I’ve just been lucky enough to spend 48 hours in Paris without the kids. Now I know the title to this review says 24 hours, but that was basically the time I had in Paris that I wasn’t spending at the prestigious Les Spot des E-Fluent conference (now in year 5) put on by Parole de Mamans.

24 Hours in Paris

I travelled to Paris on a short 1hr long flight from Manchester with Laura & Phil and were whisked off in a taxi into Paris with some other international bloggers and Jo from the UK who had just flow in from Bristol. Thanks to Selectour Afat for arranging our travel.

Apart from attending the conference though we had time to explore this beautiful city and we managed to fit in a walk across the city to see the Eiffel Tower, take a stroll through the Christmas markets, have dinner on the Seine and take a morning trip through the Tuileries Gardens to the Louvre!

Fundamentally for me to see the best of Paris you walk, walk and walk some more. You only have to walk a short distance from any attraction like the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre and you stumble across beautiful buildings and iconic sights from across the city.

We stayed in a lovely hotel the Saint James Albany which is fabulously located right opposite the Louvre in Central Paris.  Whilst the rooms are possibly due a refurbishment and sadly during our stay the wifi was broken, its location more than made up for these issues as you could literally walk out into the Tuileries Gardens and across to the Louvre! You also stumble across interesting lights, bridges and statutes all of which make you stop and pause and take lots of photos particularly if you’re a blogger/photographer!

Being in Paris for a short time in December means you should try and fit in the Christmas Markets which are beautifully located all down the Champs Elysees from the Arc du Triomphe.  Even though we visited during the day the atmosphere was ever present and I had to partake in a glass of hot wine (mulled wine to us Brits!) and was very tempted by the doughnuts and crepes!

After the wander though the markets we made the short walk to the Eiffel Tower. Well when I say short, it was around 40 minutes.  The Eiffel Tower is always present when you’re in Paris and it always looks closer than you think.  You always think it will be just round the next corner, until it actually is!

We had all good intentions of going to the top but it was bitterly cold and the queue just wasn’t moving, so instead took the decision to save our money and spend it on the Louvre the next day. We had after all seen the Eiffel Tower and the only place you can’t see the Eiffel Tower in Paris is when you’re at the top! Thanks Alison for the money saving tip!

Our Dinner on the Seine was an excuse to get dressed up and it felt so incredibly special to be cruising up and down the Seine past the Eiffel Tower drinking champagne, particularly when it put on a show for us like this:

 

Paris was doing its thang last night and the Eiffel Tower was literally shimmering! @parisenscene @leparisenscene #efluent5 #paris #france #mondayescapes

A video posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Nov 28, 2016 at 11:29pm PST

It was also an excuse to pop on a little Velvet number!

 

Ladies ready to party! #efluent5 #paris #mondayescapes @iamalisonperry

A photo posted by Karen Beddow (@mini_travellers) on Nov 28, 2016 at 12:24pm PST

Finally the morning before we left we were at the Louvre when it opened at 9, trying to make the most of our last few hours in Paris before being collected at 12 from the hotel to head back to the airport.  Unfortunately for us the Louvre had some kind of issue with security and whilst they let us in, we sat on the floor in the entrance until it finally opened at just after 10.

Thankfully it has a very nice ceiling!

Our delay unfortunately only left us with a little over an hour in the Louvre but we made the most of our time, and you can see some photos of our 1 hour in the Louvre here!  Too many to include in this already photo heavy post!

If you have longer than 24 hours in Paris and you’re looking for somewhere to stay, here are some ideas of Where to Stay in Paris.

If you are travelling to Paris with Toddlers here are some ideas of what to do too!

NB: We were invited to Paris by Parole de Mamans who also arranged for a lot of the activities but all views and opinions are my own.

A huge thank you for Sophie and Parole de Mamans for inviting me, Selectour Afat for arranging the travel, St James Albany for putting us up, Paris en Scene for the dinner and the amazing nighttime views of Paris.

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