One day in Paris, The City of Lights, to see anything I desired. It was only for a day so I had a choice of my top three sights I wanted to see. Guess what? We crammed in five sights on an awesome one day itinerary – really – basically fast trotting it from sight to sight. I had only dreamed of what I would do, what I would see – if I could stroll the Paris sidewalk, go up the Eiffel Tower!! Well, my dream came true totally unexpected at the end of a work project in the U.K.
What would you do? If you had the opportunity to spend one whole day in the beautiful city of Paris, would you turn it down? Heck no, not if you are in your right mind! I jumped at the chance.
What if you could choose whether to spend a day driving the English countryside looking at castles or check out Paris? I was given that choice! Honestly, I would have liked to have done both but I only had one free day before catching my Sunday flight back to the U.S. Paris it is!
Background on the Trip
I was in the UK – just outside of London – for a work assignment back in the late 1990s. It had been a long tough mind-numbing six days of meetings. Our conference was in the same hotel we were all staying in so most days it felt as if I was walking from meeting to bed – then back to the next meeting. We would occasionally break just to get out of hotel to stretch our legs and ‘wake up’ a bit. You get where I’m going…very tough week. Dinners were late – so this girl was pooped by end of week.
It sounds as if I may be complaining but I am not. Since this was work I had no out of pocket expenses & my first international travel was free! What’s not to love about that?
Some of my favorite memories of the UK during that week
- Break outs from meetings to grab coffee & muffins.
- Architecture was awesome. Our hotel from the side walk seemed to be a row of endless white buildings. Very tv’ish.
- Walking inside what could only be described as a huge rock walled dungeon, we were informed that this very place was – centuries past – where people were beheaded! Very ‘Games of Thrones’ feel.
- Learning very quickly that you really need to use those ‘eyes in the back of your head’ for crossing streets. Those English drivers.. Seriously. LOL! Thinking back on it now it probably is no worse than Texas drivers during rush hour.
- Watching a row of very young blue uniformed school children on their way to school. Just freaking adorable. Picture a row of baby ducks following Momma Duck down the sidewalk….
By Friday afternoon, the majority of the group had decided on a countryside castle tour for Saturday, our one free day, before we hit our flights Sunday back to their various home countries. Ok, that sounded like it would definitely be interesting but would we be spending more time driving than actually walking and sightseeing castles? That is what was running thru my head but hey I’m a team player…
I Get to Go to Paris!!
Later that Friday evening, a couple of the attorneys were breaking off from the group & discussing their plans for the following day. The senior of the two was fluent in French as he had spent a lot of time in France in the past and was keen to cross over to Paris for his ‘free’ day. By time I entered the conversation, they had decided it would be a day in Paris instead of the castle tour.
They asked if I had ever been to Paris? Nope! I was beyond happy to have made it to the UK! Then they asked if I wanted that I could go with them to Paris? No pressure, just be in hotel lobby at 6:30 a.m. the next morning. I was awake, dressed & waiting on them! LOL. We took a taxi to train station and we were off!
Name three sights you want to see in Paris?We had just made to our seats on The Chunnel when Joe asked what three things would I like to see in Paris on our day trip? Off the top of my head I spouted Eiffel Tower, The Louvre Museum & Jim Morrison’s gravesite. Yes, I really did say Morrison’s grave…Joe explained to me that Morrison’s burial site would not be conducive to our limited time-frame. I’m cool with that! Eiffel Tower & Louvre were definitely doable. This would be our goal for Paris sight seeing that day.
One Day Itinerary for Paris – We Squeezed in a Must See of Five Sights!
1] The Channel Train [‘The Chunnel’]
We initiated our trip to Paris from the Waterloo International Train Station. We would be crossing on The Channel Train [also called The Chunnel]! I can’t tell you what we paid for tickets in 1997 but check here for present ticket prices.
A few facts about The Chunnel –
- It is the longest undersea tunnel in world, listed as one of ‘The Seven Wonders of the Modern World’ at a length of 31.4 miles with 23.5 of those miles underwater! I remember thinking if it would feel different being undersea? No, really could not even tell and the trip took no time at all & we were pulling into the Gare du Nord train station.
- The first idea of this under-water tunnel was put on paper in 1802!
- It took 13,000 workers from both sides of the Channel to coordinate the building of The Chunnel. I remember watching a documentary years ago showing the building of The Chunnel, both sides working to meet in the middle. Pretty amazing work!
- The tunnel actually consists of three tunnels! Read here for more info on The Chunnel. https://www.eurostar.com/us-en/travel-info/the-chunnel.
