Ah, Paris. What a magical city you are. The architecture, the gardens, the food – there's romance everywhere you turn.

We kicked off our Europe 2022 Anniversary trip with 3 days in Paris and we absolutely loved our time here. I'm sharing my best tips for what to do with your time in the City of Lights: where to stay, where to eat, and what to do!

↓ Watch the best of our 3 days in Paris in our vlog! ↓

Where We Stayed

As per usual, we stayed in an Airbnb. I forever love traveling in foreign countries through Airbnbs! My goal when traveling abroad is always to feel less like a tourist and more like a local. Cue: swapping a stuffy hotel for a cozy apartment! You can always message your hosts with any questions you have about the city and they often have the best tips for what to do and where to eat.

In Paris, we stayed in this adorable Airbnb in the Montmarte district. It was styled beautifully and had everything we needed. The host was gracious with some snacks in the fridge (including the most delicious cheese) and answered any questions I had. Of course, this neighborhood isn't the closest to a lot of the main tourist attractions like the Eiffel tower and the Louvre, but the metro system in Paris makes everything very accessible and we much preferred the price point up here.

Where We Ate

Check out my Gluten Free Paris Guide for all the amazing places we ate!

What We Did

Climbed the Eiffel Tower | We almost didn't climb it (see Casmir's hilarious and adorable panic over the heights in the vlog) but I'm SO glad we did. It was definitely a highlight. Worth the views and you get a great stair workout while you're at it!

Palace of Versailles | We couldn't visit Paris without seeing this luxurious castle. Because we felt short on time, we only spent a couple of hours here, but we really enjoyed it! The gardens are enormous and so beautiful to stroll through, and I loved admiring all the intricate designs. (Drooling over the marble and all the wood floor designs!)

Louvre Museum | Obviously, we couldn't leave Paris without seeing the Mona Lisa. We didn't do a tour here and admittedly rushed through it because we didn't have a ton of time, but it's still a must.

La Maison Rose + Montmarte | We didn't eat at this iconic spot but I sure did love the special feeling of standing in front of it after oogling over it in so many Pinterest photos. We spent the morning just wandering through the whole Montmarte neighborhood; it was definitely a highlight. The architecture and the charm is on another level in this district.

Tuileries Garden | We rushed through the Lourve but we soaked in the park outside of it. We took a much-deserved break in the middle of a 27,000-step day and laid in the grass, people-watched and just soaked in the beauty of it all. Honestly, this was truly one of the highlights of our whole time in Paris.

Notre Dame | We didn't actually tour this iconic landmark, but I have to say this whole area was one of my favorites. We really enjoyed just strolling the Bouquinistes (book stalls) and enjoying the Seine views.

Palais-Royal Garden | Another iconic spot we really enjoyed just strolling and taking in the magic of.

Wine and cheese class | This was another great highlight! This was a last-minute decision to book our first Airbnb Experience (you know I've booked dozens of stays but we hadn't yet tried an experience) and I can't tell you how much we loved it! First of all, the Airbnb platform just makes searching for the right tour or class or experience so easy and the reviews really help you know if you're choosing something good (vs just trusting someone off the street or behind a booth). We booked this class with sommelier Alex and we loved it! We're hardly wine drinkers but it was fun to learn more about how to find wines we like and I just soaked up everything Alex had to say about French cuisine and reverence for food. Ask Casmir about living cheeses vs dead cheeses – he's very proud of what he knows now.

Locked up our love on Pont des Arts | So funny story here: We bought the lock up by the Sacre-Coure but instead of locking it up there I wanted to save it for the Pont des Arts because, Paris tradition! So we went out of our way to make the famour lovers bridge our final goodbye to Paris and we get there and… no locks. They totally changed the bridge and removed the thousands of locks and installed glass instead! But we found a spot to leave our lock, and the bridge was worth the views anyways.

Overall, we loved Paris! Even more than I thought we would. The architecture, the style, the food-forward culture. We really enjoyed soaking in the magic of the City of Lights and we'd totally go back someday. In fact, I'd imagine we will just because the 9-hour direct flight from DFW was so easy, and we really want to see more of the French countryside. So we'll see you again soon, Paris. Merci for your magic.