You can say whatever you want about France, but I personally wouldn’t complain if there was a French café on every other corner. I mean seriously – the black and white tile, the warm, flakey croissants, the “American” coffee with the perfect amount of cream and caffeination for the day. It’s the perfect place to slow life down and enjoy the little things.
We planned an 18-day trip to Europe just before our second wedding anniversary this year and we covered three countries – France, Italy, and Greece. Our first stop was in France and it was so much fun! Here are some of our favorite spots:
PARIS
Le Saint Régis – this was hands-down our favorite café in France! Located right by Notre Dame and the Seine River, this corner café embodied the French culture and was the perfect way to start our first morning in Paris. They had the best breakfast option with warm croissants, orange juice, coffee, and yogurt for only 8 euros!
River Walk – the Seine River runs through Paris and curves around a lot of beautiful and popular tourist spots to visit including the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, public gardens, and the Notre Dame. On both sides of the river, there are wide stone walkways. We loved walking through the city right by the water, watching boats pass by and stopping to eat ham and cheese baguettes whenever we got hungry!
Tuileries Garden – located right by the Louvre, this is such a well-known public garden in Paris and rightly so! It’s beautiful! We really enjoyed walking through these large, perfectly landscaped havens. There are benches everywhere to stop and have a picnic, trees for shade, and beautiful flowers and greenery everywhere.
The Crêperie – another restaurant….yes we love food! Sitting outside in this open cafe allowed us to people watch to our heart’s content, while also enjoying delicious crepes – both sweet and savory!
BOURDEAUX
Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion – we scheduled a wine tour at this beautiful estate and it was by far, the highlight of our time in Bordeaux! It’s an absolutely picturesque vineyard and winery on a chateau right in the middle of town. The architecture and modern aesthetic had me in heaven alone! We were able to walk around the property, see the historic castle the original owner of the land still lives in (dreamy!), and enjoy the views from the rooftop deck of their wine-cellar.
Rue Sainte-Catherine – this street stretches for miles! It’s lined with national and international brands and luxury stores to shop to your heart’s content. Kameron enjoyed going in almost every single watch shop and getting to look at watches he had only seen in magazines. This street is not open to cars, so it made it the perfect pedestrian-friendly stretch to stroll around.
Bike Ride – while actually renting the bikes from an automated machine programmed in French was an experience in itself, our bike ride was definitely a favorite! It was great giving our feet a break from walking and getting out of the city to see more of the country parts of Bordeaux. While we definitely weren’t cruising in style with these bikes, we got to discover a public herbal garden (perfect for our dinner picnic!), feel the breeze along the river, and burn off some of the calories from our visit to the pastry shops earlier!
