Paris was a city I’d been to before as a child, but didn’t get to properly appreciate it. I had went with my family (including my then few month old sister) and the purpose of that trip was mainly Disneyland, so the sightseeing was rushed. Fast forward 7 years and I return – this time to catch a concert in the Bataclan, but we had more than a day this time to sightsee.
Our accommodation was in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, just a quick walk to the Bataclan, and handily located for travel to/from the sites in central Paris. We arrived at midday and took it easy the first night: exploring the local area and having a miniature pub crawl (coming across some interesting spots including one with a live mariachi band).
We arose early the next day to squeeze in most of our sightseeing – arriving at the Louvre around 9, and getting in about 40 minutes later – thankfully we breezed in and weren’t asked to pay when we finally got inside (pro tip: keep your old student cards, and ID on you – a lot of European Museums allow students/under 25s in free). 
The Louvre is enormous. You could spend a day here alone, so we had planned on seeing the Renaissance exhibit with Mona Lisa and another exhibit or 2 and then dashing round the other landmarks of Paris. The Mona Lisa is underwhelming. It’s bizarre how such a small piece of work is probably the worlds most famous when a lot of the other artworks in the Renaissance gallery are more awe inspiring.
From the Louvre we walked along the Seine to Notre Dame Cathedral. Whenever I go away I always try and check out a Cathedral, as they can be domineering and filled with expensive artefacts on the inside.
In the end the line was barely moving to get into Notre Dame (I believe there was some sort of service on), and we caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower was a lot different than I had remembered it. There was a big security section to pass through to stand in the square area underneath the tower which wasn’t there on my previous trip to Paris – likely a security measure after some of the attacks Paris has experienced. We paid our way in and climbed the first 2 levels of the Eiffel Tower (it was not an easy feat). And when we were on the second level the sky opened up and lashed rain on us – I took the pic above after descending the tower and the sky is as blue as a sapphire; no sign of them pesky rain clouds. I saw an elderly Asian man taking a picture of his wife and her taking one of him with the Eiffel Tower in the background – I asked if he would like me to snap one of them as a couple, and afterwards him and his wife repaid the favour – though I’ve tried this trick in other tourist destinations to be met with suspicion by the tourists there. I obviously can give off phone thief vibes at times…
A brief metro to the Champs-Élysées followed. We figured out that you don’t have to cross traffic to get over to examine the Arc de Triomphe, we could go underground and that’s we did. The stone carvings of the Arc are mesmerising. So much detail and sophistication carved into that big sculpture – not to mention the ever burning flame underneath it.
We decided to window shop a bit on the Champs-Élysées before heading back for food, and our eyes were caught by the Peugeot store. As we left the Peugeot store we saw armed police guiding everyone off the streets – it turned out to be a foiled terrorist attack. We were a bit spooked by that, but not enough to stop for selfies on the empty 10 lane avenue.
We grabbed the metro back to the nearest stop to our hotel Parmentier, had a few drinks and called it a night.
The next day was the day of the concert we had travelled to Paris for, so we decided to take it easy – and with most of our sightseeing done, just travelled to the PSG stadium.
We returned to the 11th arrondissement and grabbed food (I tried escargot and must admit I am a fan). We went to the trendy Planéte Mars near the Bataclan for a few drinks before the concert began and a server at the bar introduced me to Picon, an orange flavoured liqueur which you add to beer to give an extra zing (a must try if you ever travel to France).
After a few drinks we decided we better leave before The War on Drugs took the stage. A fantastic concert in an iconic venue followed – if you’re into both music and travel, I would recommend adding catching a concert at the Bataclan to your bucketlist.
Our last day in Paris was spend in Disneyland, and I was like a child there, the Aerosmith rock’n’rollercoaster was my favourite ride by miles, but I was eager to get on all of them.
Even the people dressed as classic Disney characters make you feel like a child again, there is just a magical aura to Disneyland that can’t be explained but people who have been will know. You can see me proudly posing in front of Piston Cup winner Lightning McQueen above.
All in all, I had a really great time in Paris – and after I’ve ticked a few more cities off my list, will seek to go back.
