France: Paris, Disney, and the Eiffel Tower

Capital: Paris

Largest City: Paris

Population: 68 million

Currency: Euro

Language: French

France is located in western Europe. The largest city and capital, Paris, is one of the most popular tourists destinations in the world. Along with Paris, the country has amazing food, art and history. Other notable cities in France are Bordeaux, Nice and Cannes. Since I was a teenager, I have had dreams of visiting Paris and finally made that dream come true in 2019 on a two-week trip around five countries in Europe with my husband.

Paris: Making the Dream Come True

On our two-week trip, Paris was our first stop. We spent four days in the city and could have easily spent two more. I accomplished most of my must see list, except for the Palace of Versailles which is about twelve miles outside of the city center, and the Arc de Trimophe which was too far away for my tired feet to walk at the end of the day. The Notre Dame Cathedral was also on the list, but it unfortunately, the cathedral caught on fire two weeks prior and was closed.

The entrance to one of the best art museums in the world

After arriving at the Charles de Gaulle airport, we took the metro to our hotel. Our hotel was close enough to walk to the main attractions and cheap enough to not feel broke.

Some of the activities we did in Paris include:

• visiting the Louvre which is a very popular art museum that is home to Leonardo de Vinci's Mona Lisa (an extremely crowed Mona Lisa, I may add)

• visiting the Musee de l'Armee des Invaldies which is a military museum that houses Naploeon Bonparte's tomb (a grand tomb for his big ego)

• seeing the catacombs which hold the remains of more than 6 million people under the streets of the city (a bit morbid but interesting place)

• exploring the pantheon with the tombs of notable figures such as Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, Voltaire, and Rousseau

• strolling through the Cimetiere du Paris-Lachaise and seeing the graves of famous figures such as Jim Morrison of The Doors, Oscar Wilde and Chopin

• crossing the Eiffel Tower off my bucket list which I found to look random in such an old city

• visiting Disneyland Paris

Seeing the dark side of Paris at the Catacombs

The food in Paris was absolutely amazing as well -- I had crepes, onion soup, beef bourguignon, and an eclair. Paris is a well-known food city, and I could see why after visiting.

Final Thoughts

I was extremely hyped to visit Paris, and it did not meet my expectations. Over the years, I have grown more fond of the city and looking back, I would love to return to the city. I loved how old the city looked. The city has a lot of history also. France has several other cities and places that I would like to go to outside of Paris as well.