Carolyn Always Earley

8 days in Paris, France & Barcelona, Spain – April 2024

My best friend Melanie and I have dreamed about going to Paris for years and finally made it happen! We spent 4 days each in France and Spain, primarily spending our time in Paris and Barcelona. Traveling to Europe from Arizona (USA) takes roughly a full day, including the time zone change. Here is our itinerary with personal recommendations of food and activities.

Days 1-2 (Travel Days):

We flew from Phoenix, Arizona (PHX), to Charles-de-Gaulle airport (CDG) via London Heathrow (LHR). In total, it was about 16 hours of flying. We booked seats across from each other for our long flight so we’d both have an aisle seat, and a window seat plus middle for the shorter flight so we could (hopefully) see Paris as we flew into the city.

Pro Tip: If you choose to fly though LHR (since many reasonably priced U.S. connections take you through that airport), make sure your layover gives you at least two hours to get to your next flight since there are buses to take you around and you’ll have to go through security again. We booked a 2.5 hour layover, which gave us just enough time to make it to our gate as they were starting to board (since security decided to search Melanie’s bag).

We prebooked a car through a link provided by our hotel to take us there once we landed. We arrived mid-afternoon and there was enough traffic to make our 35-45 minute drive take almost an hour. Our driver was very friendly and pointed out some important landmarks as we drove there, plus gave us a sneak peek of the Eiffel Tower.

The Hotel

We stayed at the Niepce Paris Hotel, which is a Hilton hotel. I booked the flights on my AmEx (and made other purchases) to collect Rewards points and exchange them for double the Hilton points. The hotel was in a great location with its own restaurant and had free wi-fi. The room was a decent size and had a great bathroom (you could actually turn around in the shower and extend your arms).

When we arrived, we wandered down the street to find some local cuisine for an early dinner and came across Les Frangines. I tried the ravioles gratinées (cheese ravioli), which was incredible – not only did it have cheese inside, but it was melted all over the top and had a creamy sauce. After eating, we wandered along Rue Raymond Losserand to check out the cute pâtisseries (bakeries), shops and a small nearby park.

Day 3:

We decided to spend our first full day in Paris… not in Paris. We booked a half-day tour of the Versailles Palace and Gardens. The tour included transportation to and from Versailles, skip-the-line tickets (always a good idea), a guided tour of the Palace and time to explore the Gardens on your own.

It was beautiful! There was a lot of walking (or you could rent a golf cart for the gardens) and we were eventually exhausted. After returning back to the city, we grabbed lunch at a cute Italian place near the meeting point, Restaurant Le Moulin d’Auteuil, then headed to the Arc de Triomphe.

Tip: We were horrified to see people trying to run across the circle to get to the Arc. Please don’t do this! Instead, look around you for the signs that direct you to the underground tunnel so that you can get there safely.

The view of the city from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, in my opinion, was even better than the view from the Eiffel Tower (although we only went up partway). There are SO many stairs to get to the top (284 to be specific) and it’s a narrow, winding staircase, but I thought it was completely worth it. Note: There is also an elevator available to those who need it.

Next, we headed to the Musée du Louvre. We chose to visit on a Friday evening to try to avoid some of the crowds, but it was still incredibly busy. Fun fact: The Louvre Museum is the most visited museum in the world, receiving over 7 million visitors every year.

There are so many sections to the Louvre that you could probably go several times and still not see everything. We reviewed the map to identify what was most interesting to us and just toured those sections.

Tip: Tickets for the Louvre become available 3-4 months in advance. I highly recommend booking early to ensure you get the date and time of your choosing. On Wednesdays and Fridays, the Louvre has extended hours until 9 PM. We booked 4:30 PM tickets, which is the latest entry time.

Day 4:

We chose to spend Saturday wandering through Paris with a list of things we wanted to do and see on no particular schedule. This was my second favorite activity on the trip – I highly recommend allowing yourself time to relax (although I recognize it can be difficult since of course you want to see ALL THE THINGS!)

