Paris Recap
Where we stayed, shopped, dined, and explored — and the takeaways that shaped our experience
It’s been about a month since arriving home from our week-long trip to Paris and I still find myself getting lost in my camera roll: re-watching my mom blow out her birthday candle during our afternoon tea at the Ritz, zooming in on the meal I suspect gave me food poisoning to check for any undetected signs of the misery to come, and pining over flea market treasures I regret leaving behind.
There have been a few questions about our trip so I thought it would be helpful to share a recap of our itinerary — where we stayed, shopped, dined, and explored— and the takeaways that shaped our experience.
The Hotel
While researching different hotel options for this trip, I narrowed down my search to boutique hotels in the sixth arrondissement with easy access to Luxembourg Gardens (my favorite place in Paris). Bonus points if the hotel featured traditional French design and a luxurious tub for my mom, a.k.a. the Baroness of Baths.
Hotel Luxembourg Parc fit the bill perfectly, situated directly across from Luxembourg Gardens and styled with Louis XV and Napoleon III inspired decor across its twenty-three guest rooms. The hotel was about a ten-minute walk from the Luxembourg RER-B train stop and a three-minute stroll to the bus that we most frequently used to traverse the city. Side note — download the Bonjour RATP app before your trip so you can buy tickets digitally and tap your phone wallet to scan them, rather than relying on paper tickets.
We opted for two connecting rooms for a little extra space — perhaps TMI, but having separate bathrooms was a saving grace on the day I was down for the count with food poisoning. The exposed wood-timbered ceiling added warmth to the room, the fully marbled bathroom was extremely glamorous, and the powerful hair dryer was a nice surprise. The rooms were comfortable and quiet, with floor-to-ceiling double-glazed windows overlooking a charming cobblestone street and the neighborhood crepe shop below.
The only downside: no in-room coffee maker. If you require espresso before venturing out, I’d choose one of the hotels I’ll be sharing in an upcoming post. Stay tuned for that list next week.
While we didn’t use them, the hotel has a beautiful gym in the basement and a cozy bar and restaurant perfect for breakfast (€8 per person if you book directly on the hotel’s website) or a nightcap.
This hotel will absolutely be considered for future Paris trips and would be wonderful for a solo stay. For reference, we paid an average of €270 per night during our November visit.
The Restaurants
My first meal upon stepping foot in Paris is always a savory crepe and side salad at Breizh Café. There are several locations around the city, but I am partial to their cozy Odéon location near the sixth arrondissement. It’s easy to make a reservation online in advance and the staff is very patient with people who are practicing their French. They offer a lovely selection of farmhouse cider and French wine, have a great lunch special on weekdays, and they usually include a few of their homemade salted caramels with l’addition.
I’ve dreamed about the decorative ceiling and the miso caramelized salmon at Le Chardenoux since visiting for the first time in March 2025. We enjoyed a chilly morning of treasure hunting at the Marche d’Aligre flea market before hauling all of our finds through the restaurant’s thick wooden doors. The staff kindly stored all of our bags while we ate so we could eat lunch unencumbered by antique paintings, frames, and pottery. My mom and I were the only people speaking English, which I take as a very good sign. (Our waiter did speak English, so don’t let that stop you from going!)
Enjoying a steak frites at La Bourse et La Vie is non-negotiable on my Paris trips. I usually prefer lunch because the weekday special fits better into my solo travel budget, but this time we enjoyed a lovely dinner. The prix fixe portions were generous and included one of each appetizer alongside steak au poivre. With only about eight small tables, a reservation is essential.
Au Bourguignon du Marais was a new discovery this trip — a cozy, casual refuge from the freezing temperatures and spitting rain. We both ordered the beef bourguignon, served steaming in cast-iron Staub cocottes. In hindsight, we could have shared one; the portions are enormous. A neighboring table ordered the onion soup topped with a mountain of toasted Gruyère that also looked divine!
The biggest disappointment of the trip was Ralph’s. I knew it would be touristy, but I wanted something festive to celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday. Despite the ambiance being straight out of a Ralph Lauren ad, the service was lacking and I’m 99% sure this was the meal that gave me brutal food poisoning and cost us a full day of our trip. I’d skip this and opt for literally anywhere else.
