We went to Europe for a day.
Why would someone travel so far and only stay on the continent for 26 hours (which included clearing customs, sleeping, and getting ourselves back to the airport for our departing flight).
Well, we are an airline family. We are able to travel at the last minute. In fact we don’t usually know until the last minute if we can travel or not. Space available travel means we only get to go if there are empty seats on the plane. We don’t always know until we are waiting to board a flight if there will be room for us or not. Travel with this method is discounted, but not for the faint of heart. We go when no one else is going and have to be flexible in our travel plans. So, my husband had a few days off work and the flights had seats. That was all we needed to board a plane to Paris for 26 hours.
With all that being said, our trip was a spur of the moment. We decided on Friday night and packed Saturday to leave on Sunday morning. We arrived in Paris on Monday/Tuesday and came home on Wednesday. It was a whirlwind of excitement and with little time to plan we weren’t sure how it would turn out.
There are so many amazing sights to see in Paris. But the top of our list was la Tour Eiffel. We saw the Eiffel Tower and dined on amazing cuisine. I think the trick to enjoying such a short trip is the same as any trip. Drop your expectations of accomplishing it all and see/do what you can with the time you have. We wanted to see and do everything Paris had to offer, but we knew that was not possible.
We were able to view the Eiffel tower, eat a macaroon by the Seine River, and drive past the Ecole Militiare (military training facility). We drank wine from various locations in France in a beautiful open air restaurant and walked down cobblestone streets.
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We were certainly not ready to come home after such a quick visit, but I am sure the baguettes will be waiting for us when we get back and the line to see the Mona Lisa may include us next time.
Paris was amazing on our quick visit. While 26 hours wasn’t quite enough, I recommend it over never going.
… and next time be sure to visit St Chapelle very near Notre Dame. It is stunningly beautiful and absolutely unforgettable. Seven years’ work on Gothic chapel in Paris finished to mark anniversary of birth of Louis IX who commissioned it to house his collection of religious relics
I wanted to see Notre Dame while we were there, but we didn’t make it there. St Chapelle will be added to my “next time” list. Thanks so much for the tip. Did you get to see the Arc de Triomphe? The photos look amazing.
Yes, I’ve seen all of the landmarks and wonderful features in Paris – eaten in some terrific restaurants. If you’re time short when visiting our European cities the quickest way to see ‘everything’ is to hop on one of the City Tour buses. I’m so lucky – I live on the south coast of the UK with a view of the English Channel and France so I can hop on a Eurostar train and be in Paris in just over 2 hours 🙂 AND I can plan it!!!! Look forward to hearing more of your travels.
Next time we will have to take a city tour. Wow, to live in UK alone is amazing. To be so close and have the opportunity to visit so many beautiful sites. Thats incredible. I had wanted to see the Arc de Triomphe as well. It was next on our list that we didn’t quite get to. Hopefully next time we will have longer and our children will be older making it possible to do more quicker. Thanks so much for visiting!
Mmmm! your site told me that I had responded with duplicate comment 🙁 I’m pretty sure I didn’t as I’m delighted that you’ll visit St Chapelle on your next visit. I live 2.5 hours from Paris – based on the South Coast of the UK looking at the English Channel and France so Eurostar make it a very quick trip for me to visit Paris. The City Tour buses are a brilliant way to see ‘everything’ in any of our European cities if you’re time short. Enjoy. Arc de Triomphe is HUGE as is the Eiffel Tower!
That sounds awesome, but how did your kids handle the jetlag?
Hey, Astrid! My son handled it really well. He was 5, and slept the entire way. My 2 year old didn’t sleep well and was exhausted. We put her in the carrier while we explored Paris and she did a lot of sleeping while we walked around. They slept on the flight back home and within 2 days we were back to normal. They seemed to adjust and bounce back better than we did.