Travel Guide: Paris
Paris, France - The City of Lights or The City of Love whichever mood or feeling you prefer, Paris is an amazing city. I visited Paris in August 2019 with two close girlfriends. I always heard mixed reviews about Paris but I thoroughly enjoyed the city and all of its offerings. Paris is a city of love, fun, adventure, and very rich history. While Paris was just one stop on our vacation, we also visited the South of France specifically hitting Cannes, France. In addition to Paris and Cannes we took a day trip to the country Monaco.
This is a long post, yes, but we did a lot and saw a lot. Hopefully this helps you plan your trip to France. Here I will discuss the ins and out on the details on exploring France and our day trip to Monaco.
Accommodations.. Paris - We spent 4 days in Paris which would be very short to most people, but we had a specific plan on how we wanted to experience Paris. For me personally, I will most certainly be going back to Paris to see it all and its glory (God Willing). While in Paris, we stay at Hotel Motel One Paris-Porte Dorée which is about a 15-20 minute cab ride to the Eiffel Tower. You must understand that most hotels in Paris are similar to boutique hotels in Manhattan, small and tight. Unless of course, you have a bigger budget to spend on your hotel accommodations than this will not be an issue for you.
Cannes - We spent 3 days in the South of France. Here we stayed at an AirBnB. Our AirBnB was a three bedroom apartment that came with a private pool. Cannes has a main strip of hotels, restaurants on the beach and bars. We were about a 10 minute cab ride to this area. Out AirBnB came with a private pool and terrace.
Restaurants. Paris can easily be considered one of the food capitals of the world. Mainly known for desserts and pastries but Paris has a slew of high end dining and great tasting restaurants. Here are a few of the restaurants we managed to hit in Paris and Cannes.
Paris
Kong Restaurant - This is most famously known for its appearance in Sex in the City Movie where Carrie meets her Russian’s ex-wife (if you are a fan of the show/movie). We went earlier in the evening to see the view from the rooftop dining area. Kong is Pan-Asian restaurant that is very chic with an Asian modern touch. The restaurant pricing is, indeed, on the higher side so that is something to be mindful of. If you are a person who is into restaurants and appreciation of an experience this may be a good try for you. Would I return? Maybe not, only because I believe it is a bunch of other places in Paris to experience on my next visit.
Seine River Dinner Cruise - This is a 75 minute dinner cruise that includes a 3-course dinner. On the cruise you are able to seen the main attractions of the City of Lights. You absolutely must be on time for when the cruise leave because they will not wait for you even though you pay ahead of time they must stick to their schedule. Trust me, we almost missed the cruise, lol. The cruise can be hard to locate so definitely allotted the necessary time. The food was good nothing to write home about. We had a bottle of wine included in our package.
Frame Brasserie - We went here for brunch before visiting the Eiffel Tower. It is literally a 5 minute walk across the street to the Eiffel Tower. The food was typical brunch food; burgers, avocado toast, salmon, and some other notable French entrees. A good mix of everything with outside and rooftop option seating.
Angelina at Chateau Versailles - This restaurant is inside the Palace of Versailles. We went here because frankly we had not eaten all day and after waiting on line we were so very hungry. This place has lots of desserts and pastries but also some lunch options such as salads, a few pasta options, sandwiches, and soups. Versailles can be an all day experience so stopping here for lunch is a great choice.
Girafe Restaurant - This s a very popular restaurant in Paris that has one of the most speculator outside views of the Eiffel Tower. Hopes were high with this restaurant for sure. It is definitely on the more pricy side. The restaurant is gorgeous inside and outside. On a beautiful evening, a view from this restaurant is where you want to be. You can see the Eiffel light up every hour on the hour clearly here. However, the service was absolutely horrible. I do not know if it was one of these traveling while Black issues. But the service was very lackluster. They were not attentive and we ended up complaining to the manager at the end of the night. My friend ordered a pasta dish to only be served half of the plate which was the same meal I ordered. In the end, they gave her a new meal and brought us desserts for free but we were still highly disappointed in the service of the restaurant. Maybe your experience will be different but definitely eat here at your own risk.
Cannes
Plage L’alba - This restaurant is situated on the beach along the main strip where a lot of other restaurants are. We went here twice, once for lunch and then for dinner the last night in Cannes. The food and service both amazing. Their mussels are exceptional. I would definitely go back to this restaurant.
Astoux Et Brun - We went here for lunch. Everything we had here was really fresh. This was a random place we happen to run into one afternoon and just tried.
