2-day walking tour of Paris (food recs, hostel, photos)!

2 days, 1 night in Paris as a solo female traveler.

Paris was my first stop on a 3-week solo European adventure. I planned everything out with the TripIt app, which was incredibly helpful (it kept track of my travel tickets, hotels reservations, and itinerary.) I arranged the trip so that I could be on foot as much as possible and essentially take a big walking tour of the city. I decided to skip the museums because I like being outside/in the city more and I only had a short amount of time!

Where I stayed:

MIJE Marais (youth hostel)

- $40 USD/night

- very close to major sights (Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, Louvre)

Overview/major points of interest

Day 1:

- Sacre Coeur cathedral

- Montmartre area sighteeing

- picnic at park Buttes Chaumont 

- sunset overlooking the city at Montparnasse tower

Day 2:

- Notre Dame

- Saint Chapelle

- Jardins de Tuileries (right by Louvre)

- Eiffel Tower

- Arc de Triomphe

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 

Mon, May 28
7:00 AM - arrived at the Charles De Gaulle airport. Got on the RER-B train to Gare De Nord to get to Sacre Coeur. #sacrecoeur #paris 

9:30 AM - spend time walking around at Sacre-Couer and then the Montmartre area. Got the best croissant in the world at Le Grenier a Pain Abbesses.  From there, I walked to Buttes Chaumont park for a picnic lunch. It took me ~1 hr, maybe longer between taking pictures and stopping into a grocery store to buy some cheese, bread, and wine.  #croissant #montmartre 

1 PM - lunch at Buttes Chaumont park. Took my time and enjoyed the scenery. Walked ~1 hr to my hostel. #park #picnic #baguette 

4 PM - checked in MIJE Marais (youth hostel). #hostel 

6 PM - walked to Montparnasse (~1 hr) to get some sunset views over the city. Took the metro from Montparnasse to Invalides, and then took an evening walk along the Seine back to my hostel. #montparnasse 

Day 2 - Sighteeing as I made my way west to Porte Maillot to catch my bus to the aiport later that day. 

7:30 AM - checked out of my hostel and headed to Notre Dame/Sainte-Chapelle. The Notre Dame towers offered some cool views of Paris (the classic gargoyle overlooking the city shot) but it was crowded and there was netting obscuring the views that was king of annoying. I enjoyed the experience of Sainte-Chapelle a lot more. It was absolutely stunning. Went to Relais Entrecote  for a wonderful lunch of steak frites. #notredame #saintechapelle #steakfrites 

1 PM - Took my picture with the giant glass pyramid at the Louvre and then walked through the Jardins de Tuileries as I made my way to the Eiffel Tower.

2:30 PM - made it to the Eiffel Tower and hung out a bit there (didn't climb it) #eiffeltower 

3:30 PM - got to the Arc de Triomphe (didn't climb it) and found a cafe in the area. Treated myself to a 6 course French meal (I WISH I had written down the name of the place!)

6:30 PM - got on a bus at Porte Malloit and headed to the aiport. On to the next destination!