Hello again! In my last article, we set off together towards Paris.. The itinerary of our first day is to visit the Louvre museum and its surroundings.. Before we arrive, we look at the weather forecast and see that it’s raining today.. We choose two days later to climb the Eiffel tower, so we think it will be sunny and a much clearer and more pleasant view.. When we get off at the Palais Royal Louvre stop and walk towards the Louvre museum, we are greeted by the famous pyramid garden.. You realize just how big the museum is when you look at the building that surrounds you.. In fact, even one day may not be enough to tour properly, but we plan to allocate 3 hours for the museum in a limited time.. Even though we did not buy tickets in advance, we enter the museum without waiting in line.. How Does? I’m telling you right now 🙂

Paris Travel Notes 1. Day

Louvre Museum

The museum has an entrance from the middle area (where the pyramids are) that everyone knows and all visitors wait in line here. Now we raise our heads and start walking towards the huge Carrousel in front of us.. Passing through the Carrousel Arc de Triomphe gate, when we see the underpass, we go down this entrance, which is a shopping center, and walk to the end.. In the shopping center in this underpass, at the point where the pyramid is upside down, we see the offices where the entrance tickets to the museum are sold, and we get our ticket without waiting in line and enter the museum.. I think that no one would want to go to the other queue, especially in the summer months, and I leave this suggestion as follows Before entering the museum, you can follow the halls you want to go by buying a museum map in English.. And of course not without seeing the famous Mona Lisa painting with all the arrows pointing.. Before we saw the Mona Lisa, we had visited half of the halls we wanted to visit. When you enter the room where the work is exhibited, a crowd of people, which can be officially called a stampede, greets us. The Mona Lisa painting is displayed in a small hall, and guards await in front of the ropes pulled in front of it.. When you reach the front, they let you look for a while, they unwind the rope and wait for you to come out.. Although it seems pointless to try to take a photo of the painting that we can open on the internet and examine for hours, we take a few poses.. Since it is much smaller than most of the works and creates a distance between people, it is already impossible to stand there and examine it.. Frankly, my eyes stay on the painting on the opposite wall of the Mona Lisa, which is as big as a wall and fascinates with its details.. Another suggestion for you is to take a look at the ceilings as much as you examine the paintings and all the other works.. We were impressed by the stunning ceilings.

Champs-Elysees (Champs Elysées) and Arc de Triomphe (Arc de Triomphe)

After leaving the Louvre museum, we start walking in the direction of Jardin des Tuileries. Our route for today, after the museum, is Place de la Concorde (Concorde square), Arc de Triomphe (Victory arch), Champs-Élysées (Champs-Elysées) and Eiffel tower.. After drawing a route in this way, the reason we wanted to end the night in Eiffel was to watch the light show.. Since we went in the summer, it was getting dark around 10 and light shows lasting 5 minutes per hour were starting in the Eiffel tower.. Although there is a distance of 4 km from the museum to the Arc de Triomphe, the road is a pleasant and convenient trip to walk in summer in terms of seeing the places on this route.. Walking down the Champs-Élysées we feel like in a French movie, mounted soldiers passing by.. At the same time, we do not forget to take a look at the stores of the most famous automobile brands (interestingly designed cars are also exhibited here) or the stores of luxury clothing brands.. These stores have special security in front of them and bag checks are made. In addition to these, I especially recommend you to enter Abercrombie&Fitch’s store.. After visiting the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the road, we turn back and start descending this long slope.

L’Entrecote de Paris

And it’s time to eat.. We take a lunch break at the “L’Entrecôte de Paris” restaurant on the way.. The specialty of this restaurant is that they serve you entrecote on a hot tray with candles under it, and you can eat unlimited french fries.. When delicious baguettes are added, your meal turns into a feast of taste.. Most restaurants here offer a pre-meal salad in the form of a fixed menu, and when you want to drink water, you can ask for a glass of water without buying a bottle (You can say you want Paris water :). We were very satisfied with the food we ate, we recommend it to you.. Even if you are full of what you eat at the restaurant, you can stop by the famous patisserie Ladurée Paris shop on the street, buy a few macarons and breathe in its unique atmosphere. At the end of the day, we take the metro over the street and get off at the Trocadéro stop.. When you go down the stairs here, we encounter the magnificent view of the Eiffel tower.. It is a really impressive sight when you see it for the first time, of course, after spending a few days, you come across the Eiffel when you turn your head from many locations.. Your eyes get used to it after a while 🙂

Then let’s end this article with a shot from the Eiffel light show that takes place hourly at night.. See you on our second day in Paris, bye!

