Wanted to share a few thoughts from my second trip to Paris. I went from July 13th through July 19th.
I came via the daytime flight to London and the Eurostar, and that is def the way to go to Europe. Cheaper than business class and so much more civilized than sleeping in economy.
Bastille Day fireworks were beautiful. I briefly considered a cruise, but ended up just going to the Champ-de-Mars. The crowds were epic, I ended up walking back to Pasteur before finally getting on the subway.
Tuesday I took the RER to Provins. This is a beautiful little medieval town. I got to see Caesar's keep, the rose garden, and the barn; I missed out on the museum. I did notice my Navigo weekly pass didn't want to work on the buses at the station.
Wednesday, I had planned to go to the Louvre, but that got cancelled. I went to the Pantheon and then went standby for Notre Dame.
Thursday was my highlight trip to Giverny. This was BEAUTIFUL. 10/10 recommend.
Friday just did some local sightseeing, my feet were hurting pretty bad. I did go to the big Jardin des Plantes but I couldn't get into it.
Saturday I did Paris Disney, always a fun time.
So I'll finish by saying what I think went well and what didn't go well.
Went well:
Unlike my first trip to Paris, I didn't have to deal with constant strikes and protests. My first trip was during the retirement age protests in 2023. I also planned a much less aggressive schedule, being aware of the limitations of timed tickets.
I stayed at the same hotel for almost all of the trip and that was huge not to have to change hotels. I did the Hotel Terminus Orleans, and it was right on the 4 line. Would have been even better if the 4 was running the full length. I also took time to ensure the hotel had AC.
I invested in a simple vest for the trip, and that really came in handy. It had an interior pocket for wallet and passport, and the exterior pockets could hold my phone charger, phone, and other essentials. In heavy crowds, I could zip it up for extra security on the passport pocket.
What could have gone better:
Navigo on my phone was hit or miss. It worked most of the time, but struggled a few times. I actually had to pay for a one-time ticket one time because I couldn't get through the turnstile and didn't feel confident explaining to the police why I jumped them. I think next time, I'll go back to the RFID card.
Orange Travel E-Sim. I'm not sure if it's my phone or not since I do have a dual-sim config, but this thing failed me at two critical moments.
Disney Paris on the last day. I wouldn't do this on the last day again. It's a lot of walking, and also with an early flight, I wanted to get to my hotel in time to sleep, and the last TVG to CDG leaves at 9:50, so I actually missed out on an hour an 40 minutes of park time because the other option was a 2 hour trip through Paris on the RER lines.
The Louvre cancellation highlighted one unfortunate reality of visiting Paris I've noticed. Things book up fast and far in advance, and if you get hit with a cancellation, it can be a challenge. Fortunately, I had been to the Louvre before, so it wasn't a deal breaker for me to miss it.