We walked through the Jardin des Grands-Explorateurs (Garden of the Great Explorers) and headed towards the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens), passing the Luxembourg Palace. In April, everything was lush and green and blossoming. It was beautiful!

We stopped to see the famous Medici Fountain, which, sadly (like many other fountains) was not running due to a drought, and then continued to the Panthéon.

Beyond the Panthéon (pictured to the left) is a beautiful church called Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. We followed this road, wandered through a farmer’s market, and headed towards Cathédrale Notre-Dame (Notre Dame Cathedral), which was significantly destroyed in 2019 and is still being rebuilt.

The intersection of Quai Saint Michel and Rue Saint-Jacques was extremely busy. The popular bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, is nearby and all along the Seine River are bouquinistes (riverside booksellers- you can see the green backs of their stands in the picture below).

We stopped at La Crème de Paris Notre-Dame for crêpes and hot chocolate. This old-fashioned crêperie was so cute and everything was delicious!

We continued through the Latin Quarter to see the Fontaine Saint-Michel (Saint Michel Fountain) and Pont des Arts (Love Lock Bridge). Unfortunately, this bridge grew too heavy from all the locks people had put on it previously, so it is now just covered in some simple, love-themed art.

You could easily spend a whole day just walking along the Seine River, seeing the sights, eating at restaurants and browsing the shops, but we decided to get a taxi and head to the Eiffel Tower.

After our significant climb the day before, we opted to take the elevator to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower instead of taking the stairs (674 of them). Also, you have to pay either way – the tickets are just a bit cheaper to take the stairs. You can choose to book in advance or wait in line to get your ticket.

The lines for the summit were insanely long! In theory, you could get there by taking the stairs (1,665 total) but I didn’t actually see an option to do that. Everyone was waiting for the elevator to go up from the 2nd floor, and I heard some people who had been waiting say it was taking 2-3 hours. We had thankfully already opted not to do that as neither of us are big fans of heights (the summit is 276 meters, whereas the 2nd floor is 116 meters).

I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the sheer size of this structure. It was just massive and oh, so beautiful. The view of Paris from the 2nd floor was incredible, but I think the view from the Arc de Triomphe was even better!

After finally seeing the Eiffel Tower up close and personal, we took a quick break to decide what to do next. Melanie found a ticket for a self-guided tour of the Paris Catacombs that came with a Seine River tour, so we booked it and headed out.

Tip: We didn’t think that the Paris Catacombs would sell out, but it apparently does rather quickly (their site had said no time slots were available for that day or the following). I suggest booking your tickets in advance or, if you forget like we did, simply search for a tour on Viator.com and see if you can get in same day. You are not able to purchase tickets on site – all tickets have to be purchased online.

The Catacombs aren’t for everyone (it’s seriously skulls and bones everywhere!), but we thought it was fascinating and really enjoyed learning the history behind it. The tour came with an English audio guide that you returned at the end. After, we felt it was time for a refreshment so we sat on the patio (in the middle of the road) at Le Petit Club and had a cold drink each before going to our Seine River tour.

The Seine River tour was only about 45 minutes, but we went close to sunset so that we could also see the Eiffel Tower light up once it got dark. We had great views during the tour of the Eiffel Tower, their Statue of Liberty (shockingly smaller than the original), plus other famous museums and buildings.

It was a rather inexpensive tour, so seats were first come first serve and of course everyone wanted to sit outside for the best views. We had a seat inside next to a window and still managed to get some great pictures.

When we left the port, we headed towards the closest bridge to get a good view of the Eiffel Tower light show. The Eiffel Tower has sensors on it that detect when it hits twilight and the first show of the evening begins within 10 minutes. After that, the light show goes off every hour on the hour for 5 minutes each time until 1 AM. You don’t want to miss it!

Day 5:

We decided to spend a full day touring castles and tasting wine in the Loire Valley. It was about a 2-hour drive from Paris to our first stop, Château de Chambord, which inspired the castle in Beauty and the Beast. The guide spend the last 20 minutes or so before we arrived sharing the history of the castle and those who lived there.

