48 Hours in Paris | A guide to exploring the city

We recently visited Paris for 48 hours for Valentines Day and it was magical. Filled with good food, fun activities and lots of walking - we thought we would share what we got up to during our city break and our top tips for visiting this amazing place on a short city break.

Travelling in & around Paris 

The metro will be your best friend when visiting Paris - It is really easy to use and trains are every few minutes, with each journey costing 2.50€. Taxi's and Uber is also widely available, so there are multiple ways to get around.

Top Tips

• Wear comfy shoes - we averaged around 18,000 steps per day across our trip
• If coming from CDG airport there are 2 options:
  • RER B for 13€ & this takes around 45 minutes to get into central Paris
    • To note this get busy during rush hour and the trains can get quite packed
  • Taxi's have a set rate of 65€ Left Bank of Paris/ 56€ - Right Bank of Paris and can be picked up outside the airport
  • UBER's are also widely available but will cost slightly more
• Plan out your metro routes to optimise your fares - as you'll be charged the flat rate of 2.50€ regardless of how many stops you take

We opted for the RER B train on the way into Paris as we arrived during rush hour, so the roads were showing as super busy. The train did get very busy as got closer to the city centre and it was quite a challenge to get on & off with our cabin suitcases during the rush hour. So if you are travelling with a lot of luggage we would recommend maybe getting a taxi or travelling outside of peak times to avoid the busy trains. 

Arrival Evening

8pm - Eiffel Tower & Trocadéro

We visited the Eiffel Tower at 9pm, as this was the only one left online for the time we were in Paris and this worked out being the best way to visit the tower.

Top Tips

• Prebook tickets online as soon as possible. We recommend an evening visit when crowds are lower than during the day 
• Get off at the Trocadero metro station and walk the 15 minutes across the Palace viewing point
• Enter the tower at the back left corner (looking straight at the tower from the Trocadero)
• Allow up to 2 hours for your visit during peak times & if visiting in the day
• Make sure to be there on the hour (7pm, 8pm etc) to see the 5 minute sparkles when it gets dark

Day 1 

9am - Lourve Museum 

This museum was HUGE and we ended up getting lost a few times, but ended up stumbling across some amazing rooms filled with all wonders.

Our recommendation is to visit the museum right when it opens via the Rue de Rivoli entrance as we found this the quietest of all the entrances. As the main one near the glass pyramid can have queues of around 2 hours long to enter the security for the museum.

Top Tips 

• Head straight for the Moan Lisa, before the crowds get hectic
• Plan a route to visit the collections you want to see prior to visiting
• Make sure to include the Napoleon Apartments - they are stunning
• Place heavy bags & thick winter coats into the free automatic cloakroom lockers in the main lobby
• Make sure to leave via the exit from the museum that takes you out under the pyramid to retrieve your cloakroom items and grab some lunch

Places to eat inside the Museum Lobby

• Paul or Starbucks - perfect for croissants & coffee in the morning
• GOGUETTE - great place to stop for a filling hot lunch or grabbing a quick bite from their sandwich/salad selection

There was also a wide range of fast service options outside of the main lobby, which can be reached by exiting via the Carousel exit. Please note once you leave the main lobby you cannot get back into the museum. 

 

2pm  - Notre Dame

Located not far from the Lourve, we opted to get the Metro to the other side of the river and walk along to the Notre Dame. There was plenty of restaurants & bakeries on the road leading up to the cathedral to stop for a mid afternoon snack and drinks.

Top Tip - You can prebook a visiting slot online to go inside, which is free. During busier times this might be worth it but the stand by line was moving quickly and took no longer then 15 minutes to get inside.  

4pm - Arc de Triomphe

Catch the metro up to the Franklin D. Roosevelt station and walk up the Champs- Elyees to admire all of the shop and street vendors along the way to the Arc de Triomphe. You can also purchase tickets online or on the day (if available) to go inside and walk up to the top - there wasn't any left when we visited but we knew we were visiting other places for free tomorrow where we could see the city from higher up.

7pm - Valentines Day Dinner 

After having our dinner meal cancelled the night before we decided to wander around near the hotel and found an amazing Italian restaurant. The queue was out the door when we arrived, but it moved quickly and the food inside was served within 15 minutes of our order being taken. 

If you are in the Trocadero area we would recommend popping into - Mokus l'Écureuil.

The food service in Paris was always super quick, you never had to wait long for drinks or food. 

Day 2 

9am - Sacré Coeur

We started our morning early again by heading up to the Sacre Coeur church. This was a great time to visit as the metros were quiet and there was small crowds at the top of the hill.

The views are worth the climb & we were even able to go inside the church free of charge. Inside the artwork was a marvel to see and definitely recommended. 

The surrounding streets in Montmartre are very Emily in Paris and photo worthy. We also made sure to pass through the Fabric District of Montmartre and I couldn't help but not get distracted by the colourful fabrics and leathers on offer. All of these were one off's & limited edition prints, so if you love sewing then we recommend popping it as there is one shop 5 stories high with fabrics. 

12pm - Cafe Pli

We stopped of at a stunning little Cafe recommended to us by the Salad Days girls in their substack and it is one not to be missed. You can grab a coffee and cake, whilst writing yourself a postcard to be posted on any date you want in the future. 

We opted to post ours in 5 years time and included our photos from the in store Photo Booth to arrive alongside it. This cost us around 29€ for the postcard and international postage. 

2pm - Galerie Lafayette - Haussmann 

We then headed on over to one of the most impressive shopping buildings in the world. As you go up towards the rooftop you will marvel at the stunning architeture on the central ceiling. Once you reach the rooftop you have the most amazing (free) view of the Palais Garnier - Opera House that is in front of the building and across the Parisien skyline, including the Eiffel Tower. 

In the building across the street they also have a food hall, which has the best sweet treats and light snacks - we would recommend popping in if your looking for something a bit fancy to snack on.

4pm - Gardens near the Lourve

On our journey back towards the hotel we stopped off at the Gardens near the Lourve. These are a great place to stop off and admire the beauty of the gardens and the surrounding buildings in the mid afternoon. 

7pm - Dinner 

We opted to dine at another local restaurant on our final night as our feet were feeling a little sore and we were wanting to have a few final cocktails before leaving early the next morning. There are so many amazing restaurants dotted around the city, so we wouldn't really recommend booking ahead online, unless you were after a specific place. 

 

What to wear in Paris

When travelling around in Paris we would recommend having a lightweight and compact bag. Making sure they it is secure and close to your body - as pickpockets can be common in certain areas. I wore my Silver Leather Belt Bag and it doubled up perfectly as a day bag and then as a clutch in the evening by removing the buckle strap. 

We also tested out our new Leather Travel Organiser wallet for this trip & it proved very helpful for keeping our passports and important documents in one place. 

We hope you enjoyed our Paris round up and have found these tips helpful for your upcoming trip. We'd love to hear from you below if you have any other tips or recommendations for other visiting this beautiful city. 

Love, Rheanna xx