2] Champs Elysees & Arc de Triomphe
Once we exited the Train at the Gare du Nord station in Paris, we headed for the Eiffel Tower but first The Champs Elysees. It is the most well known avenue in Paris and gives you access to the Arc de Triomphe. Since we were on a time crunch all we could do was check it out as we passed. If time had been available, it would have been awesome to book a hotel and spend a few days experiencing Paris but not this trip. I would have loved to stroll through some of the shops on The Champs Elysees or have been able to buy a ticket to go to top of the Arc de Triomphe for the view but, again, time was not on our side. For tour info check here.
The park connected with The Champs Elysees is just gorgeous. At one point there was a tall white statute on the left side of the path. The statute was set on a small stand maybe a foot high. At the base of the statute was a basket for monetary donations. I turned to Joe & Pat, my co-workers, & said something like ‘wow it must be safe for them to leave an open money basket in the open at the base of a statute with all these people walking by’! Joe chuckled. Then I noticed, as I stood staring at what I thought was a stone statute, a bead of sweat hanging off the end of his nose. It was a man dressed in white with total white body makeup. Awesome! I’ve seen live statutes in Las Vegas but they’ve got nothing on this guy.
Along this walk I had my first experience with French public restrooms. I felt like a cow being herded thru metal fence to the toilets… Let me just say I was super happy that I had a hand full of coins so the gatekeeper I dealt with could take what she needed that allowed me in. The lady in front of me evidently only paid for one person, not for her child. The gatekeeper had the mom in tears until she realized that she had not paid enough coin for the daughter to use the bathroom. I’m sure they’ve changed this process to the better by now?
3] Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is awesome.! We went as high as we were allowed & the views were amazing! Did I mention my camera was at the hotel packed in my suitcase? Please take a camera! It is on my bucket list to get The Big Guy to the Eiffel Tower with me when we have an opportunity. Really no words for it! I would love to see it at night with all the lights on!
Check that off our to see list for the day! Thank goodness I was smart enough to wear good walking shoes that day because now we were hustling to our next ‘stop’. We took a short taxi ride just to get us a little closer to our afternoon adventure but first lunch!
4] Almost Any Sidewalk Café Will Do!
If for nothing else than to enjoy coffee & a chocolate croissant, you must take a break & enjoy the ambience of people watching in Paris! During the time, we were in Paris “Mad Cow” signs were on all the menus & beef was not to be found. I was told horse was a substitute but I can’t swear that was true? The menus were in French so Joe ordered our lunch. I made him promise not order any ‘horse’ meat for me. I ate the salad but couldn’t bring myself to even taste the piece of dark meat on the plate. A pretty quick lunch & then off again on our trek to next stop – The Louvre!
5] The Louvre Museum
Talk about curb appeal! The first thing you see is the huge glass pyramid & pond in front of The Louvre Museum. So cool! Again, the pond made me think of the movies where the children are sailing boats across?
On the day we arrived The Mona Lisa was on display & one of the first things you saw. Check out these facts about Mona Lisa. Now I have never considered myself an art lover BUT The Mona Lisa in The Louvre! Who hasn’t heard of that piece of art. I have been pretty stoked several times when I have been able to say “oh sure, I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre”. LOL. I know, quit showing off.
There are Guide Tours for the Museum & I would highly suggest using one as it is not impossible to get lost & time really does seem to just fly. We had set a two-hour time frame to meet at the front entrance of the museum & then we would be heading back to train station.
We knew our time would be tight but if we kept to our time schedule, we would be fine long as we caught the train departure back to the UK. Well, of course, Pat didn’t show at the agreed time! We were starting to worry that we would miss the train when he finally showed up! Between you and me, I think he found a comfy chair and took a cat nap! I think a few swear words may have been uttered by Joe once Pat eventually came walking around a corner. We were off & running as we still had one more tiny but very important stop to make.
The Perfect Ending to a Day in Paris
The famous Hemingway Bar – just to say you did. Now the others knew how to order a drink in France but failed to share that with me. I ordered a whiskey & coke on ice like I would have done in the US. What the bartender set down in front of me was a tall clear glass – no ice, no coke, straight whiskey! The guys just chuckled when I looked at them…..well, I couldn’t let it go to waste so… drinks went down & then it really was a fast trot back to the train station!
We made our train but I can’t lie, I think we all fell asleep for the short ride back to the UK train station. The end of an awesome day – my one day in Paris! Man I wish I had not forgotten my camera but…one day, I hope to take The Big Guy back.
