didn’t know it was other colors before! And rumor has it they are painting it for the Olympics…
You have to go back to the Eiffel Tower at night time to see it sparkle! The light is on until a little before midnight once it is dark, but the twinkling lights only go off for 5 minutes at the top of the hour until 11pm. Seeing the Eiffel Tower twinkle is a feeling that will never get old.
Boulangerie du Champ de Mars: After taking millions of photos from various angles around the Eiffel Tower we kept seeing people with ginormous baguette sandwiches. They were coming from Boulangerie du Champ de Mars, the cutest bakery/bread shop I have ever seen. I got the ham and cheese baguette sandwich and it was incredible.
Arc de Triomphe: This was something I was super excited to go see this time in Paris. The last time I came to Paris I only got to see the Arc de Triomphe from a distance, but up close it is even prettier than I could have ever imagined. It is kind of far away from everything else I was doing, so taking the HopOn HopOff bus around to get here was a great call.
Cafe Joyeux: Cafe Joyeux is a coffee shop that employs individuals with special needs. The service was great and they were so excited to help us get warmed up with the best hot chocolate I have ever had.
Lots of walking and shopping was done during this quick trip as well. There is no shortage of food, shopping, and fun when visiting Paris. Soak it all in, enjoy the beauty of everywhere you go, and take lots of pictures!
Watch my trip on video!
Xoxo,
Anna