Paris {Overview}

Bonjour! We just visited Paris, France, for the very first time. While I'll do a full download of our favorite food and activities soon, I thought an immediate and basic overview of  our visit will be helpful to me in the future. Hopefully it will also be helpful for you!

Overall I LOVE love LOVED Paris and would and will go back again in a heartbeat. Our time there was not nearly long enough. 

My first sighting of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France

Length of Visit - 4 days. We arrived to Paris mid-day on a Saturday and left mid-day on a Wednesday. 

Travelers - 2, my husband and I. 

Flight - We got a great deal on a one-way flight, direct from Seattle to London.  

• Airline and flight number: Norwegian Air flight DI7132
• To and from: From Sea-Tac (Seattle, WA) to London-Gatwick (London, UK)
• Flight time: 8 hours and 15 minutes. We left Seattle at 1:45 pm and landed in Paris at 7:00 am, and there's a 10 hour time difference.
• Price: $299, per person, one-way
• Included with the airfare were:
  • Seat reservation
  • A checked bag
  • 2 meals

Transportation from London to Paris - This was not as simple as we thought it would be. This is the downside of getting cheap airfare to a "nearby" city. Overall I wish I could just go back and book a quick flight from London to Paris!

1. Driver from Gatwick airport to St. Pancras Train Station. Two of our friends were also on our flight to London and heading to Paris. Since we were a group of 4, and tight on time, we booked a driver, through London Transfers, to pick us up from the London airport and take us to the train station. The main reason we did this was time, as it was much faster than taking the regional train (to the high-speed train). The total cost for the driver was $184 US dollars, which is $46 per person. Train tickets begin at about $35. The amount of time we saved, plus the comfort of an air conditioned van, with WiFi, and bottled water, was worth every penny, dollar, or pound. The conversion was 139 pounds, the currency in the UK. We paid via credit card but got some pounds in cash to tip the driver, before we left the US. Since it was early on a Saturday morning, traffic was light, and the drive was just over an hour. We got to the train station with time to get through customs and grab a little breakfast and coffee. I can't tell you what a relief that was!
2. High-speed train from St. Pancras train station to Paris (Gare du Nord station). We took the Eurostar train for a total of 2 hours and 23 mins. It was the perfect nap time before arriving in Paris! Transportation can be stressful and catching this train was our final transportation leg of a long travel day. The Eurostar train tickets were $276 per person. We had a 15 minute walk from the train station to our hotel, our friends split off and took an Uber to their AirBNB!

Transportation, per person, from Seattle, through London, to Paris: $621 per person

Tired but happy faces successfully on the train to Paris

Hotel - We loved Hotel Helussi, which is located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris (they've got a numbered system of naming neighborhoods). We stayed here, in a room with a balcony,  for 4 nights. The total hotel cost was $741 (an average of $165 per night, prices vary based on the day), or $370.50 per person.

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Hotel Helussi Location

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Making our way through Paris, with suitcases, from the train station to our hotel

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Scheduled Tours - Most of our tours were inspired by the Bucket List Family's visit to Paris.

• Paris night bike tour with skip the line Eiffel Tower ticket (2nd level) via Fat Tire Tours
• French Market to Table cooking class via Cook'n with Class
• Normandy - American D-Day half-day experience via Bayeux Shuttle Tours

Other Priority Items for us were - 

• Dinner at Le Train Bleu
• A whole day at Disneyland Paris
• Tasting macarons from both Laudrée and Pierre Hermé

The macaron showdown in Paris, France - Laudreé vs Pierre Hermé

I can't wait to share all of our Parisian adventures, and food, with you!

Big smiles on our tiny Parisian balcony

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This is the first of many posts about our two week trip to Paris, France, then Porto and Lisbon, Portugal. 

Read along by using the Paris, France, and International Travel categories, on the right hand side of this page.

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