*Outside our apartment on Ile Saint Louis*

*Our dinner on night one was a charcuterie made from meats and cheeses and breads found around our island and oh my god was it good!*

Last week we had the sweetest most amazing time in Paris with both of our moms. At a baseline, we were just excited to take them on their first ever big trip out of the country, so everything after boarding the plane in Atlanta was a bonus!

It was also a really fun excuse to do a bit more of a touristy trip than Matt and I typically do—I feel like family trips are a great time to visit iconic spots that everyone on the trip has heard of. We definitely don’t think we’re too cool to ogle at the Eiffel Tower and take all the selfies in Versailles, thank god.

I could write a million words about the week, but basically: it was amazing. We planned a pretty tight itinerary because we only had six full days there, including the day we arrived (we got in at 6 a.m. and the jet lag was a bitch). I’ll give you a little tour of our trip in today’s post, so check it all out below! While I recommend everything that I’m including, I’ve put “a must do” next to items I feel you truly shouldn’t skip.

Notes on tickets & transport: we found it extremely useful to book tickets for literally everything in advance. We saved all of our ticket confirmations as PDFs in a shared Google Drive on our phones so we could just skip the ticketing lines everywhere and show our phones to get in. We made most of our reservations only about a month out, with some made just a few days out, and we were able to get a spot everywhere we wanted. As for transport, Paris has a pretty extensive metro station, but we found Ubers and taxis to be pretty reliable—I would just schedule Ubers in advance using the “book ahead” feature any time you’re trying to make it to a dinner reservation or event as there seemingly aren’t as many drivers as most metro areas in the U.S. have, so wait times can be long.

Where We Stayed

Île Saint-Louis | We did not know what we were getting ourselves into when we booked our apartment on Île Saint-Louis. To be honest, it was mostly just a happy accident because there were so few apartments in our price range that had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and this one looked the nicest! More on the actual apartment in a second, for now: let’s talk about the island. It’s one of two large islands in the middle of the Seine, which passes directly through Paris. The island is full of charming storefronts, wine shops, cafes, etc. You could probably spend an entire day or two just enjoying the charm of exploring this little island. Must do’s on Île Saint-Louis: Grab natural wine at L’Etiquette, triple cream cheese from La Ferme Saint-Aubin, ice cream from Berthillon (the intense dark chocolate was our favorite!), and walk down Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île for shopping. We sat in front of the sunny La Brasserie de l'Isle Saint-Louis for an afternoon of white wine and charcuterie and I highly recommend you do the same.

Our Apartment | I was actually kind of reluctant to book an AirBnB because a hotel sounded like a potentially easier experience for our group, but we wanted to have a shared common area so it made the most sense! I’m glad we did this because any time not spent exploring the city was spent drinking wine and eating baguettes and cheese around the coffee table, making for a really lovely homebase. The apartment has two bedrooms, one lofted bed that is sectioned off with a curtain, and one pull out sofa, for a total of four beds. There are two bathrooms, so you have two showers, but only one toilet. I probably would not stick more than four folks here, though it can technically sleep 8. I think it’s the perfect spot for two couples traveling together or a large family with young kids! It’s right on Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île meaning we could just step outside our door and be in the thick of it, which was amazing. Pretty much everything on this list that was in Paris proper was within walking distance if you’re down for a stroll.

Where We Ate (In a Very Particular Order)

We did a mix of casual bistros and Very Fancy Dining Experiences, and I’m glad we did! That being said, you don’t need to spend a ton of money for great food and wine in Paris, and some of our favorite spots were more down-home lunch halls.

Chez Denise | A French country-style bistro serving up large portions in a quaint and cozy setting, I think this was maybe the best (and cheapest) dining experience we had. You’ll find traditional French dishes like roasted chicken, duck confit, and beef cheeks (a favorite!). Expect to spend about $20 per person including wine. A must do.

Crêpe Rit du Clowne | A fantastic little creperie walking distance from the Louvre (a great pre- or post- Louvre meal) with the coolest downstairs cellar dining room. A crepe each and a bottle of white wine for the table was the perfect lunch. I don’t know if you can request where you sit in your reservation, but if so, definitely ask for downstairs! Expect to spend about $20 per person including wine. A must do.

