I know I keep gushing about our week in Paris, but it really was just incredible. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect all week (it had been raining for days but stopped the day before we got there, and started up again the day we left). I haven’t talked much about what all we did, because it was kind of a whirlwind. Here are some highlights!

As soon as we arrived at the Gare de Lyon, we made our way to our Airbnb near République, with a stop at the Canal Saint-Martin on the way, which turned out to be only two blocks from our apartment.

Le Perchoir

A couple of friends happened to be in town at the same time as us, and we went to meet up with them at Le Perchoir, which has got to be one of the coolest bars in Paris. I highly recommend going there to watch the sun set over the city. It’s right off Rue Oberkampf, a great place for nightlife with lots of great bars.

An Evening at Sacré-Coeur

I’ve done this the last couple times I’ve been in Paris, and it’s always a highlight (and always SUPER crowded). A great way to spend a Friday evening (or any day of the week, really) is to buy a bottle of wine or Champagne, get some bread and cheese, and have a picnic on the steps in front of the Sacré-Coeur while watching the sunset (a common theme in my life = sunset picnics). There are usually tons of people (many of them tourists, but still worth it), the views are insane, there are street performers, and the walk up to the Sacré-Coeur is an adventure in itself. Then when it gets dark, explore the romantic Montmartre area, and pretend you’re in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.

More Parks With Awesome Views

I’m such a sucker for parks with nice views of a city, and Jeremy and I found two more that pleased us both: Parc de Belleville and Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. They are both kind of a ways away from the main center of Paris, which means a lot less tourists. They reminded me of Mission Dolores Park in San Francisco a bit (one of my favorites). You get a really great view of the city with the Eiffel Tower at Parc de Belleville, and a completely different view at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

Over the weekend, Paris was celebrating Night of Museums, which meant that most of the museums were staying open until about midnight, and some had free admission. Being budget travelers, obviously we wanted to take advantage of the free admission. We chose Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) because it seemed weird and it’s listed on Atlas Obscura, an online guide to some of the stranger, lesser-known attractions in cities around the world. It did not disappoint.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Also walking distance from our apartment was the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, the largest in Paris. It’s so big, there are maps with guides on where to find notable people’s graves, like Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Frédéric Chopin, Marcel Marceau, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, and many more. We didn’t realize quite how big it was going to be, and combined with getting lost a couple times, we only made it to the gravestones of Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde. It’s a beautiful place though, and one worth venturing to.

We walked around a ton and saw lots of what Paris has to offer, but I don’t know if you could even see everything if you were there a year. Next up: what we ate in Paris.