Upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport, we spent almost half a day getting out of the airport, going into the city and finding our hotel.

At the airport, we bought the 3-day (zone 1 to 5) Paris Visite transport card [Euro 53] and 2-day Paris museum pass [Euro 42].  Going to the city, we used the transport card and took RER B train.

Paris Visite 3-day 5-zone pass

2-day Paris Museum Pass

When we got to Chatelet les Halles station, we went to their Tourist Information booth to ask for directions on how to get to the address of our hotel.  The guy in the counter was starting to give us directions when he received a call.  After that, he just told us "I'm sorry I have to go now" and that's it, he just left.  Whew! So, since he gave us a map, we just tried to use it and ask for directions on the streets.  After asking the locals (from restaurants and hotels), we were able to finally find the hotel. The alley where Hotel de Lille Louvre is, is just behind Timhotel Le Louvre.

When we got to the hotel, we cannot check-in yet so we just left my friend's luggage (mine would be delivered the next day) and went out again to start our adventure.

Day 1:
- Chateau Versailles

Day 2:
- Eiffel Tower
- Notre Dame Cathedral
- The Louvre
- Jardin des Tuileries, Placa de Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe

Day 3:
- Montmartre / Sacre Coeur, Placa de la Bastille

Mid-day of the second day, we went back to the hotel to check on my baggage however it hasn't been delivered yet.  The guy at the reception allowed me to use their phone to call the number on the paper that was given to me at the airport.  I was told that my luggage has already been dispatched from the airport so it would surely be delivered within the day.  We went out again to do some sight-seeing and when we got back, my luggage was already there.  It was delivered around 5PM that afternoon while my friend and I are out.

On the 3rd day, before we went out of the hotel, we already checked out and just left our bags at reception.  It was already 2PM when we got back, so we just retrieved our bags and made our way to Orly airport.  We took RER B train to Antony Station then transferred to OrlyVal for Orly Airport.  (Here's a link for other information on how to get to Orly airport.) 


Our Hotel [Hotel de Lille Louvre]

We booked our hotel via booking.com.  It is near The Louvre and accessible either via Palais Royal - Musee du Louvre or Les Halles metro stop (Chatelet Les Halles RER).  It's a bit hard to find as it is on a small short alley.  Location was great since it is near tourist attractions but still quiet at night, making it easy to sleep.  And, of course, it has wi-fi.

Hotel de Lille Louvre location
(from Google Maps)

We got a double-room with private bathroom.  It's just enough for two people to sleep in and have some space on the side of the bed. It has a coffee table, a window with a view of... just the other side of the building (so we didn't open up the drapes) and a small bathroom.  The size of the shower area is ok for a regular-size person but may be too small for a tall/big person.  What I noticed is that they don't have aircon but they do have heating facility, so I'm not sure how hot it would be in the summer months.

Steep stairs and ground floor hallway

Room (Image from booking.com)

Please note though that they do not have a lift so if you're carrying big luggages, you have to carry (or should I say drag) them up the narrow, somewhat winding plight of stairs to the floor where your room is.  Ours is only on the third floor, as the receptionist told us.

Price.  We got it at Euro184 for 2 people for 2 nights.  It's pricey (although I think a lot of things, including this, is pricey in Paris) considering that we booked it about 2-3 months prior to our stay.  They offer breakfast for a price, but we didn't include this in our booking.  

A lot of coffee shops/restaurants are within the area so I don't think you'll get hungry here.  There's also a nearby pharmacy, convenience store and a boulangerie (where we bought our delicious first and last meals in Paris).

Pastries from the boulangerie

Montmartre/Sacre Coeur and Placa de la Bastille

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur , is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France.  A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the excesses of the Second Empire and socialist Paris Commune of 1871 crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ. [Wiki]

We took bus 95 from Palais Royal going to Montmartre.  We passed by Academie Nationale de Musique, Concorde Opera de Paris and other landmarks.  We got off at the stop after a cemetery.  It was about a 5-10 minute walk from the bus stop to the funicular.

Bus 95 Route to Montmartre

At the lower funicular station, there's a public toilet.  It's rare to see public toilet in Paris, or Europe in general.  The one here is being automatically cleaned after each use.  You might just need to wait a while for your turn, as it might take 10-20 minutes for each person (and the toilet cleaning) to finish.  When a person comes out, the next one shouldn't go in right away as the doors will close and cleaning will begin.  The next person can come in when the light on the left turns green (or was it blue?).

Free Entry Toilet A recorded message can be activated by pushing the button on the right hand side on entering the toilet.  Only one person may use the toilet at any time except for those accompanying a child or a disabled person.  The toilet bowl is washed, disinfected and dried automatically after each use.  The floor is also washed after each use.

