While almost every visitor to Paris comes to the Île de la Cité—the island home to some of the most famous sites in Paris—most visitors miss the Deportation Memorial or the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation. It can be easy to overlook the Deportation Memorial on the Île de la Cité given all the blockbuster historical sites—Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie—as well as the flower market and loads of souvenir shops that fill up the island. But if you are looking for a more serious, quiet place of reflection, I would recommend a quick visit to the Deportation Memorial, which is a memorial to the 200,000 French citizens who died in Nazi concentration camps. We’ll share everything you need to know to visit the memorial and tell you about our own experience visiting the Deportation Memorial in Paris. Basic Information on Visiting the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation Where? The Deportation Memorial is located at… Read the rest

A Seine river cruise is a very popular way to see Paris, and one we always recommend to visitors to the city. These short river cruises allow you to take in many of the highlights of the city—the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral, etc.—as you float along the Seine River. Many of Paris’s most famous and important buildings, bridges, and attractions can be seen from the river. The river viewpoint also allows you to gain some good insight into the city’s history, evolution, and architecture. In fact, the banks of the Seine in Paris were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. We have taken many Seine river cruises over the years on multiple visits to Paris with a lot of different companies, and we always recommend one to friends and family when visiting Paris. However, deciding on the right cruise may be… Read the rest

Ladurée is a famous pâtisserie, or pasty shop, in Paris that is well-known for its yummy, rainbow-colored assortment of macarons. Many visitors flock to the main Ladurée store along the Champs-Elysées, but have you heard about the second most famous macaron stop in Paris: Pierre Hermé? Pierre Hermé actually worked at Paris competitors Fauchon and Ladurée before striking it out on his own and now has a number of locations named after himself. Whereas Ladurée is known for its Belle Époque store décor and more traditional offerings, Pierre Hermé is known for innovative and creative flavors combinations. For instance, one of the current seasonal macaron flavors at Pierre Hermé is olive oil with mandarin orange and cucumber water! Now, if you’ve been reading my blog you’ll know we already discussed our discovery of macarons at Ladurée during our 2012 Paris visit which you read about here. But on our subsequent visit this past… Read the rest

If you are interested in buying some clothes in Paris, but don’t have too much money to spend, Free P Star may be a great store to check out. Free’P’Star is a Parisian vintage store that currently has three locations in the Marais. While many vintage clothing shops in Paris have me saying “C’est trop cher”, prices at Free’P’Star begin at just 1€! We happened upon the store on Rue de Rivoli while doing some exploring in the Marais this past Spring and thought we’d share our discovery for those of you searching for some cheap vintage fashion finds in Paris. Our stop here turned out to be a little shopping adventure. Basic Info on Free’P’Star Store Locations: All three Paris store locations are in the Marais in the 4th arrondissement so you could actually hit all three in an afternoon if you are ambitious. Addresses: 1) 8 rue Sainte… Read the rest