Paris in January? It was truly wonderful! Asked by lots of people for more details so thought I’d write it all down. Firstly I should say it’s very cold. So take plenty of warm layers. Lots of Christmas decs still up which was lovely. We found Paris to be very quiet at times which was wonderful, we felt like we had it to ourselves! We walked lots. We ate, we drank, we marvelled at the beautiful buildings. The Parisians were very friendly and welcoming (altho I’m told post Covid this is the norm). We had some advice on where to go from several different friends who go to Paris lots.
We stayed in a fantastic hotel in Montmartre called Terrass. It’s a wonderful family owned hotel and everything about it was fabulous. We watched dawn break over the Paris skyline for breakfast every day from the 7th floor and it was just magical. Every last detail about the hotel was great, the chilled tunes played over breakfast as the city appeared before us was just stunning and something I’ll never forget! Highly recommend this hotel. Also they have a rooftop bar and a great restaurant.
We travelled by Eurostar on Friday morning and headed straight to the hotel by Metro. We bought the equivalent of an Oyster card and put 6 trips on it (we didn’t use them all as we walked so much). Travelling from Birmingham meant a lot of trains in total but it feels like you are on the go rather than sat waiting at the airport for hours and the fact that the Eurostar brings you out in the centre is definitely a plus!
The hotel was in Montmartre which is a really cool area and we spent the Friday mooching around there. There are boutiques (the likes of Sandro, Maje Paris, B&SH alongside smaller independents, lots of great vintage shops, bistros and the area has a real arty feel ( Picasso lived there) there is lots of public art. This is by far my favourite area of Paris. The shops are great, its fab for people watching and just getting a feel for Paris. It definitely felt less touristy than some of the other areas. The bistro we ate in one of the nights 'Bibiche' (which I would def recommend) was full of locals. We also had a pistachio pastry at a bakery there which was the best pastry I have ever tasted.
It’s very hilly (lots of steps) although there is 'Montmartre funicular' for an accessible route up (an automatic inclined elevator) a windmill, and the famous 'I love you' wall. (We saw a proposal on the Sunday just before we left! Sacre Couer is here and we walked there (fab views over the city). That evening we had a drink in the covered (and heated) terrace at our hotel which has Eiffel Tower views. Every hour it twinkled and it’s a treat to see.
On the second day we went to Gallerie Lafayette (views over Paris from rooftop there and also fab for shopping but even if you don't want to shop go and see the incredible ceiling and views. saw the Louvre, went to the Pompidou Centre, walked to Notre Dame, walked along the Seine. We walked through La Marais, stopping for lunch. We saw about 3 of the Art Nouveau Metro stations. There is one really near the hotel at Abessess. All of the tourist attractions did have queues in spite of it being January and pretty quiet elsewhere so we chose to look at them from the outside rather than go in, except for the Pompidou Centre, which we went inside (it's free to go in and you can travel the famous escalator and go up to the viewing area at the top for views over Paris. I really wanted to go to Sezane, be warned they only open at 11am, aren't open on Sundays so be prepared to queue. Apparently this is the norm with some of the designer shops too. I saw queues for a couple of other places in spite of it being off season.
We saw the Eiffel tower light up(from the rooftop bar on our hotel so we could be inside) Next time I think I’d go a bit nearer but it was still fabulous from a distance. Every thing we ate and drank was wonderful. Good food at every turn. Being January we did not have to book, although the hotel restaurant Edmonds was fully booked on the Saturday night, so any other time of year you may need to book ahead.
The Sunday we didn't have a lot of time fter breakfast so walked to Pigalle from the hotel and saw the 'I Love You Wall' on the way.
I think that covers everything. We fitted a lot in but it was definitely doable and mostly on foot, using the CityMapper app as our guide. If you have any questions feel free to ask!
Keira x