Solo "relaxed" trip to Paris - March 2026

(continued...)

Highlights

• The Paris by Mouth food tour was awesome! Not cheap, but our guide, Isabelle, was fantastic and we ate so many delicious things (especially the cheese - so much cheese!). I also liked that they followed up by email after with a list of the places we went & things we ate. It was a fun group of people & it was nice to have some social time considering I was travelling along. I will definitely be revisiting those shops next time I'm in Paris.

• Chatting with the owner/curator at the Millet house in Barbizon. When he found out I was from Boston he shared a lot of great info about how a collector introduced Millet's work to the Boston art scene...it was fun to go to the MFA when I got home & see the Millet paintings (and that collector's name on the plaques).

• Happening upon the Paris Half Marathon. It's a huge race with almost 50,000 runners. They start in small waves over the course of a number of hours, so it goes on for a while. Turns out the starting point was very close to my hotel, just over on the left bank & the end is at the Bastille, which was where I was planning to head that morning anyway for the market, so I watched a bit at both spots. Tons of spectators & just a really great energy all around. I love encountering random unexpected events like this while travelling.

• Apero each afternoon...nothing better than sitting in a Paris cafe with a nice glass of wine & a book & maybe a snack and people watching.

• 100 Years of Art Deco exhibit at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, including a display about the Orient Express. This was a pretty cool museum in general that hadn't been on my radar before & I was really glad I went.

• Getting my money's worth from the Passions Monuments Pass I got for our trip last spring...we'd already gotten our money's worth, but ya know, why not buy a plane ticket when the Pantheon is free?

• Parc Monceau - this was the first time I'd been here & it was beautiful...jam packed on a warm Saturday afternoon, but in a good way. Was very interested to see park police. They were blowing whistles at people not following the rules. Would love to have them come to the Public Garden in Boston when it's full of tourists ignoring all the signs in the summer :)

Low Lights

• Getting pooped on by what must have been a very unwell pigeon in the Parc Monceau...at least it only got my jeans & the dad sitting near me had baby wipes to help clean up. They say it's good luck, right? Right??

• Spilling a coke in my purse at the airport - oops!

• Having to come home

Hot Take
While wandering in the Marais, I got lunch at L'as du Falafel (no line when I arrived, really long line when I passed by after finishing my lunch)...it was good, but I just don't get the hype. Wasn't any better or worse than a lot of falafel sandwiches. Would I go back? Sure, cause falafel is yummy & it's an easy lunch on the go (plus I found a nice little park nearby to sit & eat), but I don't think I'd wait in a long line for it.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip & I'm already dreaming of going back. Thanks to everyone who offered tips & feedback while I was planning. My advice: when you're having a tough day at work & you get a cheap flight alert, book the ticket! Future you will thank you :)

Thank you for the TR.

I am going to Paris for the very first time early May. Going solo. Getting very excited. Almost always write a TR, sometimes while traveling.

My friend was in Paris early to mid March and said the weather was beautiful, the entire week.

Was born and raised in Boston but have lived in Austin over 50 years. Love Boston. I change planes in Boston going and hope that i might find time for a lobster roll.

Thank you, Maggie! We’ll be in Paris for a week this summer, and I’m checking out at least two or three places or activities you mentioned in your report.

What a great trip you had! Thank you. I may be back with a question or two after I’ve checked a couple of things you enjoyed.

Thanks for the report MaggieD! Sounds dreamy! Like it couldn't have gone better had you spent weeks planning!

I'm heading to Fountainebleau soon but haven't even begun to look at transportation or anything else. Would you be willing to share more about that part of your trip? You mentioned you used public transportation (isn't it great there)? Was it easy to get to the chateau & back? How did you do it? How long did you spend? What did you enjoy, what do you wish you'd done differently?

@BostonPhil & @Jane I hope you both have wonderful trips!

@TH Fontainebleau was so easy to get to by train! I took metro line 1 to Gare Lyon & then TER line R to Fontainebleau-Avon. I think there were two trains per hour, but the schedule was a bit off due to works on the line. Took less than a hour to get there. There’s a bus that goes from the train station right to the chateau which takes another 20ish minutes. I use a virtual navigo card on the Bonjour RAPT app, which is linked to my Apple wallet, so I buy my train and bus tickets through the app & use my iPhone to tap to pay.

