24 Hours in Paris

One of the greatest parts of studying abroad is having the opportunity to travel on weekends. The airfare is relatively cheap on EasyJet or Ryanair (although slightly more expensive since I’m flying from the UK and not directly from Europe) and it’s easy to find an inexpensive hostel for a couple nights or a friend’s couch to crash on. So, this weekend, I decided to go to Paris, because why not.

Unfortunately, though, the only time I could find to go was Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon, when one of my friends who also wanted to go would be free. When I booked it, it seemed like plenty of time, but then I started talking to people who thought I was crazy for thinking I could do Paris in such a short amount of time. While all of those people could have been right and it could have been a disaster, I learned that, with the right amount of planning, anything is possible.

On Thursday night, I spent three hours looking at TripAdvisor.com, Google maps and various museums’ websites to try to figure out what I wanted to do. By 1am, I had an itinerary that looked like this:

Day 1:

12:20 pm land

2-3 pm Musee D’Orsay

[15-minute walk or 5 minute cab]

3:15-5 Louvre

[7-minute walk]

5:07-6 pm L’Orangerie museum

Tuileries Garden

DINNER

Evening/night:

Place de la Concorde

Alexander Bridge

Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

Day 2:

8 am Basilica/look at Moulin Rouge

Café des deux moulins for breakfast

10-10:30 opera

[18 minute metro M13 Saint-Lazare to Varenne]

10:45-11:30 am Rodin museum

[cab?]

11:40-1 Luxembourg Gardens + eat in café

[RER B 16 minute bus]

1:15-2 Notre Dame

2pm: leave for airport

While it probably looks crazy and overambitious, I’m happy to report that we stuck to my itinerary and I got to see and appreciate Paris just as much as I would have if I had spent a week there.

On my 9 am flight on Saturday, after we were warned that electronic cigarettes were not permitted on board, which I’ve never heard before and thus think it’s ironic that it happened on a French airline, we landed at Charles de Gaulle at noon, 20 minutes ahead of schedule. At least, that’s what I thought, until I realized CdG is a monstrous airport and it takes 20 minutes to taxi to the gate, after which a five-minute bus is needed to actually get inside. A massive queue (British word!) at the ATM prevented me from leaving the airport before 1:30, but I finally got in a taxi at that time, because figuring out public transportation would have cut into my itinerary.

After miraculously finding my friend outside the museum (not having a cell phone plus being around hundreds of other tourists made it slightly difficult) we entered the museum at exactly 2:01 (a minute after I had planned) and speed-walked through the three floors of the D’Orsay. We made sure to see all of the famous paintings—Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh especially—before leaving at 2:55, five minutes ahead of schedule. The museum building itself was absolutely gorgeous, and seeing paintings and sculptures I’ve only learned about in art history classes was exciting. I could have spent a whole day there if I had wanted to, but I appreciated it just the same.

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The next stop, the Louvre, was a bit more questionable, because I’ve been told spending several hours there is really necessary to appreciate it. Nevertheless, we got there about five minutes later than I had planned, because I didn’t account for taking pictures on the beautiful bridge across the river. We split up when buying tickets so I could go buy us some lunch (pan au chocolat) while she stood in the queue, which was a great way to save about 20 minutes.

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Once we got in, our first stop was, of course, the Mona Lisa. I’ve been told it’s not nearly as impressive as you imagine it would be, and although it was smaller than expected, seeing probably the most famous painting of all time is an experience that can’t be beat. Even looking at it for just long enough to take a picture with her was amazing. We then sped-walked through the Italian painters (justifying it by saying I could see them in Italy) to the Venus de Milo, which was even more impressive in person than I had imagined. The Egyptian art was the last thing I wanted to see, so we made sure to see the awe-inspiring “colossal statue” of Ramses II before saying goodbye to the Louvre. We did all of this in an hour and forty-five minutes, and still had time to appreciate the amazing architecture of the building and some other French paintings, so I’ll call it a success.

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We then were able to make it to the Musée de l’Orangerie 15 minutes before they stopped selling tickets at 5:30. The main attraction of the museum—two giant oval rooms with Claude Monet’s water lilies paintings covering the walls—also had benches in the center to sit and appreciate the art. Since we had been running around for three hours and had eaten nothing but chocolate bread while in the queue for Louvre tickets, this was the ideal relaxed way to end the day while still taking in the beautiful art. We had just enough time to see everything before the museum closed and we had successfully seen everything that day that had a time restriction (i.e. museum closing time.)

After a stroll through the lovely Tuileries Garden and a quick five-minute break in one of its cafes, where we purchased only one overpriced Coke, it was time to see Paris’ outdoor sights that are open 24 hours a day. The Place de la Concorde, complete with an obelisk and beautiful fountains, was first on the list as it was at the end of the gardens. After crossing the stunning Pont Alexandre III, we found a sidewalk café (with wifi!) that served steak and wine for 12 euro. Finally, we had a real chance to relax.

