My place. My heart. The last time I was in the City of Lights was on my journey to New Zealand. Who would have guessed that I would now be a Kiwi Citizen, and here on holiday! Wanting to show Mark the best spots, while checking out what was new & improved, below are my tips for a weekend in Paris.
Moulin Rouge – I’ve always wanted to go, but the price was always a huge deterrent. Considering this was our ‘second honeymoon,’ I decided to splurge. I bought tickets as soon as we booked our flights, and got show tickets with 1 glass of bubbles.
I am not a person who loves musicals, however this 2 hour show (no intermission) was FANTASTIC. Dress to impress, and grab a drink at the new rooftop bar Bar à Bulles with access to “Toit” beforehand. Sadly, both were closed for a private party before our showing – but there are heaps of other bars on the strip close by.
Girafe (Cafe / Restaurant) – The Insta-worthy place to dine is an upscale dinning establishment is in the Cité de l’Architecture. Similar to Moulin Rouge, bookings are essential. We opted for a late lunch and weren’t too impressed.
Yes the food & service was good, however it was overpriced and we weren’t able to sit outside, which is the ENTIRE appeal of the venue.
The Pinault Collection at Bourse de Commerce – A new museum that opened in 2021, this is the 3rd museum of Pinault’s collection. The other 2 are in Italy, and this site is in true French fashion of utilizing an old historic building into the conversation of art. As an old Commerce / Market / Trade building, the contemporary art in the rooms keeps the past alive.
Although you can walk up and buy tickets, they are distributed into time zones to disperse people around the museum. We arrived around opening at 11am, and had a timeslot for 12:15. There was a line to get in, even with the timeslot, so we just waited and got in right on time.
We spent about 2 and a half hours here and saw everything. We even did a free English tour about the building’s history, which was very interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibitions and loved the mix of old versus new.
2024 is a huge year for Paris, with the Olympics coming into town. It was great to visit before the madness, although there were preparations being seen everywhere.
We also visited my old stomping grounds in terms of my Metro stop, host family’s apartment and my favorite part of the city: Montmartre. Our Airbnb was by the Champs-Élysées so we walked up and down the famous avenue & admired the Arc de Triomphe. We also wandered around the Marais and found a cute basement wine bar.
What are you must sees in Paris?