Madame Brasserie | One of three restaurants inside the Eiffel Tower, I think Madame Brasserie takes the cake for coolest dining experience. We did this on our last night in Paris and I actually think that was the best time to do it as you’ll get to look over all the places you’ve spent your previous days or weeks. It’s certainly a splurge meal, but if you’re gonna do it, do it big! When you book in advance you’ll have to select which menu you want and if you want the wine pairing and I say go for the most expensive option if you can swing it. We had three very expensive dining experiences and this was the only one I think was truly worth the money. After your dinner head back down to the base of the tower and grab tickets for the tippy top where you’ll find a Champagne bar and the best views of the city. Expect to spend about $175 per person including the wine pairing, taxes, and fees. A must do.

Benoit | An old school French restaurant that feels like a step back in time, this was one of two Michelin star restaurants we went to, and our favorite out of the two. It’s glamorous and stuffy in a way that’s fun to do at least once during your visit, and the food is truly very good. The menu is full of refined French classics—nothing too off the wall but very neatly presented. Expect to spend about $125 per person including wine.

Le Saint Sebastian | Matt and I had a date night here and it was a blast. It kind of felt like going to any fantastic hipster restaurant in the states, with a young and knowledgeable staff, good music, and a menu full of locally sourced items and natural wines. Expect to spend about $80 per person including wine.

Automne | I’m honestly only including this here because I think it’s right for * someone * (maybe Matt, for instance, who loves to geek out about meticulous wine pairings) just maybe not me? It’s a Michelin-star restaurant that is highly praised and does the whole gastronomy thing that got super popular in the mid-aughts. It’s good, and I could see it being a really fun experience for anyone who wants to do the whole savor-the-foams thing but in my lowly opinion it was honestly kind of a tired approach to food and the atmosphere was reminiscent of a newly renovated strip mall. Still, it was a very “cool” experience, and I think worth it for anyone interested in gastronomy! Expect to spend about $150 per person including wine

.

Day Trips & Activities

I told you we weren’t too cool for the touristy stuff! We tried to fit one ultra popular tourist destination into each day, while the remainder of the day was spent doing more off-the-beaten-path stuff, stuffing our faces, and shopping. It felt like a good balance!

The Louvre | There’s not much to say about the Louvre that you can’t find in every other Paris guide, so I won’t waste your time! It’s an incredible experience, and even casual appreciators of art will find something they love. You could spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a whole day here. A must do.

The Moulin Rouge | I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this, but we ended up having a blast. The cabaret started in 1889 and it’s basically a variety show with a mix of burlesque, gymnastics, and dancing. It’s mostly in French but you don’t have to have any idea what they’re saying to enjoy it. A must do.

The top of the Eiffel Tower | So I guess I’ve just been sleeping under a rock but I didn’t know you could go to the top of the Eiffel Tower? Like the top. It’s a wonderful experience and I’d highly recommend going at night when the city is all lit up. Grab a glass of champagne, embrace the windy chaos of being almost 1000 feet in the air, and get a 360 degree view of Paris. A must do.

Croissant Class | Matt and I sometimes do a little culinary experience whenever we’re traveling abroad—we made green curry in a garden in northern Thailand and got an instructional of apple strudel in Vienna—and always find it to be so much fun. But this particular afternoon of making croissants in a small and quaint group setting and then taking home boxes of them was a really special little time. The company I’ve linked here offers 3-hour-long classes which I think was the perfect amount of time. Not rating it a must do, but it’s close!

An Afternoon in Versailles | Sure monarchs are horrible people, but it was pretty cool to see the palace and gardens! You’ll experience non-stop opulence, learn about French royal history, and tour some of the most beautifully manicured gardens you’ll ever find. It’s a 45 minute drive outside of Paris, and you can take the metro, Uber, or taxi.

Day Trip Champagne Tour in Reims | Get picked up in Paris, driven through the countryside to Reims (about two hours), tour wineries and learn about the process and history of champagne, and do lots of tastings. There are a whole bunch of vendors for this and different ones provide different things, so look through your options to see what sounds the best to you! To speak plainly, the actual tours are a bit dry unless you’re somehow both completely unaware of how sparkling wine is made and also very interested in learning about it, but the tastings were a cool experience. The real fun part for our group was playing around in a vineyard, which was not actually supposed to be a part of our tour but we lucked out with a rogue tour guide. If you find a tour that specifies time in an actual vineyard, I recommend doing that one! We also had the added pleasure of touring the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, which was an absolutely breathtaking experience.

And that’s that on the trip! Thanks for stopping by the blog today and of course feel free to dm us on Instagram or email us ( hey@probablythis.com ) if you have any questions!

xoxo Beau & Matt

Everything We Did: 6 Days in Paris

Where We Stayed

Where We Ate (In a Very Particular Order)

Day Trips & Activities