It was a nice visit to the chateau, though a large tour group arrived before I did and as a result they were out of audio guides. But signage was pretty good in English so that worked for me. I liked strolling around the gardens too. I think I was there for around 2.5-3 hours total? Split between inside and the grounds. There’s a good little cafe too with a pretty view. Good for a mid-visit caffeine boost. I didn’t spend too much time exploring the rest of the town but I did have a nice leisurely lunch at a place near the chateau…it had been cold and snowy at home, so I was very happy to soak up some sun and just enjoy being outside!

MaggieD, thanks for sharing your trip report. I've stayed at Hotel du Jeu de Paume several times. Is Lemon, the black retriever, no longer with us? He was the sweetest boy and always had a warm welcome.

It sounds like you had a nice combination of relaxing and tourist.

Yay, wandering the Marais! Thanks for sharing.

There are two bobo magnets within a stone's throw of L'As du Falafel that are actually worth waiting in line; see my 2024 trip reports to learn more for next visit.

What a fun trip! So glad you could go. And yes for getting your money's worth out of your Passions Monument Subscription Pass! (Last year when I got home from Paris with my daughter in April, my 10 yr old niece told my sister that she thought I'd go back to Paris that same year to use my friends of the Louvre pass. I laughed, but then in October I was back to Paris with my husband, using that Louvre card!)

Great trip report, Maggie! Definitely gave me some ideas for my upcoming trip to Paris in early December. And I really like the thought of that food tour. I’ve never taken a food tour before, but that one sounds like it might be a good one.

It looks like you had a wonderful trip, and thanks for writing the report!

Maggie, depending on how much interest you have in Fontainebleau you might find the book "Finding Fontainebleau: An American Boy in France" worth a read. It's the true story of a boy whose Air Force father was stationed there and they lived in town near Fontainebleau. I read it a few years ago, plenty of detail about the castle and it's history. It's someplace I'd like to visit someday!

Thanks so much for the excellent TR! What a great trip you had!

"Spilling a coke in my purse at the airport - oops!"

Oh my word...I laughed at that. I spilled a coke in the front seat of my car, thought it was cleaned up then when I picked a friend up to go somewhere she said...did you know your seat is sticky? And then she set her bags on the floor in the back and we discovered there was coke there too...ugh. I hope you got your purse cleaned out and it's non-sticky! Plus...I thought I might be the only one that buys a coke in the airport to take on the plane. When you need sugar and caffeine you need it no matter what the FA service is, lol.

I agree about l'As du F. I used to love Mi-va-mi which was across the street but the owners retired and it's a Krispy Kreme now, I think, lol. I hope you found the "hidden" Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret!

Thanks for taking the time to write up your trip and post! I enjoyed it so much!

And YES to having to return to Paris to use the Passions subscription or other yearly cards!

Thanks for an exceptional trip report! I really enjoyed reading it. It made me extra excited for my upcoming trip!

MaggieD, I sent you a PM.

@Jeanm, sadly Lemon passed away last year. Arctic is still a puppy, though you wouldn't know it from looking at him. He's a big ball of fluff (english retriever I think) who's still somewhat learning his hotel manners but is a very sweet boy that loves loves ear scratches.

@avirosemail I will definitely check that out!

@pbscd think of all the money you saved on Louvre entry fees!

@Mardee I highly recommend the food tour! I did the South Marais one, but there are couple other options as well. Definitely arrive hungry

@Bill G thanks for the recommendation!

@Pam That's too funny about the sticky car...despite my heroic efforts with the airport bathroom hand dryer, the purse was a loss (though I didn't admit this to myself until the lining still hadn't fully dried two days later & signs of mold were starting to appear). Fortunately, it was in a bigger canvas tote & everything else was salvaged. The things we do for caffeine!! And yes, that restaurant is absolutely a Krispy Kreme now...made me do a double take. I don't think that's the garden I found, but it looks charming & I will be on the lookout next time.

@Dawn hope you have a wonderful trip!