Paris is for lovers: Celebrating our Ten Year Anniversary in France

It has been my dream for a while to return to Paris for our ten year anniversary- something I wanted to do sans children, however that didn’t exactly go as planned, so we ended up going with the cutest third wheel, our 2 month old daughter, Charlie. 

I feel like I normally have a story to tell about traveling with kids because generally we face some sort of challenge when traveling internationally with our kids.  But traveling with a two month old is SO easy.  She was still in the newborn sleepy phase so she pretty much just slept all day in her car-seat which attached to the snap 'n go stroller we borrowed.  We would normally use an umbrella stroller, but since Charlie didn't have good neck control yet, we needed something with a little more support.  Helping her adjust to the time change and sleep schedule, I made a point to nurse her every three hours during the day so that she would sleep longer at night- and she did!  We did deal with a typical "fussy time", which normally happened in the evening when we were already back at our hotel, so fortunately it didn't bother anyone else.  Traveling with a baby in Europe is amazing because people are so much more accommodating to babies than in the states, at least in our European experiences so far.  We were able to get ahead of lines at the airport and even museums and people were so nice to us! (Not sure how we would have been treated if we had energetic toddlers with us though, lol)
 

Attractions:
There are soo many things to see in Paris, when we were last there, we only had a full day, so we crammed in as many things as we could, but there was still so much more we wanted to do… and eat… I love Paris for its food!  

Here is my short list of attractions/must-sees in Paris: Eiffle Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triumph, the Louvre, D’Orse Museum, Sacre Coeur, Sainte Chapple, Cleopatra’s Needle, Moulin Rogue, Pantheon, Napolean’s Tomb, to name a few.  We definitely wanted to see Notre Dame after the fire, however you couldn’t even get near it, everyone else seemed to want a look as well.  I also wanted to have a picnic in front of the Eiffle Tower; we went up to the top of the Eiffle as well as Arc de Triumph, so I didn’t feel the need to go to the top again.  We also wanted to walk up to the top of Sacre Coeur in the evening to see a view of the city at evening.  Matt’s must see was the D’Orse Museum to see two famous paintings in person, however we found out shortly after arrival that they were on loan in London and he was super disappointed.  However, the highlight for me was just walking along the street stopping in a little bakery or café and trying all the French croissants and sandwiches. 
 
Accommodations:
Hotel Monge:  This hotel is extremely affordable (for Paris) and we actually loved staying there!  Close to Notre Dame, we were able to hit a lot of sights that we wanted to see just by walking and it was such a fun area.  Our room was TINY and we were joking that there was no way we could have stayed there if we had the boys. 

Hotel La Comtesse Paris:  Matt spent a LONG time looking for a hotel with an Eiffel Tower view, and he was pretty picky that we stay in a room with a front view, not side.  La Comtesse was the perfect hotel for a view and our room was large with a huge bath and bathroom. 
Saint James Hotel: When I thought Matt couldn’t outdo himself with an Eiffel Tower hotel room, we ended our anniversary trip at Saint James Hotel, which was one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed.  French to a tee, every detail in the hotel elaborate and over the top.


Paris is one of my favorite cities!  I love the old architecture and buildings throughout the old city; the food is AMAZING, you can never eat enough croissants and brie; and hearing the French language all around is so romantic.  Make sure you give yourself at least 3 or 4 days to explore and experience it all!

Comments

  1. I love how opposite your opinion on traveling with a baby is, to most people! That's actually so comforting to hear that it's still possible to travel when you have little ones! We travel a lot with our kids and don't have a lot of issues.

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  2. I think it’s awesome that you took your baby on your anniversary trip! I love traveling with my son as well.

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  3. I’ve always wanted to visit. Glad you were able to get away for a family trip

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  4. Aww I love this! This trip sounds amazing, and so sweet that your took your little lady with you!

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  5. Looks like your trip was amazing. I am so glad you guys had fun

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  6. How fun that you celebrated in France! We haven't celebrated our wedding milestones, just because we are so busy. It would be fun to get away and go on a special trip like this. Looks like you had a wonderful time!

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  7. Hi Sarah! The list & details of major attractions compiled by you about Paris here is applauding. You seem to have managed the trip with the two month old really well. I am planning a trip to Paris with my husband to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We have applied for France Visa Online.

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    Replies
    1. That's wonderful! I hope you have a fantastic time, I'm sure you will! It is the best place to celebrate an anniversary!!

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  8.  I always wanted to visit famous places in France since it was on my bucket list. But, France will be ticked off this year due to your helpful blog.I was trying to get a brief guide on obtaining a France Visa UK.

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