Château de Chambord was impressively huge, with sprawling gardens at the back. I loved that many of the original furnishings could be found in the castle – they really brought it to life.

After the tour, we headed to Blois to see the outside of the Royal Château de Blois and grab lunch. At our guide’s recommendation, we had lunch at Restaurant Les Burgers d’Annie, which was delicious! (I had said I wouldn’t have a burger in France but then I did. Worth it!)

Next, we went to Château de Chenonceau. This castle was much smaller than the first but equally beautiful. It was built over the river Cher, which acts as a unique moat. The château has its own wine cellar, Cave des Dômes, and gardens.

Day 6:

We didn’t prebook a car for our food tour, thinking we could book and grab an Uber, which turned out to be a mistake. Fortunately, we were able to walk towards a (more) main road and find a taxi and rush to the meeting point. We only made it on time because the guide was also running late – but, I will say, the company we booked through was very kind and responsive. The food tour was in Montmartre, an area we hadn’t yet seen much of and were very interested in exploring. We first saw the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart), a gorgeous cathedral at the top of a hill.

We continued the walking tour by visiting a chocolate shop, a (very tiny) crêperie, and picked up baguettes and cheese and headed to the company’s tasting room. This tour was amazing – the guide was intimately familiar with the area and its history and we tried so many different foods with baguette, including pâté, dried sausage, and many, many cheeses (my favorite was comté, which is apparently a favorite of the French). We had opted to do this tour around lunchtime, which worked out perfectly.

After the tour, we visited a few fabric shops and this was the first time we needed our raincoats. Thankfully, we brought them with us after checking the weather in the morning – I would definitely suggest checking each day before heading out to be prepared as it can vary day by day.

Once the weather cleared (it only rained briefly), we made our way to Sainte-Chapelle by taxi. This is another place that we didn’t think would sell out but they absolutely did. Definitely book your tickets in advance to see this amazing cathedral!

Day 7:

With our stay in Paris ending, we prebooked a car to take us to the train station early (we figured an extra hour would be perfect and it was). We booked a high-speed train to take us to Barcelona in 6.5 hours. The train was comfortable, with ample storage for luggage, and included wi-fi. There were clean bathrooms and a lunch cart with snacks and real food. We found it more relaxing than being on a plane! Also, we had great views of the cities and countryside throughout our journey.

Once we arrived in Barcelona and checked into our hotel, it was only mid-afternoon so we decided to find sangrias and tapas. Melanie had researched the best place to find a sangria and so we walked down to Casa Lolea Barcelona. Lolea has five signature sangrias (made from red wine, white wine and rosé) and we tried them all! Melanie’s favorite was number 4 and mine was number 2. We also tried several tapas and they were all incredible!

Fun fact: You can find some of Lolea’s sangrias (numbers 1 and 2) for purchase in the U.S. We found ours at Total Wine after we got back, but other stores may carry it also.

Afterwards, we passed by Cathedral of Barcelona (so, so gorgeous!) and then decided to visit the Museu de l’Erotica (Erotic Museum). It’s definitely an adults only activity and, while it was fascinating to learn about the sex history of different countries, it was mostly hilarious. You could probably tour the whole thing in 30 minutes, or you could spend more time there if you wanted to.

The Hotel

We stayed at Hotel Indigo Barcelona – Plaza Catalunya. We chose the hotel for its amazing location and reasonable price, which included breakfast. The breakfast was a decent spread with a variety of fruits, pastries, and hearty options as well as an espresso machine that made cappuccinos (and other things, but I only cared about the cappuccinos). The hotel also had a restaurant/bar that was a great option for a quick and easy dinner or late-night snack.

Day 8:

This was our “free day” in Barcelona – just like we did in Paris, we had a list of things we wanted to do and see in Barcelona and spent the day seeing them on no particular schedule. We started by doing a little shopping at the nearby H&M – and learned that the clothes in Spain are way cooler than the ones in the U.S. We each bought a couple of items and dropped them off at the hotel before continuing.

