We chose to go to Paris as it is one of Ady's favourite places (and not just because Disneyland is around the corner!) and Meg had been previously on a school trip but had not had the opportunity to truly take the city in.
This holiday was about the right amount of time to hit all of the typical tourist attractions, a few lesser known areas of Paris and then of course a couple of days in Disneyland.
Day 1
Having landed in the morning at Charles de Gaulle airport, we got an Uber from the airport to a location near the Eiffel Tower. We had pre-booked a bounce luggage storage for the day. We do this quite often as it's a fantastic service to make the most of our time away (as we often stay at places which don't have luggage storage / it saves wasting time travelling to the hotel prior to exploring)
Being the organised creatures that we are, we already had a reservation for lunch. In order to get there we had to walk near the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately we had arranged this holiday for just after the Olympics had finished, so this meant a lot of normal walking routes and views of the Eiffel Tower were restricted. With that being said, the area was also slightly quieter.
Once we'd killed a little bit of time near the Eiffel Tower we headed towards our first restaurant for lunch.
After lunch we headed back to the Eiffel Tower ready to go up it. We were extremely lucky that the day and time we chose were quieter than usual. Although the tower itself was still very busy, there was no queue to get into the grounds & gardens.
The queue to go up the Eiffel Tower on the other hand was a bit of a wait.
A little disclaimer first - We are usually early for activities, not just a few minutes, we're talking half hour minimum! This is usually fine and most places will allow us in early. But this wasn't the case at the Eiffel Tower -They are very strict on ticket times. You can of course buy your tickets on arrival, but you of course run the risk of them being fully booked.
Once we had seen every view from the Eiffel Tower, we headed to our next activity.
It was around a 35 minute walk to The Arc de Triomphe, so we detoured by Palais de Chaillot for a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower - If you haven't realised it yet, you can see the Eiffel Tower from most places in Paris, so it's going to get a few more mentions yet! 🤣
Once at the Arc de Triomphe we walked around the roundabout taking photos and taking in the chaos of the traffic there.
We then walked down the stairs to the underground tunnel which goes under the road to get to the monument itself.
This was another activity that we were massively early for, so we had a small walk around the base before trying our luck to head up early. We were successful and even with prebooked tickets we skipped the line and started the long walk up the endless amount of steps to the top.
Once we got to the busy rooftop we again took in the stunning views of Paris and looked for the places we'd already been to (*cough* Eiffel Tower *cough* 🤪) and the places we planned to go next.
Once we spent a bit of time taking in the views we headed back down the endless steps to the base and back through the underground tunnel to the other side of the roundabout.
We had planned to get an Uber to our next destination, but having overestimated the time needed so far we decided to walk the hour and a half to get to Montparnasse Tower.
This wasn't a bad idea for sightseeing, however the weather had different plans - A massive thunderstorm hit, with very heavy rain. This forced us to take shelter for a little while.
Once it died down we continued our walk.
We still arrived about 45 minutes before our pre-booked time, and this was another venue which was strict on entry times. This actually worked in our favour...
We had purposely booked the Tower for sunset, and thanks to the weather we weren't expecting the views we had originally hoped for. Luckily in the time that we waited, the poor weather passed and we got to enjoy the stunning views with a glass of champagne (included in our ticket).
Once we were done with the Tower, we booked an Uber to our next destination, which was dinner at Tasca.
After food we walked back to the Bounce luggage storage to collect our suitcase before heading to our room for the night, via an Uber.
Checking-in wasn't particularly clear, but we were pleased to get to bed ready for another busy day the following day.
Day 2
Our second day started with a visit to the outside of the Louvre, to take in the beautiful buildings and glass pyramids whilst it was quiet. This was particularly special as the sun was rising in the background.
After a little bit of time there we walked to breakfast at Noglu.
We loved this 100% gluten free bakery! We decided to eat-in and properly enjoy our food (as well as getting some takeaway treats for later!). It was delicious and set us up for another busy day.
Our next stop was the Catacombs, a 40 minute walk away (but you could of course get public transport if you'd prefer).
The Catacombs take around an hour and a half to do. Most people tell us that they felt weird being surrounded by all the bones and skulls, but we would actually describe it as tranquil.
From here we walked to Serres Du Jardin Du Luxembourg.
With it's beautiful gardens this was a great place to stop, and we sat in the sun taking-in the calmness of nature within the city.
