Favorite Paris sights (in no particular order)

Jardin du Luxembourg - One of the city's most loved parks. The gardens (part formal with pretty terraces and gravel paths, part English with elegant lawns and trees) are the draw. Packed with locals, especially during a sunny day.


Centre Pompidou - Come here to view the unique building--plumbing, pipes and air vents are outside--and modern art. From the roof, you'll have beautiful panaromic views of Paris.


Pere Lachaise - A huge and beautiful celebrity cemetery. Among buried here, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and Jim Morrison.


Sacre Coeur - Come here for jaw-dropping views of Paris and to see one of the city's quintessential landmarks.


Eiffel Tower - The ideal spot to view the City of Light at night (plus, lines are shorter after sunset).


Jardin du Tuilleries - This garden, located between the Louvre and place de Concorde, is the perfect place for a stroll. Marvel at the beautiful gardens first laid out for Louis XIV in 1664. Once reserved for courtiers, anyone can come here to enjoy the sun and lounge.


Musee de l'Orangerie - Located in the French monarchs' former greenhouse. My favorite museum in the world: compact and showcases many artists I admire (Monet, Cezanne, and Matisse).


Square Brignole Galliera - This is an adorable and romantic spot. Perfect if you are nearby and need to rest your tired feet.


Arc de Triomphe - Second only to the Eiffel Tower as the symbol of Paris. An impressive 1836-built monument to Napoleon's 1805 victory at Austerlitz standing at the world's largest roundabout. Climb to the top for the marvelous views of Paris.


Place du Trocadero - This square offers a stunning, classic panorama of Eiffel Tower.


Montparnasse Tower - In a city of beautiful architecture, this ugly and tall office building sticks out like a sore thumb. But its observation deck is perfect for the 360 degrees views of Paris including, of course, the Eiffel Tower.


Les Catacombes - A series of underground passages filled with skulls and bones. Following the 1789 Revolution, the bones of 6 million Parisians were exhumed from the city's overcrowded cemeteries and placed underground.


Notre Dame - Another magnificent symbol of Paris and one of its most visited sights. Beautiful inside and out.  I've always wanted to climb the towers. Hopefully, my next trip, I will get a chance.


Pont des Arts - Paris has its share of beautiful bridges, but in my opinion, the one that locals and visitors have the most affection for is Pont des Arts, a rare pedestrian-only wooden bridge filled with benches to view the Ile de la Cite and the Seine, rest and people-watch. Also interesting about this bridge: couples come to the bridge with a lock and write their names on it and lock it to the grid as a symbol of their everlasting love.


Other sights I enjoyed during previous visits (I would have loved to have seen them again, but we ran out of time):

1. Musee Rodin - I adore this museum for its tranquil, statue-packed (see the Gates of Hell, the Thinker, etc.), rose-filled garden that seems to be a thousand miles away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Come here to chill and lower the blood pressure!

2. Musee D'Orsay - The building, formerly a train station, itself is a work of art. Recommended if you are a fan of impressionist, post-impressionist and art nouveau works.

Best meals in Paris

The number of dining options in Paris is overwhelming, so we relied on recommendations from Father-in-Law (who is a major Francophile), Food Network chef Ina Garten (she included travel-related recs in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook), and the Eat.Shop Paris book. We also ate at places we spotted and thought looked like good options.

Based on our 5 days in the City of Light, here are my fave meals:

Fave quick lunch option - Beatrix
149 rue St. Martin, 4e
This is a shop to pick up tasty yet reasonably-priced sandwiches near the Pompidou Center.


Fave bakery - Eric Kayser
243 rue St. Jacques, 5e
This bakery was a recommendation in Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris cookbook. She did not steer us in the wrong direction! Their croissants (I tried both the plain and the almond) and the canelé (my favorite French pastry) were to die for! A canelé is a small French pastry made from egg, sugar, milk and flour flavored with rum and vanilla with a caramelized crust and custard-like inside.


Fave brasserie - Le Balzar
49 rue des escoles, 5e
This brasserie was incredible. The waitstaff, the food and the atmosphere worked together perfectly to achieve a fantastic dining experience. Comfy and casual. I heard about this brasserie from my Eat.Shop Paris book. 


Fave bistro - L'Epi Dupin
11 rue Dupin, 6e
This restaurant was a recommendation from the Father-in-Law. His rec was right-on. Excellent prix-fixe seasonal menu. With only about 30 seating (my estimate), it is intimate and cute-as-a-button. Excellent food yet a relative bargain. Slightly rushed service.


Fave outdoor market - Marche Avenue du President Wilson
16e
Parisian street food markets are the best. Nearly every arrondisement has its own market at least once a week (never on Mondays). Of course, the chance to shop like a local in this foodie paradise was on our itinerary! We went to the Avenue President Wilson Avenue market in the 16th arrondisement (occurs every Wednesday and Saturdays from 7:30 to 2:30) . The fruits, the vegetables, pastries, etc. looked incredible. I purchased the tastiest crepe with cheese, onions and tomatoes for lunch.


