Long Weekend in Paris

Contributed by Trish Gau, The Hive Overland Park

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Every few years my family heads to Europe to visit extended family in Germany (my mom is the only one of her 6 siblings that moved to America) and we always try to tack on a new place to see while we are there. My mom was traveling with us and she has always wanted to go to Paris, so we decided to start our trip with a long weekend in Paris. We rented a little apartment in a great location near a metro stop, dropped off our bags on a Friday morning and the adventure began. The great part about technology is that you can now book your excursions ahead of time, thus avoiding long lines and sold out venues.

Our first destination was the Paris Catacombs. We decided to walk there since we had been on a plane for so long; it was a little further than expected, but very interesting. The site was originally outside of the city and had been abandoned quarry tunnels. When there was an issue with the cemeteries, it was decided that bones would be transported and stored in the tunnels. If I book this again (and it wasn't my favorite), I would plan further in advance so that we have an in-person guide. . .we waited too long and only had the audio tour available.

The next morning was my daughter's birthday and she chose a boat tour on the Seine. It was fabulous. We went early to avoid the many large tour boats, had beautiful weather and an excellent tour guide. We had delicious refreshments and our guide took some amazing pictures which he air-dropped to us at the end of the tour. We saw all of the Paris landmarks that can be accessed from the river - I cannot recommend this tour enough!

My favorite tour was the walking and metro tour of 30+ sights with a guide. We pre-purchased a full-day metro pass and again we had an exceptional tour guide. He was so knowledgeable about all of the places we saw and made the whole experience a lot of fun. We went everywhere from Montmartre to the Arc de Triomphe to the Latin quarter and saw all of the famous Paris sights.

It was a perfect day which we ended by going to the Eiffel Tower in the evening to see the twinkling lights come on (and we still had our metro pass available). You should definitely bring some wine, cheese and a blanket to fully enjoy the beauty and ambiance of the tower at night. There are musicians and plenty of people-watching and photo-ops to be had!

We had a lot of delicious food while in Paris, but we really enjoyed just buying baguettes, wine and cheese and making our own little meals in our apartment. There was a lovely bakery below our flat that had amazing pastries and fresh bread every day.

On our final day we went to the Fragonard Perfume Museum where we learned about the process and history of making perfume and even got to make our own little blend to take with us. My daughters really enjoyed it and had fun picking out a bunch of little bottles to bring to their friends back home.

One of the big surprises for me was the friendliness of the French people. It was almost like they were trying to overcome the stigma of the stereotypical "rude French person" and went out of their way to be kind! People were constantly going out of their way to show us where to go. Overall we had an amazing time in Paris and would definitely go back!

If you need help booking your next getaway, contact The Hive Women Travel for all your travel needs!