We left Brussels late morning and so by the time our final train pulled into Paris, it was already dusk (short winter days are the worst!). I will say this of our travels- it’s always a good idea to strike up a conversation with your seat mate when you have an anticipated transfer! The majority of the time, people are so willing to help explain the confusing tickets and it can save you a big headache. We were so grateful to my seat mate from our train out of Brussels because little did we know (until she said, “I’m going that way too! Follow me!”) that our connecting train was in an entirely different station a few blocks down the street! It has the same name as the one we rode in to so it would have taken use forever to figure that out!
Our first order of business when getting to Paris was to find a specific pharmacy in order to get our French Covid QR code. We had been told that once we got to the EU, we could get a QR code that would work in any country but quickly found that not to be the case for us as tourists and we had to get a new one in each country. France was the only one that charged though.
When we had that taken care of, we decided to do a bit of walking and see a few of the big sites in the evening light before we went to our hostel. 4+ miles of walking with suitcases later (worth packing light!), we had seen the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Musee d’Orsay & the Eiffel Tower and found ourselves at a cute little cafe eating Croque Monsieur sandwiches for dinner:)
The next day we started at Place de la Bastille and did some quick walking to see a few other major sites like Notre Dame (closed to tours due to the 2019 fire), the Pantheon, Luxembourg Palace & Gardens & Sainte Chapelle. Then we hopped on a train and headed to Versailles for the afternoon! So many emotions in experiencing the palace. It’s so regal & absolutely stunning but you also can’t help but think of the horrible living conditions the average person lived in during that time just so that the Kings & Queens + friends could live amid such filthy wealth. The arts were celebrated big during that time and the result was a palace brimming to the gills with fine art paintings, sculptures, frescos & more—preserved for our appreciatation.
That evening, we came back to the 2nd Arrondissement for a leisurely street-side dinner and glasses of wine paired with an ample amount of people watching before heading back to our hostel for the night! (p.s. LOVED our hostel. Linked HERE)
Up next: Strasbourg, France
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