Visiting Paris in spring means spring flowers, sunshine, and white wine in outdoor cafes. Or, if you’re me, it means very windy, gray days. I recently re-visited Paris for four days in the spring for a long weekend, did some shopping, and of course saw the sights.
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PARIS, FRANCE
Length of stay:
4 nights, flew the red eye out Friday night from Los Angeles and flew home Wednesday from Charles DeGaulle in Paris
Where I stayed in Paris in March
The Hotel Bel Ami, 7 Rue Saint-Benoît near Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, 6ème arrondissement.
When I visited Paris last summer, I stayed on the Left Bank for two nights and near Pigalle for the other two nights. When I visited four years ago, Katie and I stayed in the 2ème arrondissement in a lovely AirBnb. Of those three stays, I preferred the Left Bank the most. In planning this trip, I wanted to stay somewhere near that area.
I signed up for an Amex Platinum Card (my referral link, if you are interested) this year to get a bunch of Amex points. One of the benefits is a $200 statement credit on Fine Hotels + Resorts or Hotel Collection hotels, plus 5x points on travel booked on the card. In addition, I received $100 food and beverage at the hotel, breakfast included, plus early check in.
The Hotel Bel Ami was charming, and the service was top notch. I was able to check in right away when I arrived early Saturday morning. The included breakfast was excellent each morning, with a variety of eggs, pastries (of course, it is Paris!) and fruits. The restaurant was small but the food was delicious. I had several of the appetizers for dinner two nights in a row when I was too knackered to find a restaurant.
My room was charming and looked out on a primary school and the very touristy, but apparently delicious restaurant Le Relais de L’Entrecôte.
I would absolutely recommend the Hotel Bel Ami again for its charm and location (near Saint-Germain-des-Prês metro). If you’d like to book through my Expedia referral link, I will receive a small amount to offset the cost of running Hi Friends It’s Laura. If you have an Amex card, book through their portal for additional benefits.
Why I visited
It might seem slightly silly to have gone to Paris in March when I visited France last summer for two weeks, and as it turns out I also ended up going to London in May again this year for work. However, I needed a break from my day job. This year had a lot of changes at work, including layoffs and reorgs, and I was burned out.
I knew I was going to be in Los Angeles for work in early March, so I was shopping for fares on points and stumbled across a well priced premium economy fare on Air Tahiti Nui. I’d always wanted to check out ATN, and the 45K + $18 points price tag was a great deal. I ended up finding an economy fare for 27.5K miles and $325 to return on British via London.
In addition, the lure of being able to travel to Europe for a long weekend was too much to pass up. I’ve done a few trips to London for work over the past few years, and the nine hour flight is rough but doable. So I booked it! Carpe Diem!
The morning of my departure, I checked first class fares one more time out of habit, and found one on my existing ATN flight for only 25K more miles! I called and the very helpful Alaska Airlines rep was just as excited as I was to book it for me.
At LAX, I found the Star Alliance lounge to be far and away nicer than the AMEX Centurion lounge, although the food was horrific. It did have an outdoor patio that beats every other lounge I’ve ever been in, including BA T5 South at Heathrow (my favorite lounge).
As for the ATN first class product, it’s lacking compared to something like BA or Air France. You are in a 2-2-2 configuration, which meant that my seatmate had to step over me in the middle of the night. He was an extremely tall tennis player, so I don’t feel too bad for him!
Lowlights of Paris in March
The predictable lowlight of visiting Paris for a long weekend in March is the weather. I arrived on March 5 to delightful sunny, warm weather. By the end of my four days, I was in a cashmere jumper and puffer coat. I barely had a chance to wear the cute sundress I had brought, since it was so chilly and windy out.
What I did in Paris for a long weekend in early March
Shopped.
That’s it, that’s the tweet. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t go to Paris for the shopping. I was out of the Caudalie moisturizer I bought last summer, AND I had seen some lovely cross stitching patterns on Pinterest from a French designer. Why pay extra shipping when I could just GO to Paris? Exactly.
I went to two different pharmacies to buy skincare products. With the lower cost in Europe plus the VAT refund, I saved 30-70% on Caudalie, Cerave, La Roche Posay and other brands. Many friends and people I met in Paris told me the pharmacie in the Forum Les Halles had the best prices. In reality, the prices and selection were the same as the CityPharma.
To further take advantage of the VAT refunds and the upcoming tariffs, I did a little damage at Gucci, Celine, and Soeur as well. I wanted to buy silk scarves from Hermes, but they didn’t want my money. C’est la vie!
As for touristy things, I visited Notre Dame, which reopened after the fire in December, although I hilariously showed up on the wrong day for my prebooked ticket. I took two day trips out of the city, one to Versailles where I also visited Sajou, a famous embroidery shop. My second day trip was to Foire de Chatou, an antiques market about an hour outside the city. If we’re being real, this was interesting but I wanted flea market prices, not antique prices.
What I didn’t do in Paris in March
I didn’t see the Eiffel Tower, except for a quick glance while crossing the street when my train broke down. One of my goals was to wander neighborhoods and find charity shops or flea markets, but the timing of my visit did not really work out. I also really wanted to take a food tour, perhaps a croissant tour etc., but I didn’t get it scheduled in time.
What I read
You know I love to read about the cities I visit, and I read two books about French royalty. The first was by an author I heard on the You’re Dead to Me Podcast, Estelle Paranque. She wrote “Blood, Fire and Gold” about Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, who was queen of France. The second was about the murdered son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, The Lost King of France.
For my Paris titles:
Approximate trip cost for visiting Paris in March:
Airfare: 100K points plus $350 in taxes
Hotel: $1287
Transport: Roughly €150. My uber was about €60 each way to the airport. Trains and metro was approximately €25
Food: I can’t tell what on my CC is food and what’s shopping
Entrance fees: €40 for Versailles, €10 for the antique market, and Notre Dame was free
Spritz Index: €10
Don’t miss a moment of the ✨ Sparkling Summer ✨
Read all about Paris, Taylor Swift, hiking in the alps, getting slightly lost in the Alps, cycling through wine country, drinking through wine country, and cycling AND drinking through wine country. Catch every post on my Sparkling Summer on Hi Friends It’s Laura.
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