One Day in Paris

What would you do if you only had one day in Paris?

When I knew my husband and I were going to be in France for a week in late March and that we would only have one day in Paris, I started researching and dreaming.

I had been to Paris twice before, once as a seventeen-year-old high school student on a class trip, and again in my early twenties with a heavy backpack on my back, and only a few hours before I caught a train to Le Havre to take the ferry to Ireland. Both trips were quick and furious, and mostly what I remembered was one crowded, tourist destination after another. I never really felt the charm of this gorgeous city.

But I wanted to. And for me, along with walking and taking in the neighborhoods on foot, food is how I get to know a place, how I fall in love.

I know the city is full of gorgeous architecture and beautiful museums and priceless art, and I’m lucky that in my past visits I had already seen much of this. But this time, in our 24 hours, what I really wanted to do, was taste Paris. “I just want to eat and drink my way through the city,” I said to Greg. And that is exactly what we did.

Greg and I arrived super early, about 5:20am at Charles e Gaulle Airport, and we couldn’t have picked a better time. The usually busy airport was unnaturally quiet and nearly empty. Customs was a cinch. (JFK could take a few notes!) We hopped on the RER into Paris, and with a quick change to a metro and a few stops we were in Saint-Germain-des-Prés before 7:30am.

It was too early to check into the charming Hotel Danube on Rue Jacob, but they happily stored our luggage for us. First stop, right next door to our hotel at Le Comptoir des Saints-Peres, for espresso and pain au chocolate. The best pain au chocolate I’ve ever tasted in my life! Perfect, light pastry layers, a bit crispy and sooooo, so buttery, with a sublime amount of warm dark chocolate hidden inside.

One delicious start to an epic day of food and drinks in this city of gastronomy delights.

After this mini-revive of espresso and croissant, we walked toward the Seine. What a gorgeous time of year to walk along the Seine, it wasn’t crowded, it wasn’t too hot, and that early in the morning it was ours alone to enjoy. We walked arm in arm right along the river towards Notre Dame de Paris, that gorgeous behemoth that gets me in my heart every time I see her.

We then headed back towards Sainte-Germaine to find Noglu, an all gluten-free bakery and restaurant, where I ordered tea and Greg ordered the avocado toast. To be honest, I was just happily cozied up next to him, biding my time until the next baguette or croissant came my way, but this avocado toast blew my mind.

One large, thick slice of delicious gluten-free toast, which can be hard to come by, topped with bright green, lightly smashed avocado, pomegranate seeds, a bit of arugula and a simple balsamic vinaigrette. It was so tasty with the pomegranate seeds popping in my mouth and the hint of sea salt. I’ve tried gazillions of gluten-free breads over the last ten years by Greg’s side, and I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing this was. Leave it to the French to make tasty gluten-free bread.

Next on the menu was Café Varenne, where we had Elderflower Spritzers (yes at 9:30 in the morning) and a charcuterie board full of delights while we waited for our traveling companions to meet us.

From there we enjoyed the long walk to the Eiffel Tower. Paris is made for walking, and Spring in Paris is, in my opinion, the perfect time to be there. Plus I got to obsess over the gorgeous doors all over Paris. I took more pictures of doors than I did of food!

We ate macarons at Ladurée, enjoyed a warm and cozy French coffee at Le Pré aux Clercs, and finally checked into our hotel before the evening fun!

After a quick nap and some sprucing up, we had what was probably my favorite night ever of our entire week in France. We walked to Tiger, Paris’ first gin bar.

This tiny, nearly hidden gem, with décor like a Malaysian jungle or a chic tiki hut, is one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to, and the cocktails were simply outstanding. I rarely order cocktails at restaurants because I usually feel there is an imbalance in flavors. It’s too sweet or too much seltzer, or it might be served too warm, or so often they just fall flat on the delicious spectrum.

Let me tell you, every drink we tasted on this menu at Tiger was amazing and unique. And there were six of us, all who enjoy gin, so we tasted many of their specialties.

My favorite was the Pink Panther, with gin, lemon juice, lemon sherbet, cordial raspberry and rose, prosecco, and marshmallow. When I read the menu, my first thought was, Who in the world puts lemon sherbet and marshmallow in a cocktail? And secondly, I have to taste it! Not only did it have marshmallow in the drink, but it was garnished with torched marshmallows. Holy cow!

And it was so tasty! I expected it to be too sweet, but the balance of flavors was perfect. Every drink was perfect! Our bartender, Celine, was awesome, and she even let us taste their homemade tonics, which of course I’m now on a mission to make.

My photos don’t do this place justice at all, except to show how much fun we all had. I want to go back!

After the best cocktails ever, we walked to La Bonne Excuse for dinner where I had made a reservation over Facebook a week before we arrived. None of us really wanted to leave Tiger, but in the end, we were so glad we made it to La Bonne Excuse because our meal that night is up there in the top two best meals of my life.

Located in the 7^th arrondissement, and owned by Chef, Jose Cabado, and his wife, Ferida, I can’t say enough wonderful things about our night here. It’s an intimate elegant space, and Ferida’s service made us feel like special guests. I had the grilled langoustines and cress soup which was out of this world, but even better was Greg’s special of the night, Jerusalem artichoke soup with scallops. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a more perfectly cooked scallop, and it was literally wrapped in a velvety smooth bowl of deliciousness. I’m ruined for soups for ever after, both of them, the flavors, oh my goodness, divine! I could have died happy at that moment.

But then came the Plats (Main Courses) and the veal fillet with sautéed mushrooms was placed in front of me and changed my life forever. I’m still drooling. The next day I asked Greg, after dreaming of our meal, “Did I actually share any of the veal with you, or did I eat it all myself?”

At the end of the meal we all shared three desserts but the only one that matters is the Tarte Fine aux pommes et son caramel au beurre salé. The crispy apple tarte with half salted butter and caramel sauce. Out. Of. This. World. Add in some divine French wines, a table of beautiful people and it was one of the best night’s ever.

On the train to Les Arcs the next day, I dreamed up ways of living in Paris. Greg thinks I’m crazy, but I’m already scheming for us to go again next spring.

Paris, my love, I’ll see you next year.

There are so many great resources on the web these days. Really, our time in Paris was so smooth. Some of the most helpful advice came from friends who had recently visited Paris, and blogs like Prêt à voyager, and Lost in Cheeseland. I also watched a bunch of Youtube videos about getting around Paris and food in Paris. And the reviews on TripAdvisor helped me discover La Bonne Excuse. 

What would you do if you only had one day in Paris? Would you visit the Mona Lisa at the Louvre? Ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower? Or sit down with loved ones to taste bite after bite of food that will change you life? Maybe you can do it all. Bon appétit!