Our Upcoming Trip to France!

Quick overview of our upcoming trip to France; where we're going, what we want to see, and what we want to do.

In just under a week, Chase and I will be hopping on a plane and heading over to France for another adventure! Here is a quick look at our plans for the trip and some of the things we are hoping to see!

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Day 1-3 ~Paris~

Our first few days will be in Paris. We will arrive at about 9 and hopefully be able to check in to our hotel early to clean up before spending the day running around the city. We spent several days in Paris last spring, so there are lots of big tourist places that we've already been. However, this is nice because we can revisit the sites we really enjoyed and we can spend the time getting off the beaten path and seeing less touristy destinations!

We didn't get to go last time, and it's top of the list for Chase, so we will probably be going to the Catacombs this time. We were also very lucky when we visited before, and we got to see Notre Dame before the fire, but now that this historic site has been altered, we will probably head back to see it again.

Other than those two specific places, I'm looking forward to more French bread and definitely a Paris Brest or two (a delicious French dessert... head over to my Instagram to see what this mouthwatering treat looks like!) We will probably spend a full day or more just wandering around the city finding cute local cafes and sitting in parks. Those are some of our favorite things to do when we have time in a new city! (You can see us doing both in our video from our last Paris trip here.)

Day 4 ~London~

This trip will just be a day trip over from Paris on the train. We will take the train over in the morning at about 9 and head back to Paris at 9, so in between we will pack in as much as we can! My cousin lives in London, so we will go over for the day to visit her and her husband. So far our plans include tea at Kensington Palace's Orangery, seeing Big Ben, and of course Buckingham Palace!

There are lots of things to see between Kensington Palace and the Thames River where Big Ben is located, so I imagine we will pretty much just wander from one to the other and see as many things as we can along the way! The area between the two is about three miles so we will probably walk since we will stop so often to sight-see.

Day 5 ~Paris~

This day will be our last in Paris, but also partly a travel day, so we will probably give ourselves the chance to sleep in, and maybe go on a run in the morning so that we stretch our legs out before getting on a plane. Another one of our favorite things to do when we travel is to run in the cities we visit. From an efficiency standpoint you can see a lot more much more quickly than you can walking. It also just gives you a different appreciation for the cities geography (you may not notice if it's somewhat hilly if you're walking, but you certainly will if you go for a run)! In the past, we've run in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Istanbul, and I've run in Sydney and Melbourne on my Australia trip. I would definitely recommend trying it if you like to run!

Day 6-8 ~Nice~

While we visit Nice we will be staying in a small town just outside called Cagnes-sur-Mer. We'll be staying in a hotel that is part of a small, luxury collection that Hyatt partners with. On our first day we will probably explore the local area, before heading into Nice on the second day. While we're there I think we'll spend some time on the gorgeous beaches of southern France, take a walk on the Promenade des Anglais, and maybe do a hike at Parc du Mont Boron.

Then, on our last day we plan on going to Monaco. Chase wants to go to the luxurious Monte-Carlo casino and I would like to go see the State Apartments at the Prince's Palace. There are some other old buildings and churches that we might go visit as well, and they have a zoological garden that I would like to explore! I'm not sure what all we will get to, but I'm looking forward to exploring this tiny city-state!

Day 9 ~Lyon~

This will also be somewhat of a day trip. Our plan is to leave Nice early in the morning, drive up to Lyon for the day, then continue on to a family friend's house about 30 minutes south of Dijon to spend the next two nights. Since it will be a short trip I'm not sure how much we will get to see, and I haven't done a ton of research yet to see what would be the best things to see.

Most likely we will ask the hotel in Paris if they have any recommendations for Nice and Lyon. The last time we were there, we relied heavily on the concierge to give us advice on places to eat and times to go see tourist sites and they were so helpful! One thing that we love about Hyatt brand hotels is the amazing customer service that we have every time we stay. Being able to trust and rely on the recommendations from front desk or concierge personnel can be a huge help when traveling in a city you aren't familiar with.

Day 10 ~Dijon~

We will arrive just south of Dijon to spend the night on Day 9, and then spend the whole day on Day 10 exploring the city. One of my dad's high school friends lives here, so we will most likely have a bit of a guided experience here which will be really cool! Having the opportunity to be shown around by someone who actually lives there will be a fun perspective to get on a new place.

There are some cool old sites in the city that might be nice to see... Old churches and a palace so I'm sure Chase will want to go explore those! For the most part here we will just be relying on our hosts to show us the cool places in the city.

In the morning of Day 11 we will hop on a train in Dijon and head back to the airport in Paris to come home! Thinking about that part makes me sad now, but I think by the time we've been gone for 10 days we will be missing our doggies and we will be ready to come home!