TRAVEL GUIDE: PARIS

Paris the city of love. I had never been to Paris until this trip and it truly was an experience. I went with my boyfriend, his cousin, his sister and her boyfriend who happens to be French which was super helpful. Here is a little run down of what we did and ate and my experience of being vegan in Paris.

 

The logistics

Why we went:

The initial reasoning behind the trip to Paris was to see Ariana Grande in concert. We decided to make a bit of mini-break out of it.

How we got there:

Living in London means it is super easy to get to Paris using the Eurostar. We got the 7:55am train from St Pancras and arrived in Paris at 11:15ish. We decided to pack our own breakfast sandwiches for the train to cut down on cost and to make sure there was an option for moi.

Where we stayed:

We stayed in an Airbnb right near Gare de l’Est which is a metro station so made getting around pretty easy.

How long we stayed:

We stayed for two nights and three days. Left on Tuesday morning and came back Thursday night. With the Ariana Grande concert on Wednesday night, we had plenty of time to explore.

 

Tuesday

 

We headed straight to the Notre Dame. which was quite sad to see as it was covered in scaffolding and completely closed off to the public but definitely worth seeing.

 

 

We then walked to the Pantheon which myself and Rob could go in for free as we are 18-25 years old so definitely keep that in mind if you’re going. We visited the crypt which is ‘home’ well-known French figures including Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.

 

 

Then we went to find lunch. We ate galettes which I thought were made of flour and water but I have since found out there were probably made using egg which is a bit annoying but mistakes happen. I had mine filled with vegetables and babaganoush which tasted great. We then bought boat passes for 48 hours which took us from Jardin des Plantes to the Eiffel Tower and back the other side.

 

 

 

For dinner we went to a restaurant I found online called Taverne de L’Arbre Sec which was on a quiet road just off a busy area of the city. They had one vegan option and one vegetarian option which could be made vegan. I went for the Vegan tabbouleh which was very simple but tasty and we drank great Rose wine.

 

 

Then we walked to find an Amorino that was still open for ice cream. They have a couple of vegan sorbets so I had chocolate and strawberry.

 

Wednesday

 

We got up early and headed straight to the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and walked down to the Arc de Triumph. On the way down we admired some of the very fancy looking shops and popped our noses in some. We were quite early at the Arc de Triumph so it wasn’t super busy, I would recommend doing the same because otherwise, you can’t get a photo without other peoples phones in the way!

 

 

We then had breakfast in a cafe called Cafe Lateral. This was quite pricey but very tasty and we had a view of the Arc de Triumph. They modified a dish for me to have vegan guacamole on toast and Rob had a classic Croque Monsieur.

 

 

As it was such a nice day we decided to walk to the Louvre by walking down the Champs-Elysees, walking past the Place de la Concorde and then through the Tuileries Garden. We paused and sat by the fountain for a while and then continued to the Arc de Triumph du Carrousel and the Louvre Pyramid. Due to timings, we didn’t go inside but I would suggest pre-booking because the queues looked huge!

 

 

 

We then caught the boat to the Eiffel Tower. We pre-booked for Eiffel Tower but you can queue. We decided to go to the very top and the views were incredible!

 

 

Then we bought some picnic bits and had a little picnic in Jardins du Trocadero. Then we went to the Ariana Grande Concert which was pretty incredible!

 

Thursday

Thursday was a much slower start for us, but we got up and found for somewhere for breakfast. We found a place called Chez Louis near Strasbourg-Saint Dennis Metro station. The food was more accommodating for the rest of my party who eat meat and the service was mediocre but it filled a hangover tummy. Then we hopped on the Metro and headed to Blanche to see the Moulin Rouge. We then embarked on the very steep walk to the Sacre Coeur. Obviously, we stopped to fuel up on a salted pretzel. At the top, we admired the view which was pretty spectacular.

 

 

Unfortunately, it was time to get our bags and head back to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar back to London.

Tips and Tricks

• Check the metro for cheaper tickets on high pollution days
• Get booklets of tickets for the metro to make it cheaper in a group
• The boat pass was a nice and different way to get around the city
• Watch for pickpockets and people selling unlicensed products
• Learn some basic vocab to order vegan food/take a french person with you 😉
• Wear comfy shoes for the cobbled streets and lots of walking
• Most cafes do not offer milk alternatives

 

My final thoughts

Overall Paris was beautiful and I am so glad I finally went. I would like to go again maybe when it isn’t so hot. Finding places to refill our bottles was quite hard and not the best for the 34-degree heat we had. I think if you were going with all vegan/veggie people you would have quite an easy time as there are quite a few vegan-only restaurants and cafes. However, when you are in a mixed group it can be more difficult to find options on a standard menu. I would definitely go again and use my happy cow app to find some amazing Paris vegan spots.

 

 

 

 

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