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A trip to Paris isn’t worth it without a trip to the Eiffel Tower, of course, but the queues take forever and we didn’t have time to fit it in during the day. Luckily, though, the last lift to the top was at 10:30, and besides, Paris is a different and possibly more beautiful city at night, anyway. The lift to the first level was only slightly scary, since there were about thirty people in it and it creaked all the way up, but the views were entirely worth it. While in the queue for the lift to the top, we were offered 500 euros for our tickets by someone who hadn’t bought his before the 10:30 cutoff time, but since the Eiffel Tower was on the itinerary, I couldn’t take him up on his offer. I’m not quite sure that the views at the top were all that much different than those from the first level, but going to the Eiffel Tower and not going all the way to the top would be like going to Disneyland and not riding on It’s A Small World. You just have to do it. Paris is a beautiful city during the day, but seeing everything lit up is even more breathtaking and really gives you a sense of how expansive the city is. My usual fear of heights didn’t even kick in because I was so happy that a) I was in Paris at the top of the Eiffel Tower and b) I had successfully completed my itinerary for the day.

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The next day was slightly more hectic, and began at 7:30 am after checking into our hostel shortly after midnight. Since the Eiffel Tower was slightly more exhausting than I had thought, especially since we decided to take the stairs down from the first level after missing the sign for the lift, we decided to move the Arc de Triomphe to Sunday. So, between 8 and 10 am when the Paris opera opened, we had to see the Sacred Heart Basilica, located conveniently near our hostel, the outside of the Moulin Rouge building, the café from the movie Amelie and the Arc. We did it all with just enough time to see everything and take a few pictures (and get breakfast, in the case of the café) before moving onto the next stop. We even managed to see the sunrise over the city from the steps of the Basilica, so I don’t think it could have been better even if we had had more time. We did cut corners at the Arc de Triomphe (we only saw it from across the street and didn’t go inside or underneath it) but it was still beautiful.

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We made it to the opera house an hour after I had planned, but I didn’t even care at that point because the building is absolutely incredible—the marble and gold that cover every surface are spectacular. I probably won’t ever have enough money to go to the Paris Opera for real, so I was perfectly happy to pay the student ticket price to gaze at it in awe for 20 minutes. The next stop, the Rodin museum, miraculously and unexpectedly had free entry that day, so I also didn’t feel bad strolling through the gardens and looking at The Thinker before heading out 15 minutes later. Even in that case, though, being in such close quarters with art I’ve heard about for my whole life was an amazing experience.

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The only casualty of the day was the Luxembourg Gardens—we got off the metro and looked at the map, realized how big they were and that it was 12:30, and decided we didn’t need to see more gardens anyway. Notre Dame (I had to keep correcting my pronunciation from Noter Daym to Notruh Dahm, and am consciously doing that in my head as I write this) was more important anyway, and was without a doubt the highlight of the day, if not the entire trip. While we didn’t see the hunchback, the cathedral was one of the most awesome—in the true sense of the word—things I have ever seen. The sunshine that had just come out was streaming through the stained glass windows and lit up the entire church to the point where I could imagine the awe-inspiring experience of worshiping there over 800 years ago, especially since Sunday Mass was being held as we were there. It was a fantastic way to end the trip, and I felt truly satisfied that we had seen everything we had set out to see, despite the missed Luxembourg Gardens.

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On my direct train back to the airport, though, I thought about the fact that, even though I got to appreciate the beauty and grace that is Paris, I really didn’t get to experience Paris. I didn’t even have to suffer from all of the smokers that are supposedly in France because we were around tourists—most of whom were American—the whole time. The only café we sat in was one from a movie, and I even forgot to have any crepes or macaroons. In all honesty, I felt even more American in Paris than I feel in Edinburgh, although I did continually mistakenly call euros pounds instead of dollars, so I suppose that’s a step in the right direction. On the bus back to the city center after I landed in Edinburgh, I even met another student who told me she knew I was American because of my Toms and North Face jacket.

Still, though, I got to see Paris and appreciate it as a city entirely different from Edinburgh—the different style of architecture and the sunny weather most notably—and I learned the importance of planning ahead of time. Really, Paris was the best kind of trip—I got to appreciate everything, but I also got just enough of a taste of it that I want to go back someday.


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  • Tres Bien!
    I feel winded and exhilarated all at once after reading this and trying frantically to keep up in my running shoes. What a wonderful way to make the most of your time and resources. And I am so proud of you for sticking to your principles and not selling out when you were offered 500 Euros for your “priceless” tickets to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

    Now THAT escapade deserves a 10 minute nap !

  • Phewww! I’m panting …with the thought of keeping pace with you, but with the excitement that you convey in your journal! In fact, I am not a Paris lover, albeit perhaps an appreciator, but I was transported back to my time there and realized that I might have had a better time than I thought at the time. You write SO well that my enjoyment came back through yours! Love, Mims

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