Paris in November: A Christmas Mood

Although I had already been to Paris 4 times, I decided to please my partner, who had never seen it. I therefore took the Ryanair flight from Bologna (60 euros) and booked online a studio in the heart of the Marais, in an old, typical Parisian building, for 60 euros a day. The place was perfect, in the centre of Paris, a few steps from the Saint Paul stop, in the Jewish quarter where we had bars and shops right below us, so we did not have to move in the evening to look for somewhere to eat. On the first day we bought a metro ticket each for 6.60 euros that lets you use the metro all day in zones 1 and 2.

We visited in sequence the Hôtel de Ville, then moved to the Île de la Cité, where we saw Notre-Dame, the Conciergerie and the Pont Neuf; from there we moved on to the beautiful and lively Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter, the church of Saint-Sulpice, and then to the Jardin du Luxembourg, where the beautiful Senate is, then we went to the Panthéon and the nearby church of Saint-Étienne, and we ended the afternoon - since we were already in a Christmas mood - on the Champs-Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe, enjoying the crowds doing their Saturday shopping. In the evening we enjoyed a nice dinner in our Jewish quarter, in one of the many little restaurants. On the second day we began the day enjoying the peace of the beautiful Place des Vosges in the morning, then went to the Sacré-Cœur on the Montmartre hill, and there we wandered among the pretty little streets of the artists' quarter.

We then went down towards Pigalle and the Moulin Rouge, and then towards the Hôtel des Invalides, where Napoleon's tomb is; from there, still on foot, we crossed the Pont Alexandre III to arrive in front of the Grand and Petit Palais, then went to the Opéra, the church of the Holy Trinity and the magnificent Place Vendôme, all decked out in festive style. We ended the day by going to see the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro at sunset, simply fantastic, lit up for the holidays in red and blue... In the evening we enjoyed another nice dinner in our Marais quarter.

On the third and last day we visited the Centre Pompidou, then made a quick trip to the Forum des Halles, which however is under total reconstruction, we saw the church of Saint-Eustache and finally the beautiful Louvre with the Tuileries gardens! Since my partner had never seen Paris, we decided not to enter the various museums to give her the chance to see as many things as possible and enjoy the magic of Paris at Christmas, on the road.