Paris Travel Notes 2. Day

Notre-Dame Cathedral

And on the second day in Paris, we start our morning with a classic French breakfast.. Croissants, baguettes, cheeses and coffee.. After collecting our energy beautifully, we hit the roads again.. Our target today is Notre-Dame Cathedral, Pont Alexander III bridge, Grand Palace, Petit Palace, Luxembourg garden and Moulin Rouge. Notre Dame cathedral is one of the most important symbols of French Christian history.. It is located on the island of “Ile de la cité”, that is, on the “City island” where Paris first began to form. Notre Dame cathedral is one of the oldest examples of French gothic architecture.. The foundations of the cathedral were laid in 1163, and the first version was completed in 1345, and there are also panels that describe how the cathedral turned into its final form over the years.. Although it survived the damage caused by the French Revolution to the sacred structures in 1790, it underwent a radical restoration in 1845 as a result of the damage to the sacred images.. And over the years, its restoration continues to the present day.. When we go on Sunday, we coincide with the Sunday mass and we spend some time in the magical atmosphere of the cathedral.

Pont Alexander III Bridge

After spending time in the cathedral , Crossing the Pont Saint-Michel, Pont Neuf, Pont des Arts, Pont du Caroussel, Pont Royal, Pont de la Concorde bridges from the side of the Seine, we reach the famous Pont Alexander III bridge.. But first of all, we don’t forget to stop by the love locks on the Pont Neuf bridge and add one:) Many painters by the river Seine offer souvenirs, including the Paris landscapes they drew, for sale at their stalls.. Some of these paintings are small copies of paintings by famous painters.. Here we get a magneti, a sketch of Van Gogh’s “Café Terrace at Night”, and a beautiful Parisian landscape parchment.. You can see the magnet we bought at the end of the page.. Cafes of old ships also adorn the banks of the Seine.. With the tiredness of walking for a long time, we take a break in one of these cafes.. Isn’t it necessary to enjoy the Seine river too:) Before we reach the Pont Alexander III bridge, we also see the Orsay museum on the side of the road, and when we cross the bridge, the Grand Palace and Petit Palace greet us. From here we cross the bridge again to the other side and walk in the direction of the Musée de l’Armée and enter the side streets.. Our goal is to reach the Luxembourg garden.

Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden)

On the way to the Luxembourg garden, we buy macarons of several different varieties from a patisserie near the entrance.. In the gardens in Paris, you can spend time sitting on the chairs lined up on the sides, whether it is a round greenery or a lakeside.. Do you think those who come with their children, those who read books or those who sleep, in short, people like to spend time here when the weather is nice.. We immediately adapt to the environment and enjoy it like a real Parisian (like someone who was born and lived in Paris) 🙂 The Luxembourg garden is unbelievably large. As we progress, more and more pleasant surprises await us.. For example, a group of people waltzing under a round gazebo in old-timey clothes.. While the elders sit on the chairs and watch, we stand and accompany this enthusiasm.. The garden is ideal for spending a long time and enjoying, and people are already enjoying the moment with their sandwiches and drinks on the grass in this beautiful weather.

Shakespeare and Company

After spending a lot of time in the Luxembourg garden, we set out for the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore.. The path we follow here takes us from the edge of the Sorbonne university, past the university walls, to the bookstore.. Most of us know this bookstore, which was opened in 1919, nearly 100 years ago, from movies such as Before Sunset, Julie&Julia and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. When you enter, an old bookstore welcomes you.. Shelves along the wall, mezzanines and books in that tiny space.. No photography inside. On the other hand, there are discounted books at the door and a young person who wrote a special English poem for you was sitting when we went.. If you wanted, you could have him write a poem for a fee of your own choosing.. The restaurants around the bookstore, on the other hand, have a real Ortakoy atmosphere. If you ask why, a waiter comes and tries to lure you in as soon as you look at the menu on the door.. Here, we have our lunch at La Bucherie pizza restaurant and get on the metro from the nearest metro stop and set off for the hotel to rest a bit.. Walking for miles of course also requires rest in between:)