My bout of food poisoning made us miss our dinner reservation at La Rotisserie D’Argent the following day. I’ve never been, but it comes highly recommended by several Paris experts. It will be the first reservation I make for my next trip. They do require a deposit when booking, but after I emailed them to explain our situation, they kindly waived it.
The Sights
Believe it or not, we squeezed in several museums and cultural landmarks between our flea market extravaganza. Since we’ve visited the major museums several times, we focused on slightly smaller institutions this time around.
Hôtel de la Marine was originally constructed in 1765 to house the Garde-Meuble. This institution was responsible for furnishing all of the royal homes, like Versailles and Trianon, as well as safe-guarding and upkeeping the Royal Collection, from linens to crown jewels. The Garde-Meuble was abolished shortly after the French Revolution began in 1789, and the Ministry of the Navy took over the building. It then served as the Naval Headquarters until 2015. In 2017, a four-year, €132 million restoration began, involving more than 200 of France’s finest artisans to return the building to its former glory. This is one of my favorite museums in Paris, not only for its highly intricate 18th-century interiors, but also for its interactive audio guide that provides an immersive tour. The loggia overlooks Place de la Concorde and offers a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower at night.
I find house museums feel more intimate than collections displayed in spaces designed to be museums from day one, and Musée Rodin is no exception. Housed in the 18th-century Hôtel Biron, light streams through antique glass windows, beautifully highlighting Rodin’s work. Book this in advance, if possible, and don’t forget to leave time to wander the sculpture gardens.
My mom has visited Notre Dame before, but not since it reopened in December 2024 after a five-year restoration. It was impossible to secure a reservation for a free timed entry, and the Saturday afternoon line wrapped around the block and across the Seine. Crazy! We woke up bright and early on Monday and walked right in. In addition to visiting the restored cathedral, we booked the Tower Tour, which involves climbing the world’s tallest double-helix staircase to reach an incredible view of the Paris skyline. My mom didn’t tell me she has developed a slight fear of heights until we were safely back on the ground. She is the best sport.
If you stay in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, I’d recommend briefly stopping into Saint-Sulpice to view Eugène Delacroix’s mural masterpieces on the right side of the church as you walk in. It sparks joy when museum-quality works of art are enjoyed by people going about their everyday lives.
Galerie Kugel is a distinguished, family-owned gallery housed in the elegant Hôtel Collot, located along the Seine. Its expertise in European fine and decorative arts spans from the medieval period to the 19th-century. We were captivated by the current exhibition, Immarcescible: Limoges Renaissance Enamels and Their Collectors, which is free to view and runs through December 20, 2025. It features over 70 exquisite Limoges enamel works from 1520–1620, many shown publicly for the first time.
Our evening concert at the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés was a magical experience where history, architecture, and music came together in an atmospheric setting. The church is one of the oldest in Paris and is layered with Romanesque and Gothic elements. The acoustics were incredible, the violinists were so talented, and the space glowed beautifully in the flickering candlelight.
My first proper meal after the food poisoning ordeal was a literal tower of pâtisserie at the Ritz. The experience at Salon Proust was a birthday gift to celebrate my mom, and it truly was a beautifully executed afternoon. We were seated in a cozy corner where even our purses had little velvet stools to perch on. They offered us water and our choice of house-blended teas, followed by flutes of champagne. My mom rarely drinks, but the crisp bubbly in sleek glassware was an irresistible combination. The staff surprised us with a plate of gourmet chocolates and a tiny candle for my mom to make a birthday wish. Don’t even get me started on the pastries! The portions were so generous that we barely made a dent in the quadruple-decker pâtisserie pyramid. They kindly offered a box for the rest.
Sadly, we missed our reservation at Château de Malmaison due to my adventures with food poisoning, but it will be the first priority on our itinerary on our next trip to Paris.
The Shops
One of my favorite ways to spend a day in Paris begins with treasure hunting at the Marche D’aligre flea market, followed by stops at Antoinette Poisson and AXS Design. From there it’s a short jaunt to Le Chardenoux for lunch, then about a mile walk to Landline. You may need to Uber back to your hotel because this combination almost guarantees shopping success. I like to balance the commerce with a museum visit and a long coffee break at Café Nuances’ Rue Danielle Casanova location in the afternoon.
