For my 21st birthday back in July I was lucky enough to be treated to a trip to Paris by my boyfriend Ian, we were both really excited and I couldn't be more thankful.
Orgeval is another city just on the western outskirts of Paris, whereas the airport and Disneyland were of course, on the eastern outskirts. Because of a mix up with flights we decided to stay longer in Paris and so decided to stay in a cheap hostel (which you can read about here) for the first couple of nights and then move to our other hotel later on. We woke up early on the Friday ready to take the journey to our other hotel and luckily our Paris Viste passes covered us to get to Poissy station, which was the nearest station. We then had to get a bus - with all our luggage - to the hotel, but we discovered that they only ran once an hour! Luckily there was a taxi rank nearby so we jumped in to save time so that we could make the most of our day. We checked in to our luxary room (compared to our previous hostel) and after attempting to get a bus back to the station, gave up and grabbed another taxi.
Luckily we made it from Poissy station back to Charles De Gaulle which brought us out straight at the Arc de Triumph. By this time it was freezing cold and had started raining so we ended up having to spend 10 euros on an umbrella - well worth it! We took a walk down the Champs Elysees, gazing at all the beautiful shops and buildings. The food was quite expensive but we stumbled upon a tiny baguette shop that had a sheltered place to sit outside so we enjoyed our food whilst people (and pigeon) watching.
We headed towards the Concorde before heading through all the pretty back streets towards the Eiffel Tower. It took us ages to find the tower.. We saw a group of children on a school trip, Ian decided to follow them because they must be going to the Eiffel Tower (even though they looked french..). We kept going around and around until Ian turned around randomly and saw it straight behind us! We took lots of photos and decided to head up - choosing the stairs over the lift. It only cost us 3.50 euros each (less than the bottle of coke which Ian paid 5 euros for at the top!) It was well worth the walk and we could see across the whole of Paris - it really was a beautiful view. We really didn't feel the romantic thing as much as we thought we would though as there were people everywhere. I really was hoping someone would propose in front of us though!
It was still freezing when we came back down but we took a walk along the river and Ian suggested we went in a museum not far from the Eiffel Tower. After a wander around (wouldn't recommend but we did get in for free with our passports) it started to get dark so we took the metro back to Charles De Gaulle and headed to Mcdonald's (again).
Later on we decided to head back to the hotel and this time managed to get the bus, although we had to wait for half an hour), our bed and shower felt like a huge luxury that night. We also watched a bit of Friends in French which was so funny!
Tips for travel
- No signs - there are few signs towards the Eiffel Tower so use a map to stop you getting lost in the back streets of Paris (unless you want to explore!)
- Take a drink up the tower - 5 euros is a hefty amount to pay for one bottle of coke.
- To go right to the top - you need an extra pass, with an extra price tag.
- Ask taxi prices - before you get in.
- Beggars - there are plenty of beggars especially on the Champs elysees so just be mindful.
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