Our walk then continued on to the Panthéon.
The Panthéon was a grand structure from the outside, but seemed even bigger from the inside. We had access to the crypts for free and after exploring these we headed to our pre-booked access to the Dome to see more panoramic views.
When we were finished with the Panthéon we sat outside for a snack break and rest before heading off to our next stop.
Next we walked up to Notre Dame which was unfortunately still under construction from the fire in 2019. Even though we weren't able to go inside and it was covered in scaffolding, it was still worth a quick visit.
Our next stop was
the Louvre Museum, this time to see it from the inside.
It would be easy to spend a full day exploring the buildings and gardens as it is a labyrinth once inside. We spent a good 3 hours in there exploring the rooms and taking in all the art we could.
After the Louvre we walked to our well deserved evening meal, at a Thai restaurant called Kapunka Cantine. Our food here was delicious.
After refueling we headed back to the Louvre for a third time - This was a beautiful setting to watch the sunset.
Next we walked across the river to get an Uber to Pont de l'Alma. From here we crossed the bridge to take in the views of the Eiffel Tower all lit up across the river.
We then crossed back over at Passerelle Debilly, and headed closer to the tower to see it closer up. This was great timing as at 9pm it has a sparkling light show.
From here we headed back to the Louvre for a fourth time, this time to see it lit up.
Unfortunately we were tourist-scammed on our journey...
For context, the traffic in Paris was gridlocked and we decided to ask a peddle taxi for a quote. We were told 20€. Once at the other end we were told that it was actually 20€ per person (so double the price).
Not ideal, but it was still a fun journey and we arrived quicker than we would have on foot or in a taxi.
Once back at the Louvre, the pyramids were all lit up, which was beautiful to see.
After this, it was a short walk back to the hotel for a rest ready for the next day.
Day 3
Our 3rd day was planned to be a walking day with only one prepaid activity scheduled for the whole day.
We had originally planned to start at Notre Dame, however as we had managed to fit it in the day before we started by heading straight to Copains.
Our visit here was actually integral for the next few days. When we arrived at Copains, we were spoilt for choice with gluten free goodies. We knew that there would be a lack of gluten free food when we went to Disneyland the next day, so we were particularly interested in buying items which would last a couple of days.
The staff member was incredibly helpful, and we came away with plenty of food to keep us going.
Our visit here was actually integral for the next few days. When we arrived at Copains, we were spoilt for choice with gluten free goodies. We knew that there would be a lack of gluten free food when we went to Disneyland the next day, so we were particularly interested in buying items which would last a couple of days.
The staff member was incredibly helpful, and we came away with plenty of food to keep us going.
Next we headed straight to see the Moulin Rouge theatre (from the outside) and from there headed to Galeries Lafayette. We had planned to go here for the rooftop view point, but what we didn't know was that there was also an indoor 'Glasswalk' which was a very different kind of beautiful to the views of Paris.
Next we walked back towards the river. This was to visit Musée d'Orsay. We originally booked this for the clock face views, which were good, but incredibly busy.
Once there we realised that there was a vast collection of Van Gogh & Monet artwork, among others - enough to keep us occupied for a couple of hours.
Next we had planned a self-guided walking tour starting at Place de la Concorde, walking along the river to see Pont Alexandre III, Jardin Charles Aznavour and Passerelle Debilly. This was a great idea, however we went to Paris just after the Olympics, so deconstruction of the stands did get in our way.
Our walk took us by the Eiffel Tower (we said it would feature heavily 🤣) where we decided to stop for a drink.
The Service here was not very good - the waiter seemed to talk to everyone but us and we even had to ask several times to even pay our bill before he eventually took our payment (whilst still ignoring us 🤬😡).
We then walked to The Statue of Liberty (that's right, there's a Statue of Liberty in Paris!) before heading back to Tasca for Tea. We then got an Uber back to the hotel for an early night before Disneyland.
Day 4
"We know when people love it, they really love it, but when they hate it, it's with real hatred."
For us it is definitely a "love it". Ady arrived here already knowing he loved it, whereas for Meg it was this experience that made her love it.
We spent 2 days at Disneyland and decided to pay extra for the photopass (which covered our full time there), fast passes, and the character breakfast - we wanted to cram as much into our visit as possible.
On Day 4 we checked out of our airbnb and got an Uber straight to Disneyland. When we arrived we headed to their luggage storage facility to leave our suitcase for the day.