Antoinette Poisson is a design studio and brand that draws inspiration from traditional French decorative paper techniques. They have an atelier / boutique in the eleventh arrondissement and sell gorgeous domino papers, notebooks, and lampshades (among other creations). My mom and I both purchased notebooks to use as our travel journals for future adventures.
AXS Design, just next door, is a beautifully curated vintage shop founded by Ariel Novak and Sydney Sabatier: flea market aficionados with the most incredible taste. I could (and typically do) spend hours admiring their curated offerings. Their vintage and antique china and silverware are especially tempting. This trip, I purchased a painting and my mom found a painting along with a few other vintage pieces that will be Christmas gifts.
Landline is a thoughtfully curated general store nestled in the eleventh arrondissement, about a mile from Le Chardenoux. It is my go-to shop for beautiful, well-made products that elevate the everyday. The selection at Landline knocks it out of the park every time. I’ve found fabulous gifts for my friends and family here over the years (tomato knives, hemp gardening clogs, and beautiful shearling mittens all from heritage brands). I shared a haul of my finds over on Instagram.
Charvet Place Vendôme is a legendary Parisian maison of couture shirtmaking and bespoke tailoring founded in 1838. It is widely regarded as the world’s first dedicated shirtmaker. Fun fact: the oversized shirts from Matthieu Blazy’s debut Chanel show in October 2025 were produced in partnership with Charvet’s artisans. They don’t have an online shop, so visiting their store at 28 Place Vendôme feels extra special. My mom and I each bought beautiful silk pocket squares for around €115.
We popped into Astier de Villatte on our first day to admire their blown-glass ornaments ahead of the holidays. My mom found a stunning variegated leaf ornament that looked like it had been plucked from a 17th-century verdure tapestry, so I had to get one, too. I love browsing their hand-glazed tableware — it’s impossibly chic.
Mélodies Graphiques is a charming calligraphy and stationery boutique in Le Marais, filled with handmade papers, inks, nibs, and beautifully crafted writing tools. It feels like a tiny temple to the art of handwriting, perfect for anyone who loves paper goods. I purchased some stationery and French cotton ribbon for wrapping gifts this holiday season, while my mom purchased a little something for my sister.
Now for CityPharma, perhaps the most famous (and most chaotic) discount pharmacy in the city. We went around 6pm on Sunday and I genuinely wasn’t sure I’d make it. The store was packed! I’d recommend going on a weekday morning for the most peaceful experience. We stocked up on our favorite sunscreens, moisturizers, and toothpaste.
Officine Universelle Buly is an old-world style apothecary offering fragrances, oils, candles, and balms inspired by 19th-century formulations. The brand has gone viral for its exquisite packaging and calligraphy, which make excellent gifts. There are several locations, but we visited the one inside Le Bon Marché to avoid lines. My personal favorite products are the scented matches and the Scottish Lichen body products.
Le Bon Marché is one of the most iconic department stores in the world, blending high fashion, design, beauty, and art under one elegant roof. I love visiting during the holidays because the decorations are always spectacular — this year the store was transformed into a Swiss chalet. Don’t forget your physical passport for Detaxe; this is one of the few places that doesn’t accept a photo.
La Grande Épicerie, the gourmet food hall attached to Le Bon Marché, is paradise for food lovers. I was so excited to show my mom the aisles of French butter, tea, and jam. Bringing home a few little treats is one of my favorite souvenirs.
The Flea Markets
Use this website to check the upcoming flea market schedule in Paris. I recommend focusing on markets with at least 75–100 vendors to make the most of your time while hunting for the perfect vintage pieces to bring home.
To wrap up, I’d love to hear from you! Are there any restaurants, museums, or shops you love that I should add to my itinerary for the next trip?
As always, thank you for following along. Please reach out with questions — Paris might be my favorite topic!
Thank you, Abby, for sharing your love of Paris with me! I had such an amazing trip that I will remember for the rest of my life! All your planning and attention to detail made this trip so incredibly wonderful! Most of all, I felt so honored and blessed to get to spend time with you! I love you!
Last spring I placed an online order at CityPharma for delivery to my hotel. So easy!