We took the funicular to the top, but one could also walk going there.  FYI:  The funicular is included in the Paris Visite pass that we purchased.

Funicular

It was a nice view on top.  I just didn't have the chance to take pictures inside the church as it's prohibited.  Although, some tourists still take some pictures.

View from the top

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur

On the way back, we took the metro.  From the lower funicular station, we turned left and followed the signs to the metro.  Before going back to the hotel to retrieve our bags, we dropped by Placa de la Bastille for some pictures.

Placa de la Bastille

The Eiffel Tower has been the symbol of Paris.  For first timers like me, I believe no trip to Paris would be complete without meeting the Iron Lady.  It's about time to pay it a visit.  We got off at Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel train station and followed the sign to the tower.  Before going there, we stopped by a cafe (Ribe Cafe) near the area for some breakfast.  It was quite pricey (around Euro22, that's Euro11 per person plus tip) but, ok, we charged it to experience as we already need our dose of caffeine. :)

Our breakfast at Ribe Cafe

After breakfast, we proceeded to the area of the tower.  After a few minutes walk, we've finally met.  Since it's still too early, the tower isn't open yet, but we got a chance to take some pictures without much people in the background.

Welcome to Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

We stayed a bit in the park.  Beware of scammers though, we fell into it (sadly)!  Some would have you sign up to help a non-profitable organization (I forgot what kind of organization that is) and ask you to give donation, they will tell you any amount would do.  Once you have your name signed and give them less than Euro10 (we gave Euro5 each), they will tell you that the minimum donation is Euro10 per person.  Hah! There goes "any amount".  When we heard that, we asked them to just erase our names and give us the Euro10 back.  They wouldn't and instead just accepted what we gave them.

We don't have plans of going up the tower, but we wanted to see it all lit up.  So, we left the area and gone back early evening.  I believe we got back past 7PM but it wasn't until around 8PM when the tower lit up (the sky was just getting dark at that time).

The lights show started at 8PM (it's repeated every hour on the hour).  It really looked as though the tower is sparkling.
 

Eiffel Tower during the lights show

We just finished the lights show and called it a day for us.  It was a long one and we need to rest our tired feet for the next day's adventure.

From The Louvre to Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe can be seen from The Louvre so we decided to just walk the length.  As per Google Maps, it's 3.8km/50 min walk.  But I guess 3.8km is a long walk when we've already been walking since morning.  The 50 minute walk actually took us about 1.5 hr (with some stops).

Route from The Louvre to Arc de Triomphe (from Google Maps)

Upon exiting The Louvre, we passed through Jardin des Tuileries.  There are coffee shops here and lots of place to just sit and relax.  There's a fountain and we noticed that a lot of people are sitting around it and enjoying the sun.  It seems sun bathing is a favorite past time of Europeans in general.  Whenever there's sun and water, there would be lots of people in that area.
 

From The Louvre to Jardin des Tuileries

From Jardin des Tuileries to Placa de Concorde

Jardin des Tuileries

On the other side of Jardin des Tuileries is Place de la Concorde.  It is the largest square in Paris.  The center of the Place is occupied by a giant Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Rameses II.  It is one of two the Egyptian government gave to the French in the 19th century.  The other one stayed in Egypt, too difficult and heavy to move to France with the technology at that time.  In the 1990s, President Francois Mitterand gave the second obelisk back to the Egyptians. [Wiki]

The Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

The Obelisk at Place de la Concorde

Place de la Concorde (with a view of Eiffel Tower)

Place de la Concorde (with a view of L'eglise de la Madeleine)

The Place has two fountains.  Both fountains had the same form: a stone basin; six figures of tritons or naiads holding fish spouting water; six seated allegorical figures, their feet on the prows of shipsk supporting the pedestal of the circular vasque; four statues of different forms of genius in arts or crafts supporting the upper inverted vasque, whose water shot up and then cascaded down to the lower vasque and then the basin.  [Wiki]

From Place de la Concorde, we continued west going to Champs-Élysées.  At first I thought the street is filled with shops.  I guess I'm wrong.  There's a part of it that has a park on one side and some buildings/museum on the other.

Champs-Élysées

After a few more minutes, we reached our destination.  Alas, we're face-to-face with Arc de Triomphe.  To get to the arc, you have to pass through the underground walkway.  When we got there, there's a ceremony being held, not sure what that is for but we waited for it to finish to get some good pictures.  Our Museum pass would have allowed us to walk to the top of the arc but since we're tired after walking most of the day, we just got contented taking pictures from below it.

Arc de Triomphe

Sign to the underground walkway to the arc

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe

There are parts under renovation

Arc de Triomphe

Since it's already starting to get a bit dark, we looked for a bus that would bring us back to the Eiffel Tower, in time for the lights show.