Unfortunately we couldn't head into the park until a bit later, but this gave us time to explore the village, browse the shops (and buy some Minnie Mouse ears!) and also do the hot air balloon ride.
We had decided that our first day at Disney would be predominantly for character meets, exploring, and seeing the parades and closing ceremony (and maybe some rides if they weren't subject to our fast pass the next day). We also did a few secret passageways and hidden secrets that Ady knew about from visiting previously.
Our main meal for the day was at the Rainforest Cafe. This was better than expected as we had heard that Disneyland was really bad at catering to Coeliacs. Although it was far from amazing, after having a positive experience it put our minds at ease.
After food we went to pick a spot to watch the closing ceremony / illuminations. It gets busy quick, so we would recommend arriving early to get a good spot.
When everything was over we picked up our suitcase and got a taxi to our Airbnb. Although expensive for a short journey it was worth it after a busy day and with a heavy suitcase.
Once at the Airbnb, it was a bit of a struggle to get in, but it was a great location to get some rest ready for another day at Disney.
Day 5
Day 5 (our second day in Disney) started early with a short walk from the Airbnb to Disneyland, ready for the Character Breakfast at Plaza Gardens Restaurant.
Our reason for booking this was purely to get photos in front of the castle with minimal people about (as you get early entry to the park if you've booked breakfast).
We were very nervous about whether the Character Breakfast could safely cater to a Coeliac, but it was 100% worth it. The staff were super helpful and attentive, and of course getting to meet the characters was super fun! 😁
The rest of this day was dedicated to rides in both parks. We were lucky enough to be able to get on some rides without using the fast passes, so this gave us the opportunity to use them later in the day (as you can only use the fast pass once on each ride).
We also managed to do a couple of quick character meets before heading back to the Rainforest Cafe for tea.
We then left the parks to get back to the Airbnb, to pack ready for our last day back in Paris.
Day 6
Day 6 started with an early Uber ride from our Airbnb back into Paris. We used Bounce luggage storage again to leave our bags for the day, but unfortunately we wouldn't recommend this particular shop.
54 Rue de Maubeuge, 75009 Paris, France
Firstly, we got there for the opening time and ended up waiting an hour for the man to arrive. This was after messaging, calling and getting hold of Bounce customer services. Eventually he showed up and we made sure he was going to be about for us to pick up our suitcase later on that day (particularly important on this occasion, as we had a flight to catch!)
We then headed to the Basilica to see the views and get photos without too many people about.
Next we went to Café Mareva for breakfast.
This was a great little gluten free cafe with good food.
We then walked the short distance to the "Wall of I love you". Here we sat for a little bit before heading to the a classic photo booth called Fotoautomat.
After this, we headed back to the Basilica to explore the inside for free and before heading outside to buy tickets to climb the Bell Tower.
Just across the road from there is La Manufacture. Although it's very small with a limited selection, it was the best gluten free croissant that Meg had in Paris!
Next we walked to Rue de L'Abreuvoir stopping at the Buste de Dalida on route. This Buste is dedicated to the Italian-French singer/actress whose story is one of tragedies.
Rue de L'Abreuvoir is the oldest and most historic street in Paris, with beautiful architecture and wonderful views.
Next we walked about 20 minutes to go to Montmartre Cemetery (Cimetière de Montmartre). This is the 3rd largest necropolis in Paris and is the resting place of Dalida. The Cemetery is full of interesting tombstones & crypts and it's easy to spend an hour walking around here.
We then went for lunch at La Sajerie.
Having pre-booked on The Fork, we arrived to be told that they don't take bookings! But luckily we were still able to get a seat, the staff were amazing and the food was delicious.
Next we went back to collect our luggage - We think you can guess where this story is going...
After speaking to the man to make sure that he would be there, we arrived to find that the shop was shut and our luggage was on full show in the window (not secured and locked away as advertised).
We messaged and phoned him multiple times with no answer. We also contacted Bounce customer services who also tried to get hold of him. Bounce advised us to leave the luggage and they would arrange for it's transportation back to the UK. Unfortunately this wasn't an option for us as our passports were in the suitcase.
An hour and a half later he finally showed up and we got an Uber to the airport (and were very grateful that we plan to do everything early!).
Paris was an amazing holiday. In hindsight, we wonder if we should have kept Disney for our final two days of the holiday, but the way we did it was still fantastic.
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