Medusa - Now, Medusa is an absolute MUST while in Cannes. Medusa is a restaurant that has a live full on cabaret performance and dinner experience. Medusa food is a well mix of Asian, Mediterranean and Greek, something for everyone. The food here is amazing! The food reviews we saw were not the best for the food but my friends and I were very pleased. We ordered a bunch of drinks, appetizers, sides, and main dishes. This restaurant is definitely on the higher side in pricing but you really get what you pay for in terms of the show, service and food. The cabaret performance is fully thought out show that is true to the France culture with some modern day twist and music incorporation. It was that of a show I would expect to see in Las Vegas. Definitely a great spot to go for a celebration or with a group of people. You absolutely need to make reservations ahead of time because I do not believe they take walk-ins.
Exploring & Activities. So many things to do in both Paris and Cannes but here is my breakdown of what we did.
Paris.
Moulin Rouge Show - I personally love shows so the Moulin Rouge show that is something up my ally. You absolutely need to book a reservation probably before you even leave for Paris. This books up soooo quickly and spots do not become open either. The tickets for the show will run you about $165 USD. The tickets include the show which is about 2 hours long and you get two or three bottles of champagne that is served throughout the evening. If shows and live performances aren’t your thing, I do not recommend you spending the money to do it but I personally thoroughly enjoy it.
Palace of Versailles - Palace of Versailles is one of the most popular sites to see in France known to be the residence of King Louis XIV until the French Revolution. Palace of Versailles is about 35-40 minutes outside the city of Paris. You should try to go as early as possible to plan out the rest of your day and to avoid long lines. Palace of Versailles is gorgeous and such a large estate it can take most of the day to explore and see the famous gardens.
Eiffel Tower - Not much to say here. If you going to Paris obviously you MUST see the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel is THE MOST important thing to do if you do nothing else at all. It is about $28 USD to see the Eiffel including a ride up to the top. The views are AMAZING!
Louvre Museum - Again, not much to say here this is a must as well if art is your thing. Even if art is not your thing stop by the outside and get a great photo. Mona Lisa is housed here and although it was VERY underwhelming going to see it is still a “thing to do”.
Champs-Élysées - Champs-Élysées is one of the main shopping areas in Paris from higher end to lower end. Champs-Élysée is connected to the iconic and famously known, Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde. Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde are both worth seeing while you’re in Paris. Experiencing Champs-Élysée is also great to see not for only shopping but to be in the midst of the Parisian culture.
Cannes.
O’Key Beach - O’Key Beach is along the strip in Cannes with a lot of other restaurants and beach club areas. O’Key Beach has a separate area that sits over the ocean with beach chairs and umbrellas. We went here to enjoy the beach and have some drinks. South of France is expensive so I think it is expected to pay a little more than usual while in Cannes period.
There are a bunch of other little spots and restaurants in Cannes you can see and explore. There is not anything too notable because you run into a lot just walking around.
Overall, Paris and Cannes are both wonderful places to vacation. I would definitely go in our summer months since Paris and most of Europe is on the same season schedule as the United States. I personally hate vacationing to somewhere cold unless its a place that is typically cold most of the year or unless I want to experience a city in the winter which is super rare. Paris and Cannes are expensive cities by nature so that is something to be cognizant when booking a trip to France. Paris and Cannes are both wonderful beautiful magical cities I definitely hope to return. I hope after reading this post you decide to travel to as well.
Monaco Day Trip.
Monaco is easily accessible from Cannes. You can either rent a car, take a driving service or take the train into the country. We opted to take the train which was about a 1 hour and 15 minutes. The train ride is about 5-6 Euros. They do not check your passport or anything when going to Monaco because obviously it is all Europe and hoping from country to county a passport isn’t required.
Monaco is the second smallest country in the world and it is also one of the richest countries in the world. While in Monaco, we went to Casino Monte-Carlo which is iconically known to be featured in many of the James Bond movies. In this area, is a lot of high stores such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Pucci, Christian Louboutin, and so on. There are also a lot of dining options in the area as well. We had lunch at a local restaurant that served your average lunch items. We walked down near the pier with the beach and boats are docked. We went to the highest point in Monaco at the Exotic Garden of Monaco where you can overlook basically the entire country. We mainly took the bus everywhere we went in Monaco because it was easy to navigate. Getting a cab was a little difficult and also expensive. Monaco is an expensive country so to do certain things can most certainly be pricy.
Other notable sites to see in Monaco would be to explore is the Prince Palace and the Princess Garden. Outside of these two things there is not much to do in Monaco. The country is gorgeous and if you are looking to cross another country off your list Monaco is a good quick way to do so.