Paris Travel Notes 3. Day

Moulin Rouge

As I mentioned in my article “3 nights and 4 days in Paris: We’re on our way”, on this trip, we took a tour in the Clignancourt region. we stayed at the hotel. When we say let’s go for a walk at night and see a few more places soon, we see that we can walk to the Moulin Rouge.. And we’re on our way. While walking from Clignancourt to Montmarte, there are many cafes where young people hang out.. We go up and down the long stairs and reach the street where the Moulin Rouge is. As a matter of fact, this is an interesting street, but it was nice to photograph the lighted state of this place at night.

When we turn around, we decide to sit in a cafe and have a drink.. While we are waiting for the order, a design combined with Amelie’s haircut from the movie Amélie on the coasters attracts our attention.. Although it did not attract our attention at first because we were sitting outside, when we look inside, we see that this is the cafe where the movie was shot.. With the happiness of coming here by chance, we immediately start a research to see where else we can see in the vicinity.. Those of you who watched the movie know that the cafe, subway, carousel scenes are crucial scenes.. After seeing the night, the cafe and the subway, we also see the places where other scenes were shot on our last day’s trip to Montmarte.

The Eiffel Tower

Our first address today is the Eiffel tower! We set off to watch Paris from the top of the Eiffel tower.. For this reason, we go back to Trocadéro square, getting off the metro and taking lots of photos on the stairs going down.. This famous staircase, where everyone can take pictures and get beautiful angles, is right here.. We walk towards the Eiffel, passing through the Trocadéro gardens, and a long queue awaits us when we reach it.. We are spending the next hour in this queue, if you haven’t bought your ticket beforehand, you’re willing to wait in this queue 🙂 On the bright side, you can take pictures of Eiffel from every angle from time to time, for example. Its construction began in 1887 and was completed in 1889.. It was built to be the symbol of the Paris world fair (Paris expo-1889), which was held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.. The tower was named after Gustave Eiffel, the lead engineer and architect in the construction.. As tall as an 81-storey building. One of my favorite things while researching the Eiffel tower was the first drawings of Gustave Eiffel.. The height of the building was indicated by drawing structures such as the Statue of Liberty, Notre Dame cathedral, the Vendome monument, and the Triumphal Arch.. It is stated that when its first construction was started, it was an iron and somewhat aesthetically deprived structure, and it drew the reaction of artists and intellectuals, but over time it became the symbol of Paris.. Today, it is the most visited paid monument in the world.

There are two types of tickets you can buy to enter the Eiffel.. When you buy the first one, you can go up the stairs to the second floor and take the elevator from there, or with the other ticket you can go directly to the top with the elevator.. When we say the second floor, of course, you don’t think of a distance like the second floor of the apartment.. However, I cannot pass without mentioning that there are 600 steps.. Although it is tiring, I still recommend for first time visitors to walk up this 600 flight of stairs.. It can be nice to feel soaring step by step through the iron caged Eiffel tower. Of course, it is useful to climb these stairs by stopping occasionally and watching the view, otherwise it can turn into a torture When you reach the second floor, a perfect view will welcome you.. You should also spend some time here before getting on the elevator.. When you reach the top of the tower and look carefully down while walking around it, it is incredibly enjoyable to be able to select all the historical buildings one by one.. We went in the summer and it was too crowded.

After leaving Eiffel, we rest in the Champ de Mars garden in front of it and eat ice cream.. There are mobile ice cream shops and crepes at the entrance of the garden.. In addition, this garden can be a good option for those who want to capture a photo from a different angle and who want to get tired and relax in the Eiffel.. And our next stop after Eiffel is Opera Garnier.

Place de l’Opera (Opera Garnier)

Actually, while our goal was to go to Lafayette, we saw the opera house, We want to enter while we have time.. The construction of the Place de l’Opera began in the late 19th century.. Its other name is Palais Garnier because its architect was Charles Garnier and it is one of the most famous opera houses in the world.. It is also one of the symbols of Paris.. The interior of the opera house is as magnificent as its exterior.. When you enter inside, stairs, balconies and alcoves combine with each other, allowing many people to be present at the same time and to have movement space.. The interior decoration, sculptures and ornaments are in the Baroque style with a predominance of gold.. Costumes from theater plays are also exhibited on the floors and in the windows.