Fave luxury food market - Le Grande Epicerie
36 rue de Sevres, 7e
This glorious store carries all types of food (cheese, chocolate, pastry, fruit, vegetables, seafood, etc.) presented in such a beautiful manner. Great place to find picnic items and food souvenirs.
The United States and Canada section of Le Grande Epicerie, which included Oreos, brownie mixes, microwave popcorn and similar packaged items:


Random - Les Deux Moulins
15 rue Lepic, 18e
So I didn't particularly enjoy the food or the service here, but I was quite excited to be at the Montmartre cafe where Amelie Poulain worked as a waitress in the fabulous movie, Amelie.

Hotel de la Sorbonne

There are many great places to stay in Paris, but I picked and enjoyed Hotel de la Sorbonne, a boutique hotel located in the Latin Quarter.  It is a well-located charmer with free Wi-Fi and iMac computer TV in the rooms.  It is price-right, friendly, recently-renovated and clean and I love its stylish and modern design (for starters, bold wallpapers and quotes from French literature woven into the carpets).  From the 2,000 hotels listed in Tripadvisor, I chose this hotel based on these criteria: $200 or less, in the 5th or 6th arrondisement.   It gets great reviews, which accurately points out the very tiny rooms (which is sadly, very common in Paris).  But I was okay with that since I knew we wouldn't spend too much time in our room.

Paris at night

Ode to Latin Quarter

During this trip, we opted to stay at the Latin Quarter (5th arrondisement), and we did not regret that decision at all. There is really no bad area to stay in Paris as I think all of its 20 arrondisements has their positives and negatives, but the Latin Quarter was a great option for us simply due to its central location with convenient access to RER/metro stops, great eateries, and tourist attractions. Besides the location, we saw plenty of locals as well so it did not feel like we were detached from the real Paris. Here is a photo tour of this area:

Velib station (Velib is Paris' bike rental scheme, about 1,500 stations citywide):


Jardin du Luxembourg, one of the city's most beloved parks (technically located in St. Germain de Pres, but it borders the Latin Quarter):


St. Michel fountain (a popular meeting spot in Paris):


Mosquee de Paris, the city's art deco-Moorish mosque and a slightly off-the-beaten tourist sight:


Sorbonne's main university campus is located in the Latin Quarter (area is named so because university students here communicated in Latin until the French Revolution and to this day, Paris' academic center):

What I'll miss most...

Our trip to Paris was pretty much perfect (my only complaint: a couple of rainy and partly cloudy days). We had delicious meals, stayed at a great hotel, explored areas I did not get a chance to during previous trips, got away from work and other responsibilities, and best of all, enjoyed quality time together celebrating our third anniversary. Here is what I'll miss most about Paris (for starters):

A sweet treat, like a Nutella crepe, mid-afternoon:


A leisurely breakfast consisting of delicious coffee and croissant:


Reliable mass transportation (we rode the Metro a lot in Paris, and it never failed us, longest waiting time was 5 minutes):


Gelato in the evenings during our after-dinner stroll (so delicious and much better than the gelato we get here):


French pastries:

A new favorite museum

One afternoon during our trip, it rained like cats and dogs. I was hoping to explore the Jardin des Tuileries, but with the rain, it would not have been that much fun hanging out at a park, so we decided to visit the nearby Musee de l'Orangerie. What a great idea that turned out to be! I now have a new addition to the list of my favorite Paris museums, which includes the Rodin and Musee D'Orsay.  This museum is perfect for me as it contains a significant amount of Impressionism, which I am a fan of.  In addition, I think I enjoyed it due to the museum's small and manageable size (optimal for those with short attention span like me!). The museum is simple and fuss-free in the way it displays works from artists such Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Matisse, and more.  Upstairs, it is an inspiring Monet showcase, where the painter's eight, tapestry-sized water lilies paintings are displayed in two oval rooms.  Downstairs contain stunning collections by the above-mentioned artists. The visit was definitely a treat I will remember for a long time.

The Seine

One of my favorite activities in Paris is a cruise down the Seine, which in my opinion, is the city's most beautiful boulevard.  I have been to Paris 3 times, and each time, I made time for this cruise. It is so serene and you get a chance to see the city's major monuments (such as the Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre) and watch the river activity.  Plus, visiting Paris means for most people, lots of walking.  The cruise can thankfully provide a much-needed rest for tired feet. 

Macaron

I admit with a little shame that one of the things I was most excited about our trip to Paris is to finally have a macaron, my favorite cookie invented by the French, in France. I love its moist, chewy interior and crunchy, egg shell-like exterior. It comes in a wide variety of flavors from the traditional (e.g., vanilla, chocolate) to modern (e.g., rose, jasmine). Based on a brief internet research, the best macarons are to be found at Laduree and Pierre Hermes, so we went to both while in Paris (sidenote: here is an interesting blog post from Hipparis.com about the rivalry between the two).

I loved the macarons at both places. My favorites were the coffee and the caramel with salt ones from Laduree. What I would do for some right now!