Another Christmas has come and gone and I’m still watching festive movies on all my streaming services. All these movies are based in the northern hemisphere where their Christmas is snow-filled and it got me thinking about my first white Christmas in Paris, France.

Christmas in Australia is quite different from what you see in the movies –no beanies, scarves, hot chocolate, and most definitely no snow. Growing up, I loved to watch Christmas movies around this time of year. I always dreamt of having a “white Christmas,” to experience a cold, wet holiday where I could walk the streets in a beanie and scarf and sipping a hot chocolate in the snow. In 2010 I got to experience my very first white Christmas with my family in the city of love, Paris, France.

I was already in Europe when my family were heading to Paris, so I boarded a train from Aachen, Germany, and went through the German and French countryside until I arrived at my destination – Paris! My parents and twin sister met me at train station in the Latin Quarter located in the 5th district. The 5th district you can find Jardin des Plantes, Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Musee de Cluny, The Pantheon, Quartier Latin, Universites, La Sorbonne, Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve, Eglise, Saint-Severin, La Grande Mosquee, Le Musee de l’AP-HP.

We stayed in a cute boutique apartment that overlooked a cobbled alleyway. The apartment was actually relatively small, with only one bedroom, so my twin sister and I slept in the living room on a day bed whilst my parents took the main bedroom. Our apartment was a short walk to the Louver, the Eifel Tour, and Notre Dame Cathedral. Prime location if you ask me.

The Louvre

Admission: €15

Believe it or not, the Louvre was once a fortress and home for French royalty! Built-in the 12th century by King Phillip II, the 98-foot tall fortress was designed to protect the western side of Paris until the 14th century when the city had extended beyond the perimeter of the fortress. Then in the 16th century, King Francis I tore down the fortress and rebuilt it to be an extravagant Renaissance-style royal palace, where it continued to be home to French royalty until 1682 when King Louis XIV constructed the Palace of Versailles. Fast-forward to the 18th century, and the Louvre was opened as a museum and place for showcasing priceless art.

Whether you choose to do a group tour, a guided tour, or go on your own and do an audio tour, visiting The Louver while you’re in Paris is a must, even if it’s just to live out your very own Da Vinci Code adventure. Although the main attraction tends to be the Mona Lisa (which is smaller than what you would expect), take your time walking by the other pieces of art that don the walls.

Now, if you get bored of looking at a lot of naked cherubs, you will be pleasantly surprised to find statutes and remnants of civilizations from long ago – and maybe a nude statue or several.

The Eiffel Tower

A trip to Paris would not be complete without seeing the Eiffel Tower up close and personal. The Eiffel Tower was created in 1889 to be an attraction at the Paris World Fair. For its’ time, the Eiffel Tower was an industrial and engineering feat requiring over 300 workers, 18,000 pieces of iron, 2.5 million rivets to reach the height of 984.25 feet! At the time, it was the tallest building in the world until 1930 when the Chrysler Building in New York City took over that title. Interestingly, whilst the Eiffel Tower is an iconic symbol and landmark of France for outsiders, apparently the residents of Paris originally hated it and called it an eye-sore!

Now there might be better times to go to the Eiffel Tower than during Christmas if you want to actually go inside and take the elevator ride up. During the festive season, we found that the lines were long, and it was a bit too cold to be standing and waiting around for a chance to get inside. So instead, we headed to the park directly across the road from the Eiffel Tower where you can still take in the view of this iconic tower and take the ‘must-have’ photo.

Admission information for the Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Aside from the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe is one of the most iconic monuments in Paris. It stands to honour those French soldiers who died during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Now I never got close enough to confirm this (it’s an operational round about and always busy), but apparently on the inner and outer surfaces you can see all the names of the French Generals and their victories. It’s also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WW1.

To get to the Arc de Triomphe you need to head to the western end of the Champs-Élysées. If you want some cool photos, you can head there around dusk and take photos of the Arc de Triomphe lit up by its’ lights. Trick: put your camera on long exposure and you’ll create long light lines in your photo!

Eat your heart out at one of the many Parisian cafes

But if you’re not into monuments or museums, don’t stress, there’s still plenty to do in Paris! Simply walk around the streets, and you will stumble upon some amazing cafes and crepe stalls on nearly every corner!

I had been told that to truly experience another culture you must eat their food. So, when I knew I was heading to Paris I put “eat at a Parisian cafe” on my bucket list. I mean, you can’t go to Paris and not eat a real Parisian style breakfast, right!

We checked out Les Deux Palais for a Parisian style brunch. All I can remember was the hilarious, generous and polite staff, the absolutely delicious and well portioned meals and coffee that could rival any cafe in Melbourne!

Shop ’til you drop!

Paris has some of the best shopping ever! I found some of the most amazing winter clothes that we would never get here in Australia – I mean, our winters pale in comparison to a French winter. I found the most gorgeous fur lined heeled boots that just screamed “Paris Fashion” – I was devastated when the heels eventually broke years later. I even found a discount DVD store where I could get some of my favourite TV Shows and Movies for $2! (For those who may not have been around for the VHS and DVD revolution, there was once a time where Netflix was not a thing ha!).

Ladies, if you’re ever in Paris absolutely do yourself a favour and check out the lingerie stores! To this day I am unable to find anything that rivals the quality and designs of the lingerie that I found in Paris.

---

It may have been almost 15 years since I’ve been to Paris, but I always long to return. I fell in love with that city, the people, the uniqueness, the shopping, and most of all, the memories I made with my family! Hopefully one day in the future I can return with my now husband and create more memories in a city I adore.

Much love,
Lara X

Psst. Follow me on social media!

• Twitter
• Instagram

You might also like

Latest on the ‘Gram