I thought about criss-crossing the US to see if I could make it that way, but then saw a fare alert for Paris, France. It was in first class. It was too good to be true, right? I looked on the website, saw the fare, and within an hour... I was booked for a short 3 day trip to Paris. I was giddy for several reasons... first, at having found such a deal... second, it would push me over what I needed to retain my status for 2019 and third, and the best .... was I had never been to Paris. I have traveled Europe and all around but for some reason, Paris had always escaped my destinations.
So... for those wanting to know if you can actually enjoy a trip abroad in 3 days, the answer is yes. While I would have loved to have been there a week or two, I made the most of the journey..... packed with all of the highlights. So... how do you decide what to see in a short period of time... here are my tips:
1.). Research. Paris has so much to do and see, that I knew in 3 days there was no way to do it all, so for this quick trip, it had to be strategic. I narrowed down the list to those that were a MUST for me on this first trip. My picks were the Eiffel Tower; Notre Dame; The Lourve; Versailles; French Bistro; Arc of Triomphe; Champs-Elysees and House of Chanel.
2.). Tickets. I went on all of the sites looking at tickets, length of visits, options and knew that with a couple of my choices that I would only hit the "highlights" because The Louvre alone could take you a week if you wanted to really see every single item and spend an adequate amount of time at each item.
3.). Tours. I had learned from previous trips that one of the keys to any successful trip is to book the right kind of tour. I learn from mistakes having booked a 15 hour tour in Iceland. So... this time, I did my homework. I reviewed several tours and I also read all of the reviews. I discovered that in Paris, it is a MUST to purchase "skip the line tickets" or "buy tickets as part of a group" so that you are not standing in a 2-3 hour line to get in. This is definitely a key tip for all of the museums and the Eiffel Tower.
4.). Organization. Once I knew which tours I wanted to do, I began to organize the agenda of the trip. Since flying into Paris... you arrive early in the day, I knew that the first day there would be long.... so I decided that the Notre Dame and The Louvre would be the 2 places to visit on Arrival Day. (Now, this may sound kinda crazy, but, they are in close proximity of each other and I knew that at The Louvre, I was going only to see my "MUST" see list. The second day was The Eiffel Tower. This was the reason I wanted to come to Paris in the first place, so I really wanted to make the most of having a good night’s sleep on day 2. I booked a group tour that included Lift Tickets to the Sommet (the top of the Eiffel Tower) along with Lunch at Tour 58 Eiffel which is on Level 1 of the Tower, followed by a Cruise along the Seine and Tickets for the Hop On-Hop Off Bus. The 3rd day of the trip was a trip to Versailles. This would be a full day, so I wanted to make the most of it. Then on day 4, it was a trip to the airport for the trek back across the Atlantic.
5.). Now, that my agenda was in working form, I went online, purchased my tickets and tours and got everything together in the order that it would occur. I would definitely recommend Get Your Guide Tours, especially for the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. Both of these were exceptional.
6.) Lodging. One of the key things is determining where to stay and in what area it is located. I wanted to be near the Eiffel Tower and found a great hotel that offered a view of the Tower from one it’s rooms. I booked the room on points and cash so I didn’t feel the least bit upset by getting the upgraded room to be able to look out and see that beautiful site.
7). Dining. This to me was not something that I necessarily wanted to plan, but I did want to know a little about the food so I did take some time to familiarize myself with some of the key offerings in Paris. My dream of sitting in a French Bistro sippin’ a glass of wine overlooking one of the Parisian streets became a reality and I could not have been happier. For dinner, there were so many options near the hotel that I had selected that we walked every night to a different one.
After the planning, booking and reading all about the City of LIghts... the time quickly came to go and enjoy the trip.
