paris, france
for romantics, lovers, foodies, shoppers, museum goers + alluvthethings etc.
PARIS, FRANCE is magic. there is just something so incredibly romantic and special about this city.
STAY
Stay with Oasis: Where "Home Meets Hotel". Another great option when researching places to stay in Europe and S. America. The Oasis collection has done a great job of filtering through beautiful homes that have been set up to give you the clean and welcoming feeling you experience when checking into a hotel.
The Hoxton Hotel Located at 30-32 Rue du Sentier. We chose to stay here our last night in Paris. What a treat! The location was great, as the hotel is positioned within walking distance to many great restaurants (i.e. Frenchie, Daroco, LouLou) shopping, and many must see locations like Le Louve, Jardin des Tuileries, and the beautiful cobble stoned streets of Le Marais.
The Hoxton Hotel
Image Source: Pinterest / Edited by @Alluvthethings
do
Explore the beautiful cobble stoned streets of Paris, enjoy a bit of a no-plan-plan (our favorite way to travel) and simply see where the day leads you… some of our favorite quartiers, jardins + shopping include:
Make your way towards Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart), Basilica to experience some of the most amazing panoramic views of the city. Nearly all of the monuments of Paris can be seen from the top with binoculars, on a clear day. Go during the day and take some time to walk around the Montmartre area. You’ll find a beautiful mix of local artists painting in the streets, incredible restaurants, shopping and more. NOTE: We recommend grabbing breakfast bites and coffee at Buvette Gastrotheque and then walk towards Sacré-Cœur.
* 10/10 would recommend
Poilane Located at 8 rue du Cherche Midi, Paris 6th. Their first bakery was created in 1932. Go to the bakery and purchase a couple/few loafs of bread, jams, and treats to take back with you OR for a day picnic. NOTE: If you ask nicely they will take you down to see the incredible process that they go through to make their breads, see the ovens, and share their history of how Poilane all started.
The Catacombes of Paris “A labyrinth in the heart of underground Paris, a unique site in old quarry galleries. Open to the public in 1809, the largest ossuary in the world is home to the remains of millions of Parisians as the cemeteries of Paris closed.” NOTE: We recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time for a guided tour to avoid waiting in line for hours (depending on the time of year).
EAT&DRINK
COFFEE + BREAKFAST BITES
Buvette Located at 28 Rue Henry Monnier. Go for an early bite + order the TOAST à l’AVOCAT, CR’Q MR ou CR’Q FORESTIER, un TARTINE and a coffee. We recommend walking around and exploring the Montmartre area post breakfast bites and coffee.
*10/10 would recommend
Alcazar “A trendy restaurant in the heart of Paris. Alcazar, a bar restaurant in the 6th district of Paris. You will find a friendly atmosphere with its mottled decoration and its flowery interior with the look of garden.” Go if you love restaurants where you feel surrounded by plants, and if you are looking for a healthy breakfast option.
Season located at 1 rue Dupuis 75003 Paris. Go for a healthy breakfast option.
Ob-La-Di located at 54 Rue de Saintonge. Go for a quick coffee and small bites. Expect the space to be pretty small, however, there is plenty of shopping within walking distance so this can be a great start to your day if you’re looking to do some exploring.
HAPPY HOUR + DINNER + DRINKS
Frenchie located at 5 Rue du Nil. French restaurant and wine bar. Go late night for dinner and wine. “When I opened Frenchie, it was to create a place I would want to go to myself and, more importantly, one I would want to go back to again and again. It’s a micro-restaurant, an intimate place where you feel at home. The staff is like a little family. Here, the ingredient has carte blanche. The products we use are what determine the menu, which changes with the seasons. Our ceaselessly evolving cuisine is very instinctive, unstinting and authentic.”
* 10/10 would recommend
Brasserie Barbes located at 2 Boulevard Barbès, 75018. French brasserie style cuisine. This beautiful brasserie has four floors, each with a completely different vibe. We recommend making your way upstairs to enjoy their garden patio. Order the escargots.
LOULO located at 107 Rue de Rivoli, 75001. Italian. Go for vino and afternoon bites if going to the Louvre Museum. We were there during the winter months, however, we can only imagine how lovely their patio must be on a warm summer day.
Tavline located at 25 Rue du Roi de Sicile, 75004. Mediterranean, Israeli, Middle Eastern. Go for dinner.
BigLove Caffé located at 30 Rue Debelleyme, 75003. Italian. Go for dinner. Order alluv the carbs + vino. NOTE: Their menu changes with the seasons.
* 10/10 would recommend Big Love + any of the restaurants under the Big Mamma Restaurant Group.
TOOK NOTE FOR NEXT TIME: Carbon, Pink Mamma, Ober Mamma, East Mamma, Mamma Primi, Pizzeria Popolare, No Entry
day trip to champagne, france for wine tasting
Champagne is located approx. 1.5 hours outside of Paris.
A few fun facts: Champagne must be grown and produced within Champagne, France in order to be called a Champagne. Each harvest, 151k ppl come to Champagne to hand pick the grapes. There are 318 villages, of which only 17 are to be considered “grand cru” which is the best, of The best. LAW: a new brut cuvee must be aged for a minimum three years. A vintage cuvee means that all the grapes were harvested within that specific year. Sediment is extracted by freeznig the bottle neck. Riddling is a term used for turning the sediment in bottles. A riddler can turn between 30k and 50k bottles per day (by hand). The oldest champagne houses are as follows: Ruinart (founded in 1729), follwed by Chanoine Freres (1730), Taittinger (1734), Moet & Chandon (1743) and Veuve Clicquot (1772).
Moet & Chandon House “The legendary Moët & Chandon is celebrating 270 years as the world’s most loved champagne. Toward the end of the 18th century, Jean-Remy Moët, grandson of founder Claude Moët, became famous as the man who introduced champagne to the world. The important figures of the era, from the Marquise de Pompadour to Talleyrand to Napoleon quickly fell in love with the House’s effervescent wine. Moët & Chandon was soon the icon of success and elegance that it remains to this day.” We recommend doing a tour through their cellars.
Taittinger Champagne House “Taittinger was founded in 1734 by Jacques Fourneaux, a visionary who sowed the seeds for this now giant Champagne house. They produce around 400,000 cases a year of always reliable and delicious Champagne cuvee, Brut Reserve. That sets the scene for their exquisite vintage wines and exceptional Blancs de Blancs prestige cuvee Comtes de Champagne, matched by an equally exquisite and very rare rose. Taittinger has quite an empire, owning a Loire sparkling wine house and a winery in California. Their winery’s location in Champagne is right in the center of Reims.” Read more about their profile here.
Daniel Dumont Winery is a family owned Champagne house and also worth a visit.
WEAR // WHAT TO PACK??
Paris is a stylish, yet walkable city. Make sure you pack light (or baggage fees will stack up quickly if you plan to do additional traveling throughout europe), pack comfortably (you’ll most likely walk *many miles per day), but be sure to throw in some (comfortable) heels and a fun dress/skirt for evenings out and about.
au revoir x
- Last Updated: December 2017 -
@ALLUVTHETHINGS
