Packed with macarons, Versailles, the Louvre, a pickpocket, and a double rainbow over the Seine.
Paris turned out to be more affordable than a trip across the U.S. — a discovery that led to a flight booked on Delta AMEX points, an Airbnb in the 19th arrondissement, and four weeks of Pinterest research that shaped one of the best weeks of travel on record. This post covers all seven days: Montmartre and the Palais Garnier, a macaron class at Le Cordon Bleu, Versailles, the Louvre, Le Marais, a Seine boat tour, and loads of practical notes from someone who also had her phone pickpocketed and still managed to finish the week strong.
The flight was meant to land at 8 AM, which would have allowed for a breakfast reservation at La Maison Rose — an iconic café near the Sacré-Cœur that books up fast. A delayed flight ended that plan. It was a real bummer; the reservation was gone by the time the ground was reached. Worth noting: book this one well in advance and have a backup plan if your flight is anything but perfectly on time.
Lunch was salvaged beautifully at Pink Mamma. The ambiance, the food quality, the view from the upper floor looking out toward the Sacré-Cœur — it was stunning and a genuinely perfect first Paris meal.
The climb up the stairs to the Sacré-Cœur itself is not subtle — it is flights upon flights. There is a tram option if needed. The view from the top earns every step.
Evening — Palais Garnier
Pre-purchased tickets for a 3 PM tour of the Palais Garnier — the opera house built in the late 1800s and situated right in the heart of the city. This was one of the most beautiful buildings visited on the entire trip. The main auditorium was inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. The gold, the detail, the scale — it's the kind of space that makes you stand in the middle of it and just look.
Morning — Macaron Class at Le Cordon Bleu
A 7:30 AM start time at Le Cordon Bleu — located near the Eiffel Tower — is not the gentlest introduction to a Paris morning, especially on Day 2 with jet lag in full effect. It caused a significant crash later in the day. It was still absolutely worth it.
Learning the art of making macarons from trained professionals at one of the most respected culinary schools in the world is not a normal Tuesday. The techniques, the precision, the way a macaron shell is supposed to sound when you tap it — all of it was fascinating and genuinely useful to know.
Afternoon — Beefbar, L'Arc de Triomphe & the Champs-Élysées
Walked from the class past the Eiffel Tower toward the Champs-Élysées for lunch at Beefbar Paris — one of the most beautiful restaurant spaces encountered anywhere. The food was excellent. Jet lag had other plans and cut the meal short after one bite — genuinely heartbreaking, but the right call given that something felt very off.
Walked to L'Arc de Triomphe, descended into the metro literally beneath it, returned to the Airbnb for a long nap, then went back out to walk the Champs-Élysées until the stores closed.
One note on Paris hours: restaurants often operate in defined windows — open for lunch, fully closed in the middle of the afternoon, then open again for dinner. Stores generally open around 10 AM and close between 7–8 PM. Plan accordingly, especially for dinner reservations.
Versailles was near the top of the list for the whole trip, and it exceeded every expectation.
Arrived around 9 AM despite a 10 AM ticket — they were letting people in by half-hour windows, so the 10 and 10:30 AM lines were admitted together. The queue quadrupled within minutes of joining it. Getting there early is not optional.
The Versailles app was one of the best decisions of the day — it includes audio guides and maps within the app, and it's far better than waiting in line for a physical audio guide. Download it before you arrive and have it ready.
Lunch at Ore, the on-site restaurant, was booked in advance on the assumption it would be competitive to get into. That assumption was correct. The food, the presentation, and the view were all exceptional — one of the most memorable meals of the trip.
Do not skip the gardens.
They are impeccable, unlike anything else, and the app provides a suggested path that makes navigating them far more manageable than going in blind. Budget a full day for Versailles — the inside and the gardens together take hours.
Getting there & back: Versailles is outside the city, so the standard metro t+ ticket doesn't cover the full journey. On the way there, the metro connected to a bus. On the way back, the RER was faster — but requires separate, more expensive tickets. See the Paris transportation post for full details.
Back within Paris, a walk around the Notre Dame area, a stop at Odette (a patisserie saved from a Pinterest research session that delivered), and dinner at an adorable Italian spot called Pepita — classic striped awning, excellent outdoor seating, and a discovery that it happened to be right next to the next day's reservation.
This was a solo morning of intentional wandering — and one of the best decisions of the trip. The route: photos of Big Ben before the crowds, then a piece of carrot cake with edible florals at Peggy Porschen in Belgravia (skip the coffee, get the cake), then over to Neal's Yard — the colorful alley that lives on every Pinterest travel board. It earns the hype.
The real find: 26grains in Neal's Yard. The Turkish eggs. The coffee. The setting. This was the best breakfast of the entire trip and it wasn't particularly close.
Granger & Co. & Harry Potter Studios
Met up with the group for lunch at Granger & Co. near King's Cross Station — fitting for a Harry Potter day. The food and fresh juices were excellent, and the outdoor seating gives you a great view of the station bustle.
Harry Potter Studios was a genuine core memory. The actual set rooms — Dumbledore's office, Gringotts Bank, the Great Hall — the costumes, props, wand collections, and a full-scale model of Hogwarts. The artistry involved in making those films is staggering, and being surrounded by it in person is something else entirely.
A few practical tips for the Studios:
- Skip the audio guide unless you're planning a very slow, full-day visit. The baseline noise and speaker displays compete with the audio constantly — it ends up more frustrating than enriching (especially if you're prone to auditory overstimulation).
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- Shop along the tour, not at the end. The end-of-tour shop line can be very long. Smaller shops along the route have shorter queues.
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- Food: The afternoon tea (themed, delicious) is available during the tour. There's also a food court at the entrance/exit if you need something more substantial — and you probably will by the end.
Portobello Road Market & Kuro
Started early with breakfast at Kuro in Notting Hill — a craft breakfast spot that set the tone for the day beautifully. The market itself is sidewalk-to-sidewalk on a Saturday, but completely worth it. Linen, handmade bags, antique brick-and-mortar shops with art, jewelry, and vinyl — a lot of the vendors aren't local (plenty of "Made in Italy" tags), but it still feels like the real Notting Hill.
Football at West Ham
The football match was one of the most anticipated moments of the trip — and it delivered. A nearly full stadium, an electric atmosphere, and an education in how the UK approaches football security (fascinating and completely different from American sports events). If you have any opportunity to attend a match while in London, take it — and if that match happens to be West Ham vs. Manchester United, apparently that's a particularly prized one to have attended.
Dishoom
Multiple locations around the city, all of them worth the potential queue. The menu is best approached as a sharing situation. A note: some items are spicier than their American equivalents — the samosas, for example. The wait moved quickly in our experience, and it was absolutely worth it.
A gentle last day — the best kind. Wandered toward Foyle's bookstore with a stop at Black Penny (Covent Garden location this time) for a protein-forward breakfast and good coffee. A few of the bookstores on the list were closed on Sunday, which is worth planning around.We made our way to St. Paul's Cathedral to take in the exterior before meeting up for the final meal of the trip.
Sunday Roast at Morgan Arms
The Sunday Roast reservation — made on the walk to breakfast that morning, at the same pub where the trip began — turned out to be the perfect ending. Sunday Roast culture is woven into London life in a way that makes complete sense once you've had one. Perfectly cooked, deeply satisfying, and a genuinely good way to say goodbye to a city.
