On the first afternoon, we walked from the Arc de Triumphe down the Champs-Élysée along the river Seine. We made our way to Place de la Concorde and then to Notre Dame and Île de la Cité, stopping to enjoy views of the Eiffel Tower and appreciate all of the various monuments and impressive buildings we passed by.
We dedicated a whole day to exploring Île de la Cité, an island in the center of Paris where the city was originally founded. The three medieval buildings to visit are the famous cathedral of Notre Dame; Sainte-Chapelle, built as a royal chapel to host some relics such as crown of thorns; and the Conciergerie which was first the home to the early French kings, and later served as a prison which held many famous prisoners, including Marie Antoinette.
We spent another day in the Louvre enjoying all the wonderful works of art hosted in this huge museum.
Finally, we had a fantastic time touring Versailles and its gardens, as well as Marie Antoinette's Grand and Petit Trianons.
We especially enjoyed our delicious crêpes in Versailles.
During our stay in Paris, we had some delicious casual bites, including two classics from a darling cafe near the Louvre:
Quiche Lorraine
Croque Monsieur
On one of our evenings, we found a fabulous trendy restaurant lounge bar named Toi, located just two steps from the Champs-Elysée. This chic restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere and modern decor featuring pink and purple lighting and art.
We couldn't resist ordering a fabulous Pink Purple drink, a delicious concoction of passion fruit and cranberry juice.
The cuisine at Toi is superb thanks to Chef Yoan Salmon who has worked at the Plaza Athenee and the Bristol among other places. At Toi, he features a fusion cuisine of French classics with Asian and Italian influences.
We tried a Tagine of Monkfish with vegetables confit, which was flavorful and delicious.
We also sampled a Lobster Fettuccine, with a generous portion of lobster and a wonderfully rich lobster cream sauce.
This was a lovely and relaxing meal!
Our main culinary highlight in Paris was our dinner in the Michelin-starred Le Cinq. Please stay tuned for a detailed review that will be featured in my next post.
