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If it’s your first time to Paris, you’ll definitely want to visit some of the great Parisian icons – The Louvre, The Arc de Triomphe, The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral & Sacre Coeur! Here’s the rundown of our experience in Paris and how we fit in seeing these five main sights on our first trip to the city. We only had two full days here, but we were able to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time.
Some Background on Our Trip
Our first visit to Paris was in November 2015. Our timing was a little unfortunate in that we flew to Paris the day after the November 13th terrorist attacks, so the main monuments in the city were closed the entire time we were there. Seeing those horrible events unravel on live TV, we had many emotions. We felt heartbroken for all of those innocent people.
Then, we weren’t sure if we would even be let into the country, let alone if we were, how respectful would it be to the Parisians to be a tourist in their city during such a time? Not to mention we figured everything would be closed. How was this really going to go?
We decided to go forward with our plans for a few reasons: 1) our options were pretty limited as far as making changes, and 2) we decided to find a strength in standing in support with Paris, and we don’t regret our decision for a single moment! We had a great experience and got to see so much.
Seeing Paris in a Different Way
Just because the main sights in Paris were closed to us, it did not mean that we did not have plenty to see. Our situation kind of forced us to see Paris in a different way than we had originally planned. And that’s okay! Travel is often crazy and unpredictable, as my travel agent ever so graciously reminded us.
So, if you are only in Paris for a short trip and you don’t have a ton of time to wait in those long lines to get into the main sights, this post may help you to see there still much beauty to admire!
Itinerary Summary
Here’s a quick summary of what we saw in two days (all of which was by walking!).
- Day 1: The Louvre -> Arc du Triomphe & Champs Elysees -> Eiffel Tower
- Day 2: Notre Dame Cathedral & Le Marais -> Sacre Coeur & Monmarte
The Louvre
Our first stop on Day 1 was the magnificent Louvre. We hadn’t originally planned on exploring inside the Louvre Museum simply because we had limited time. And honestly, we really enjoy just walking around and admiring architecture from the outside anyway!
We couldn’t get super amazing shots around the outside of the museum due to it being closed and having limited access to and around the building, but my my, is the Louvre a beast! I can only imagine how much time one could spend wandering around in there.
We spent a little while gazing at the architecture, and then wandered through the Tuileries Garden.
Again, being there just after the terrorist attacks, there was military everywhere around the main sights. It was actually a bit surreal.
After the Louvre and the Tuileries, we headed nearby to the fabulous Angelina for some hot chocolate and macarons to warm us up and get a little snack for the continuation of our walking adventure.
The Arc de Triomphe
All filled up on hot chocolate and macarons, we walked down the bustling Champs-Élysées after our time at the Louvre to get to the Arc de Triomphe. They had a gigantic Christmas market set up along the boulevard, but of course, it was also closed! That really would have been magical to walk through. Perhaps next time?
The Arc de Triomphe is in the middle of a treacherous-looking multi-lane traffic circle at Place Charles de Gaulle. I don’t know how people drive in Paris. It’s insane!
After taking our first photos of the Arc in all its glory, we headed to the underground tunnel that will take you to the Arc itself (you can’t possibly be expected to cross that nutty traffic circle to get there). If you visit, you must be sure look up and admire the beauty of that monument. I can’t believe all the detail work put into these amazing structures – works of art!
This was also a site for a memorial for remembering the victims of the Paris attacks, and was being guarded by military and police. I’ll never forget witnessing some tourists who had the balls to ask the police on duty (guns in hands, mind you) if they could take a picture for them…because yes, that’s what they’re there for isn’t it?!
We would have loved to go up to the top of the Arc if it was open. Getting that view of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe is definitely on our to-do list next time we visit Paris!
The Eiffel Tower
Yes, yes, yes – you simply must! The Eiffel Tower is the most commonly-associated monument with Paris. And it’s beautiful. How could you go to Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower? We saved the best for last on our first day in the city.
We got our first real view of the tower from the Trocadero area. It sure is a massive and magnificent tower of steel!
We had purchased tickets weeks in advance to go up the tower at sunset one day, but unfortunately, the tower was closed all of the days we were in Paris. We came really close on our last day to it being open, but we walked down the street to get a drink and use the restroom and when we came back, all access to and around the tower was “forbidden!”
We aren’t quite sure what happened within that half hour we were gone, but it may have had something to do with the tower workers not feeling 100% safe at the time for the tower to reopen (either that or they felt there was the possibility of some kind of threat that evening).
I think the biggest disappointment on our trip was not being able to see the tower lit up at night. Out of respect for the recent events in the city, they did not light the tower for a couple of days, and then to pay tribute and show a stand for solidarity, they had special red, white and blue lights, though we didn’t get a photo of that.
I guess we’ll have to wander back to Paris one of these days to see all the pretty lights. Darn!
Notre Dame Cathedral
On our second day, we made our way to the Notre Dame. This was probably one of our favorite pieces of architecture we saw on the trip! It’s so much bigger than I imagined and just stunning. The Gothic design of the cathedral was so intriguing and even slightly creepy. Walking all the way around it, you can see all the little details – sculptures and statues of people and gargoyles, the flying buttresses, etc. Make sure you put this on your must-see list!
I really would have liked to climb the towers here, but they were closed at the time. There was a nice line to get into the church (which is free) but we decided to walk the perimeter of the building instead.
*Unless you live under a rock, you probably have heard about the big fire that happened with the church in 2019 – so it is currently closed for renovations.
After your visit here, I would highly suggest wandering over to Le Marais – it’s a beautiful neighborhood where you can get great falafel and eclairs!
Sacre Coeur
Getting to the Sacre Coeur was quite the laborious task! We walked all the way to the neighborhood of Montmartre from Le Marais. To say it was a hard day on the feet is an understatement. We had to stop for a beer along the way. Rough life huh?
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the area of Montmartre is up on a hill. So, up we went! I must say the views from Sacre Coeur are amazing – you get a whole view of Paris. It’s 100% worth the “climb.” And the building itself is, of course, beautiful. In Europe, you will notice that there are beautiful churches everywhere. Even if you are not religious, these buildings are not to be missed!
One thing we didn’t enjoy about visiting the main monuments: too many people pushing souvenirs and selfie sticks. Every five steps you take, someone will ask you if you want to purchase these tiny replica Eiffel Tower key chains or selfie sticks. These people kind of take away from the magic of being there, but you just kind of have to push them out of your mind and ignore them when the approach you.
I hereby make a permanent vow to never buy a selfie stick.
So, though we were only in Paris a mere two days with limited access to the main sights, we were still able to see a lot! We did a lot of walking – but Paris is an extremely walkable city and it’s really a quite enjoyable and an affordable way to see all the sights.
We really loved our time in the city and can’t wait to go back again someday.
Be sure to check out our Paris vlog too!
What’s your favorite Parisian icon to visit? Any memorable stories to share about your visits here?
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