We went to Mercat de la Boqueria, an amazing market where you can find just about anything! We were blown away by the number of vendors and the variety of hot and ready foods, candies, fruits and fruit juices, spices, meats, etc.

This place was crazy busy! Along the outside edges of the market were many other stores and restaurants. We decided to try some empanadas and took them to a bar where you could sit and order a drink. We each tried one of the fruit juices also, and they were fresh and delicious!

Next, we followed Carrer de Ferran and passed through Plaça de Sant Jaume (St. James’s Square), pictured below. We continued until we reached towards Parc de la Ciutadella (Ciutadella Park) and saw the Castle of the Three Dragons.

The park was busy! There were several tours of schoolchildren walking through the park as well as locals and tourists. It was no surprise since the weather was beautiful! We passed by the Hivernacle (greenhouse) del Parc de la Ciutadella and the Font dels Nens (Fountain of children). There are a number of cool statues, fountains, museums, and other buildings throughout the park. If you continue towards the back, you’ll see a small lake where many people rent boats and hang out on the water.

Once we walked around the lake, we headed to the Arc de Triomf. This arc is much smaller than the one we had recently seen in Paris, but I loved the setting of it at the end of the promenade (or beginning, I guess, depending on which direction you’re headed) with the awesome lampposts on either side.

Day 9:

We booked an all-day tour of Montserrat and Oller del Mas, a nearby winery, which was one of the coolest things we did the whole trip. Montserrat is a unique mountain, located an hour outside of Barcelona, on which there is a Benadictine monastery called Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. You can tour the grounds, the chapel and the museum. There are even several vendors selling fresh cheese, honey and other goods on your way in.

The tour allowed you free time to hike, walk around the gift shop, or tour the museum. We first stopped in the gift shop for a liqueur tasting, and then we toured the Museum of Montserrat. The museum was fascinating – full of religious and historical artifacts as well as paintings.

Next, our bus took us to Oller del Mas for a wine tasting. Oller del Mas has a 10th century castle that has been in the same family for 36 generations. We toured the castle and learned its history, then sat at a long table to taste several different wines.

Day 10:

For our last full day in Barcelona, we decided to book a tour that would take us to all of the city highlights so that we wouldn’t miss any crucial landmarks. The tour guide was great and I loved that they even picked you up at the hotel (many tours have meeting places).

We started off the tour by going up Montjuic Mountain to Parc de Montjuic. We took in the views of the city and port (so many cruise ships!) while drinking our cappuccinos.

We drove by Montjuic Castle, then headed back into the city and make a quick stop at the Mercat de la Boqueria. We were happy that we had already spent time here on our own so that we weren’t rushed – and we took advantage of the opportunity to get one more tropical fruit juice each.

Next, we walked around the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. We passed by so many beautiful cathedrals and churches and our guide shared the history and architecture styles of each. For lunch, we ate right near the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, then split into groups to tour this incredible basilica. The tour included an audio guide, which you could download to your phone in your preferred language and listen to as you walked around.

The Sagrada Família had the most incredible stained glass windows throughout the inside of the chapel, not to mention spiral staircases and crazy tall pillars. Unsurprisingly, this is the second most toured basilica in the world, right behind St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. We spent quite a bit of time here, touring the basilica and its museum and learning about its history.

Next, we headed to another famous spot: Park Güell. You can walk around the park to see the houses that are there (and go inside them but fair warning, the lines are very long), the viaducts, and of course the Dragon Stairway.

After the tour, they dropped us back off at our hotel. We decided to check out Tortuga Restaurante (Turtle Restaurant) for dinner – and I had the best mojito of my life! (Also, it comes in a very cute tiki mug.) Crazy enough, Melanie had a friend (also from the U.S.) who happened to be in Barcelona, so she joined us for dinner and then took us to a great rooftop bar at her hotel. It was a great ending to an amazing trip!

To see more pictures from this trip, visit my Facebook page.