We had visited Paris before. I visited in my 20s for work, and then we visited as a family in 2022. Just by the heading, ‘Day 3 – The Day We Were Over-Ambitious: Paris’ in Over the Pond and Through the Cities, I’m sure you can take a guess as to how that day went. However, we were willing to give it another try, especially since we had just wrapped up a trip to Disneyland Paris.
Notre Dame Cathedral
At around 8 AM on the morning of our third day in France, we walked to the train station in Chessy and took a train to Paris. The first stop? Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as the Notre Dame Cathedral.
When we visited in 2022, we weren’t able to go inside of the church because of the restoration work from the 2019 fire. With the cathedral back open, we were able to go inside and see the breathtaking interior.
The Louvre
After visiting Notre Dame Cathedral, we ventured over to the Louvre for our timed entry. After two days at Disney and an early wake up call to get to the train station, our girls were already starting to hit a wall. We waited in line to get inside, waited in line to through another entry point to view one of the temporary exhibits, and then were off to see The Mona Lisa. We were able to push our way through the crowd and make it to the front to view her. And…that’s all we have, folks. Kids quickly started crashing, so we made the collective decision to wrap up our time at the museum and find something to eat.
Eiffel Tower
It’s been the highlight of every trip we’ve taken to Paris, the highlight for most. The unmistakable icon of the city of love. Yet somehow, this visit to the Eiffel Tower managed to surpass all the ones before it. We decided to join a tour this time and go up into the tower. We learned the incredible history of the Eiffel Tower and felt the below were too interesting not to share:
- It was initially intended to be a temporary structure for the 1889 Paris Exhibition. It was approved to remain for 20 years, but an antenna tower added to the top of it kept it from being torn down.
- There are 72 names of scientists and engineers engraved around the tower.
- The Eiffel Tower is painted a different color roughly every 7 years. The previous paint is scraped off and then it is painted by hand. It takes between 12 and 18 months to paint the tower. At the time of our visit, the Iron Lady was painted “Eiffel Tower Brown”
- There are 20,000 glitter bulbs on the Eiffel Tower
Bateaux Parisiens Siene River Cruise
I honestly enjoyed this cruise because it gave a different perspective of the city. The rest of the family…fell asleep.
Arc de Triomphe
On our first trip to Paris, we skipped the Arc de Triomphe. This time, we made up for it by not only seeing it up close but also heading all the way to the top. The view was absolutely worth it.
Overall opinion of Paris
When we first came to Paris years ago, the day unraveled quickly: a missed train from London that delayed us by two hours, rush‑hour train navigation, a stroller stuck between the train and the platform, and rain to top it off. This visit couldn’t have been more different. It was intentional, well‑paced, and genuinely enjoyable. We savored each landmark and especially loved taking the guided tour at the Eiffel Tower. It may have taken two or three visits, but this was the one that finally made Paris feel worth it for us.
Oliver Family Adventures 
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