I have recently returned from a 12 night trip to Paris. I traveled solo. The purpose of the trip was to have some alone time and to spend that time in one of my favorite cities. I always over plan, it is part of the fun for me. I used some of the ideas that I received from one of my previous threads in which I asked for ideas that I might not think of. I stuck to my itinerary for the first few days, but then I mostly threw it to the wind. The weather was excellent and I just wanted to be outside. So, it was much more like a "beach vacation" than any of my previous trips to Europe where I am on the go and seeing lots of sites. Here are my activities and impressions.
HOTEL: French Theory, Rue Cujas 5th arr.
On my two previous trips to Paris I stayed in the 7th, the 1st, and the 5th. To find this hotel, I used Google maps and searched for hotels in my price range, acceptable locations, and the style of hotel I like. Once I decided on this hotel, I booked it through Delta Stays as it will help me achieve status for next year. The price was the same.
I really liked the location. It is close to Jardin du Luxembourg, the Pantheon and the Odeon. It is close to RER B station and several different bus stops. There were plenty of close by restaurants and groceries. There was not a nearby artisanal boulangerie. The hotel had an attached cafe and it was frequently busy, but I did not eat/drink there.
I had a single room with a twin bed. The style of the room was modern with concrete floor a white duvet and black and white furnishings/bathroom. I had plenty of space. My only complaint was that there was a stool for the small desk, so no chair with a back in the room. The bathroom was typical Paris small. The sink was narrow. The shower was a bit tight, but fine. The shower nozzle was a bar instead of a "head" and I didn't prefer that. I had 2 nice windows that viewed the interior of the building, so no great view, but plenty of light. I wasn't expecting the small fridge, so that was a great bonus. Air conditioning worked well. Staff was courteous, but unlike other hotels where I have stayed for multiple days, I didn't really get to know any staff. I would stay here again.
PACKING: My Osprey backpack weighed 15 pounds and my Tom Bihn medium size cafe bag weighed 2 pounds. This is the least amount of stuff I have taken on a trip. Including day of travel, I took 3 slacks, 4 tops, one silk scarf, 2 night shirts, 4 sets of under garments and 2 pair of shoes. I took 2 pair of Hoka Bondi 8 shoes one size 8.5 and one size 9. For tech, I had my Pixel 9 phone, a Pixel 2 watch and air buds with the appropriate chargers. Thankfully, I also had my Navigo Decouverte card from 2022. I took minimal toiletries. I purchased 2 paperback books at the airport. That's it!
TRANSPORTATION: Because my hotel was so close to the Luxembourg RER B station, I decided to take the train from CDG into town. I purchased the ticket on my IDF app on my phone (note, you can't have t+ tickets and the RER ticket on the same device). I didn't have any trouble finding the RER station at the airport, I just followed the signs. I used t+ tickets, both paper and on my phone (more about that later) for 5 of the days and then a weekly pass for the rest. I used the metro, but most of my transport was by bus. This is dictated by my hotel location. I found the buses easy to use and it was nice to see the city rolling by. Because I had t+ tickets on my phone app at the end of the trip, I bought my RER B ticket back to CDG at the vending machine at the station. This was a bit of an adventure because I was nervous about getting to the airport on time, I arrived at the Luxembourg station for the 5:21 am train before 5 am. The gates were closed and I had to stand in the rain at the bottom of the stairs for about 7 minutes waiting for the station to open. It was also slightly tricky finding out how to get into the airport from the RER station, (continued)