Another interesting thing inside is the library section that reaches up to the ceilings.. An incredibly rich library, including historical opera texts, books and reports dating back to the 1670s, welcomes you here.. Artifacts here are protected by railings and access is limited, as they are of antique value.. When you enter the auditorium hall, you see a hall designed in the shape of a horseshoe with a capacity of approximately 2000 spectators.. The bronze crystal chandelier in the auditorium weighs 7 tons and was designed by Charles Garnier, after whom the building is named.. There are so many details to see that I don’t think the photos will be enough to describe this building in the opera house.. Still, I’m sharing a few frames with you 🙂

Galeries Lafayette and Lindt Paris

Our last stop today is Galeries Lafayette. This is a famous shopping center close to the opera house and from the terrace you can catch a beautiful view of Paris.. Often hosts expensive brands. Composed of several multi-storey buildings, Lafayette also has a section where you can taste gourmet delicacies and shop for food.. To be honest, we did not see as great a view from the terrace as we expected, but we can still say that it is a beautiful view of the city from afar.. Oh, and don’t forget, the Paris branch of Lindt chocolate is also very close to here.. While you’re at it, you can buy chocolate at affordable prices and enjoy the hot chocolate made inside. And at the end of the day, after traveling so much, we sit in one of the restaurants across the opera house to eat.. Everywhere is crowded and full, we have to visit a few places to find a place outside. Since we are eating ready-made french food, we say let’s eat duck. Of course, everyone has their own taste, but we liked duck meat very much and preferred it in the restaurants we went to until we returned 🙂

This is how our 3rd day in Paris passed.. About to tour Montmarte and its environs together on our last day!

Paris Travel Notes 4. Day

Basilica Sacre Coeur

Bonjour! Hello to everyone with the word we use the most in these 4 days in Paris.. It is also useful to say a lot of Merci here.. The French love it, even if you speak English, thank you in French 🙂 We have come to the last day of our short but full trip to Paris.. We collect the suitcases and leave them at the hotel.. We have an evening train and we want to evaluate our last hours until then 🙂 For this, we have already planned to visit the Montmarte region, which is close to our hotel, today.. Sacre Coeur Basilica and street artists come to mind when Montmartre is mentioned.. In English, it is called “Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”, meaning “Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” and is located at the highest point of the city.. You can choose long stairs or funicular to reach here.. Since we came on foot from the Clignancourt area, we take the stairs from the back of the basilica, not by the funicular.. In addition to the magnificent church, the view of Paris seen from here is just as beautiful.

You can go down the stairs through the garden in front of the basilica.. But first we go to the “Place du Tertre”, the square where the street artists are.. Here, rows of artists (painters) have opened their stalls, some painting landscapes and mostly human portraits.. Tourists have their self-portraits painted as souvenirs and there is a great demand.. You can also find cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops here.. Again, there is the Dali museum close to this square, which you can stop by if you have time.. We couldn’t stop by because we were in a hurry, but we didn’t stay inside.. Now next time 🙂

Montmarte

After breathing the air of this beautiful square, we reach the point where the carousel is by descending the stairs from the garden I just mentioned. You can sit on the benches in the garden and watch the birds, or enjoy the street music coming from the front of the basilica a few steps up.. At this point, if you take the basilica behind you and turn left and walk a little, you will reach stores where fabrics are sold at affordable prices.. If you are interested, after passing the Halle Saint Pierre building, here is the Marche Saint Pierre, I think it should have 4 floors. All kinds of fabrics are sold by the meter in a building.. We shopped here, but you can check out other stores nearby.. I think the best thing is to get lost in the side streets, you may come across more beautiful shops and cafes than you expect 🙂

Thus, we conclude this short Paris trip.. To sum it up briefly, visiting historical places in Paris was of course a good experience.. However, what was much more beautiful for us was to explore the streets, greet people, to experience this city with its gardens, street and cafes.. The best advice I can give you is to plan your days in advance and after you reach a region, you should wander around the streets. Of course, Paris is not just about that.. You witness history and art at every step. Who knows, maybe we will visit again and have different experiences 🙂 I hope you enjoyed our series of 3 nights 4 days in Paris.. See you on our next route!