It probably wasn’t exactly 72 hours but it just sounds better than saying 55/60 hours, right? Ok, let me explain. So we took the Eurostar from London to Paris, by the time we reached it was already 2.15pm which means we only had half a day. On the last day we took the 12:00pm TGV Lyria train to Geneva cutting off another full 24 hours. In Paris, we arrived at the Gare du Nord station and our hotel was on the other side of the city (kind off), about half an hour away.
While in Paris we stayed at Hotel Mercure Paris Gare De Lyon. It was in the perfect location, right next to the local TGV train station, Gare de Lyon. Now, I visited Paris after I did the Vienna trip and had decided I was a local transport expert, haha! So even while in Paris we stuck to using the train to get to the places we needed to. The hotel was booked way in advance, before we even knew we were going to use the public transport…we just got so lucky!
*Be careful with your personal belongings in the trains as well as on the streets, there are a few pickpocketers around!
After indulging in a much needed, fatty, cheesy and unhealthy meal, the first thing we did was take a train to Champ de Mars and walked to Pont d'Iéna. We crossed over the bridge on to the side of the Trocadéro and I found my perfect spot. This was my favourite view of the Eiffel Tower, especially when the sun went down and the sky changed its colours dramatically. Remember, by the time I was there it was already getting closer to spring so the sun only actually set at around 8/9pm. We had gotten there at around 6pm. I spent those three hours just admiring the scenery and the landscape. This is the time I went around looking for other subjects to shoot with the Tower. I was freezing but I was in AWE!
Here’s a Preview!
Once the sun went down we walked up to the Trocadéro to get another view from there. By this time the lights had come on. Every day at ten the tower puts up a show for its viewers, the lights flicker and shimmer, giving it all a completely different feel. Make sure, at some point in your trip, watch this. It is the most mesmerizing thing, well it was for me. Listening to the reactions, as soon as they came on made the experience even more intense. One whole evening was spent just admiring this structure that has come to hold so much meaning. Even on a Monday, people were enjoying their evening with some wine, the beautiful view and their loved ones. It definitely was the most romantic atmosphere!
It’s pretty obvious to all of you by now that I am a history freak and I’ve always been interested by it. Now imagine all the history you learnt in high school, till year 13, comes to life? This happened as we visited the Palace of Versailles. Versailles was one of the most important areas of the time, not only because it was home to the Former French Royals but also because it was one of the grandest theatres of European absolutism. Don’t worry I’m not about to start a history lesson!
Now, the Palace is a national landmark and of course a popular film set. Walking through the gates and the gardens of the palace brought the film Marie Antoinette to life. The total land area of the Palace and the gardens is huge, approximately 87,728,720 square feet! It took a few hours just walking around the gardens. The one thing I’d advice, buy your tickets to enter the Palace way in advance, no matter what time of the year it is, and get there before the gates open because later in the day the line is way too long and probably a three hour wait just to enter the palace.
By the time we were done, we were exhausted. Since the palace is about an hour train ride from Paris city center we had no more energy left to do any sightseeing by the time we got back. So instead we opted for a more chilled and relaxed evening. We walked up to Sacré-Cœur, a hike we could have missed if we used the cable car! For me, this was my second favourite spot in Paris to watch the sun go down with amazingly talented people singing their hearts out. Watching the city lights come on from that high was a gorgeous view and the perfect end to the day.
1.5 days down and 1.5 days to go. On the second full day we saw the rest of the sights; the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe (only from far because the road was completely closed), Notre-Dame and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We used the Hop-on Hop-off bus to get to these landmarks. It was just bad luck that mostly everything was closed because of the Yellow Vest Protest that was going on. We didn’t get a chance to visit the Museum but from how amazing it was I can only imagine how beautiful and lively it looks when it’s open and the fountains are running. I don’t’ regret it being closed because this just means I get to visit Paris again!
The next stop we got off at was the Notre-Dame, this was obviously closed because of the fire that happened earlier this year. It was sad to see the way a building with so much architectural importance was burnt and destroyed. However, I was more attracted by the street to the Cathedral. It was filled with Hawkers, all selling different souvenirs and amazing artists drawing live photos for the tourists and selling previously done artwork. It’s crazy to see how many talented artists they were, on that street, all having stalls right next to each other. I loved all the artwork, it definitely gave my creative mind a hard boost!
We then headed to the Eiffel Tower to go to the top. In my opinion this was not as worth it than seeing it from far. I mean the city looked amazing from the top but I preferred spending time around the gardens, the fountains & the bridge to get a better view of the tower itself. Also, there are better spots in the city to actually see the city skyline, with Eiffel Tower in them, like Montparnasse Tower & Sacré-Cœur. We walked around Champ de Mars, enjoyed a much needed ice-cream to save us from the heat before our last stop.
The last stop of the day was this cute, little Indian restaurant we found called Royal Bombay. We were tired from eating all the other food and since most of us were vegetarians, all we ate was bread. Finding this restaurant was a treat to our taste buds. The food had the authentic Indian taste we were looking for. I was the perfect way to end the Parisian affair. But on the way there we saw some of the aftermath from the protest… it was a sight! After we got back to the hotel I checked out the live updates from the day and the protest was insane. It was crazy to think despite being in the same city we didn’t see or experience the protest, as though it was in a completely different place.
On the train to Geneva all I thought was about the time in Paris and I’ve got to say the Eiffel Tower was the most amazing sight to see. I know it’s a cliché but honestly, I was so satisfied by the views it gave us!
