Bonjour! If you follow along on Instagram, you know that my husband Kuinise and I are just returning from a spontaneous trip to Paris. This was our first time in Europe, and it was everything I dreamed and more. Paris truly is as magical as they say, and I am so thankful to have experienced all with my hubby by my side. This trip has ignited the travel fire within us, and we’re already planning our next trip. I can’t wait to share bits and pieces of our Paris trip here with you! I wanted to start with a quick review of our hotel, because I feel that it was a huge part of why our trip was so incredible. Being that we’ve never visited Paris before, we did a fair share of research into where we wanted to stay and I was seriously overwhelmed at the variety of hotel options. I’m definitely not a travel expert, but I learned a thing or two in preparation for our trip that may be of assistance if you’re planning a trip in the near (or far) future. When traveling, we usually don’t allocate a large portion of our budget toward lodging. Since we spend the least amount of time in the room, we’d rather spend the money on food (especially in France! Lol), and activities. We also prefer the boutique hotel experience whenever possible to more mainstream options. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the bigger hotels (in fact there are certainly pros to booking with a more established brand name), we just enjoy the quirks and sense of place you get when going with a more local choice. There are also a ton of AirBnB’s in Paris. I must say however, that on vacation, I am a sucker for hotel luxuries…….room service and fresh linens, say no more 🙂

In Paris, the neighborhoods or districts are called arrondissements each with their own feel and unique things to offer. Despite the recommendations we received to stay somewhere more central to tourist locations in the 1st arrondissement, we opted to stay in the 9th district known as the Opera. We loved our stay here! It was definitely more residential, but there is something about being among the locals and observing how they go about daily life that added such dimension to our stay. I really loved that it was situated on a quiet street, but still to close to metro stations, countless cafes, bars, and amazing restaurants. Where you stay also depends on your trip itinerary. We spent a lot of time in outer-cities so being close to certain attractions wasn’t a huge priority plus ubers and taxi’s make the commute anywhere much easier. We just adored our stay at the super stylish and affordable Hotel Adele & Jules. 

I couldn’t have imagined a better aesthetic! Our room had a traditional french balcony, and was adorned with pristine, elegant and chic pink decor. Everything was perfect and so picturesque. You can tell that so much thought went into the design and details. It is a hidden gem in the opera district and certainly worth looking into. The hotel offers complimentary afternoon tea with light snacks, as well as daily breakfast for a fee. We didn’t take advantage of this every day, but it was a very useful amenity on certain days when we had a busy schedule planned. The rooms were smaller than we were used to, but that is the case for most hotels in Europe, plus there is always the option to upgrade to a larger room with more space if you needed to. (We booked the deluxe room for reference).

European Breakfasts are the besssst! 

Great intimate lounge spaces and free wifi for hotel guests!

We were blessed with some seriously gorgeous weather while we were there. The locals were telling us that it had been raining for weeks before, but we were treated to an idyllic European spring- with temperatures hitting the high 70’s toward the end of our trip. I loved people watching from our balcony, and enjoying coffee in the mornings (Not always in a pink tutu, I can assure you ;). The balcony is a must for that quintessential Parisian experience and worth the extra euro per night.

We will definitely be journeying back to Paris! It’s hard to describe how much that city captivates your heart. Have you ever been? What are some of your favorite things about it?

Thanks so much for reading, and cheers to a wonderful weekend!