Christmas Time in Paris
After our lovely time in Reims, we visited the wonderful city of Paris! After a few very quick visits this year, we wanted to day or two to explore the city on our own terms.
Logistics
I would hurry to read our overall travel planning post here to get some tips!
Because we were finally free of the rental car, we took a train from Reims to Paris. This journey is very quick as it is only 45 minutes long - thus why Reims and champagne country are a popular day trips! However, as I mentioned in our Reims post, please consider staying overnight for even more fun and adventure!
For our lodging, we opted for a cool, Bohemian AirBnB in Montmarte because we had never really stayed in the area. Because we booked at the last minute, we had to stay in a private room which made it feel very small. Still, despite the cats and everything else, we enjoyed our time!
Paris Activities
In Paris, one can do whatever they desire. For us, because we had been in Paris quite a few times, we wanted to keep it simple and visit in Montmarte and explore any Christmas markets or themed events.
As always, here is a list of all my Google pins for every cafe, restaurant, and bakery we enjoy in Paris!
Onto Paris
As mentioned, our train to Paris is less than 45 minutes so it was short and sweet. While we were excited to be in the city, this also meant that our time was ending on our great Christmas trip.
Our Montmarte AirBnB was really easy to find and we were able to store our bags for the day. As mentioned in the AirBnB post, the space is very small but we should make it work!
Montemarte
As we walked the many, many stairs around Montmarte, we realized why we had not stayed in the area - it involved a lot of stairs regardless of the direction! We definitely enjoyed the downhill a lot more than the uphills!
While we hated the stairs, we definitely love the hip, young vibe combined with the artists in Montmarte. We even debated getting a portrait made by one of the artists but we were a little too cold to stand still for that long! Plus Mary Frances did not want her heavy coat in the picture.
The views from the Sacre Coeur are amazing. As we sat on the stairs, we could see the entire city, including the Eiffel Tower!
The Journey to the Tower
As we watched the city on the cold stairs, we realized we were out of ideas since the museums were mostly closed and we could not eat anymore. We were going to walk to the Eiffel Tower from Montmarte. Primarily because we knew the journey would be downhill, flat, and by most of the major tourism sites.
The first stop in our long walk is the famous Moulin Rouge district. Famous for the shows, Moulin Rouge has a distinct building so it is very hard to miss! We enjoyed people watching and seeing the quieter side of the Paris in the streets.
Along the Seine
On our walk, my favorite part was walking along the Seine. Not only do we see the best parts of Paris, but we also had fantastic views of the Eiffel Tower! At first, it seemed so far away, but we made it in the end!
Eiffel Tower at night
Every evening, the Eiffel Tower lights up and sparkles near or on the hour. The sparkles make for a more enchanting scene especially as we gazed at the Tower. And this is when I learned that MF has actually never been to top of the Eiffel Tower!!! Boy would we get that corrected…. INSERT LOIRE V link
We brought a bottle of wine with us in hopes of having a little picnic while at the Eiffel Tower. However, we forgot a wine opener and I almost paid so much money for a cheap one but couldn’t bring myself to it!
Le Poulbot
As we made our reservations for Le Poulbot during our lunch, we had somewhat high hopes. Then again, our lunch was so average that perhaps we just wanted anything good! The decor and setting in the restaurant is typically French with all the tables really close together and the chef and bar about 2 feet away from everyone in the restaurant!
By ordering off the a la carte menu, we both ordered steak and frites. Somehow, we cannot get enough steak on this Christmas trip! However, unlike our previous night’s meals, we did not say a single word for a very long time. Our steak and frites were amazing. Cooked to a perfect medium to medium rare, the steak melted in our mouths. When I combined a bit of steak with the triple cooked, homemade fries, the meal was made complete! I had to call timeout a few times just so MF would stop and breathe!
For the grand finale, we decided we would split the salted hot chocolate cake with hot fudge icing. As soon as I took my first bite, I pulled the tasty dessert closer to me and told MF to order her own dessert. That is when she ordered one of the best panna cottas outside of Italy. Our food coma was entirely worth it! The coma did make it very hard to walk back, but it was absolutely lovely!
Boulangerie’s Galore!
For our final morning in France, I wanted to see all the bakeries!
Morning Run
Usually, I like to wake up early to take photos of the new city. Because the sun doesn’t rise until 8am usually, I wanted to focus my morning run on the best boulangeries or coffee shop! I found a few great places near our AirBnB!
My early morning wake up for coffee and pastries was at the hipster coffee shop, Lomi. Loving their decor and their abundant speciality coffee beans, I ordered a nice drip coffee along with my pain au chocolate! I then started my walk to the next one!
At Pain Pain, it was absolutely lovely. The usual order of croissant and pain au chocolate was superb! In fact, noted bakery croissant expert Mary Frances said that this one was particularly spectacular in terms of the light, buttery, flaky goodness. Meanwhile, I enjoyed everything from Pain Pain per usual!
“Best Boulangerie”
Near the Canal St Martin, Du Pains et des Idees has won the “best” bakery title in Paris on three separate occasions - 2008, 2012, and 2014. I use the term “best” loosely because bakeries can be so subjective depending on preferred tastes. Thus, we had to visit this area!
As we stood in the long line, we honestly debated if this (second) croissant was going to be worth it. Once we entered the store, the decor made it seem like a magical, wonderful place! We were very happy that we made this second bakery especially as we had to go to the train station afterwards!
The UnChartered Summary
Because Paris offers an unique experience that varies on each visit, we focused this one on just walking around the city, exploring the tiny streets, major sites, and wonderful bakeries.
- (Hindsight fact) Le Poulbot is on our Top 5 restaurants in the world list. From the typical, amazing French experience to the mouth watering steak & frites and chocolate cake, Le Poulbot is well worth the uphill climb.
- Du Pains et des Idees is a fantastic bakery located near Canal St Martin. While MF prefers the Pain Pain boulangerie, I prefer this one especially for the pistachio croissant and the pain au chocolate.
- While we only walked from Montmarte to Eiffel Tower because we were bored, it turned out to be a great experience! The walk proves Paris is a walkable city!