Paris

Paris is a staple bucket list destination, with the famous Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Arc de Triomphe, all "must see" monuments to visit. I booked a long weekend from Thursday to Sunday, staying at the Mercure Paris Centre Tour Eiffel, which is ideally placed for the Eiffel Tower! I decided the easiest way to see the city was the hop on hop off bus tour. I chose the option of 48 hours with river cruise and Arc de Triomphe entry https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Big-Bus-Paris-Hop-On-Hop-Off-Tour/d479-6602PARHOHO?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link. This was ideal for visiting the places I wanted without the hassle of trying to find them myself by walking as I am not the best with directions! The bus stops and picks up at 11 different locations across the city, including the Louvre museum, Notre Dame, Champs Elysees, Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower. You can choose a 24 hour or 48 hour ticket depending on how you want to plan your trip.

As there is so much to see and do in Paris, it is essential that you plan your trip in advance to make the most of your time there. The sights of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre art museum where the Mona Lisa is housed, Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame are always the highlights of the city. You can choose to do these by yourself either by walking or using the hop on hop off bus service, or you can choose the option of a private guide.

I decided that this time I wanted to do something a little out of the ordinary and contemplated a cooking class, or a cheese and wine tasting experience. There were a few different options for cooking classes, a croissant making class https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Bake-your-own-Croissant-in-our-beautiful-Parisian-workshop/d479-239592P2?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link, a macaron baking class https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Learn-to-make-macaron-with-a-chef/d479-239592P1?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link, or a French dinner cooking class which included a 3 course meal and optional trip to a French market https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Paris-Evening-Cooking-Class-Including-4-Course-Dinner-and-Optional-Market-Visit/d479-9820MARKETCOOKINGEVE?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link, chocolate tasting https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Chocolate-tour/d479-26729P1?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link which all looked quite good, however I don't really like cooking that much so I decided this wasn't for me! I looked into the craft workshops and there were some really good options. A textile printing and dyeing class https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Shibori-Tie-Dyeing-in-Ocho-Rios/d479-418461P1?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link, a botanical fragranced candle making class https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Candle-Making-Workshop/d479-417827P8?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link, but I decided on a perfume making activity which I thought sounded fun and a little bit different. You get to play around with different fragrances and make 3 fragrances of your own, one of which you get to take home in a 50ml bottle. I thought this would be a lovely little reminder of my trip to Paris. https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Workshop-in-Paris-Create-your-Own-Parfum/d479-30077P1?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link

Another activity I wanted to do was something involving alcohol! Again there were lots of options available including:

French food and wine tasting https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Montmartre-Food-and-Wine-Tour/d479-26729P5?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link 

French wine and champagne tasting https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/French-Wine-and-Champagne-Tasting-in-Paris/d479-3777MASTERCLASS?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link 

Cocktail making - https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Learn-the-Art-of-Cocktails-by-Playing-an-Escape-Game/d479-459402P1?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link 

I decided on the Secret Wine Door French wine and cheese tasting https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/French-wine-and-cheese-tasting/d479-136421P4?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link which was actually amazing! 

Evening activities are plentiful, whether you want to take a dinner cruise down the Seine https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Bateaux-Mouches-3-Hour-Seine-River-Cruise-Including-Dinner-and-Live-Music/d479-23561P3?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link, treat yourself to the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret show with dinner https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Paris-Moulin-Rouge-Dinner-Show/d479-2050DMR_DMT?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link , have dinner in the Madame Brasserie in the Eiffel Tower https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/9-pm-Dinner-at-Madame-Brasserie-Eiffel-Tower-restaurant/d479-9819P7?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link or just take in the city lit up at night with an open top bus tour https://www.viator.com/tours/Paris/Big-Bus-Paris-Night-Tour/d479-6602PARISNIGHT?pid=P00238223&mcid=42383&medium=link there is so much to do!