Join our Co-Founder and Style Editor, Ikponmwosa, for a long September weekend in Paris
“First up, before any vacation I always head to my regular nail salon, Yukie Beauty Spa, to get themed nails for my trip. For heading to Paris, I went for a white and gold color palette, and they did Eiffel Tower nail art.” I also asked my friends and acquaintances who had lived or traveled in Paris to give me some recommendations; it’s always great to know places where your friends have had a good experience.
“As you may know from our previous travel articles, my top recommendation for international flights is to book an overnight flight. This way, you can fall asleep when you get on the plane, and when you arrive at your destination, you wake up ready for the beginning of the day, and it makes a huge difference to how jetlagged you feel. If you can afford to do so, for the long flights, a business class seat is ideal as you get good food, excellent service, and a seat that turns into a bed for you. I always fly American Airlines, and they have direct flights from NYC to Europe. On arrival, I recommend that you book an airport transfer, or research in advance how you’ll get into the city as it’s difficult to get taxis or Ubers and the public transport pick up areas are quite confusing.
I went to Paris intending to see some of the sights and discover some good restaurants, but I was also there to shop. In September, the dollar was strong against the Euro, and the designer brands often released products earlier and cheaper in Europe than in the US.
It was a friend’s recommendation to stay around the 8th Arrondissement, and it was a great spot. We stayed in the Hotel West End, a beautiful boutique hotel where although the rooms are small (which is the case for a lot of Paris and European cities in general), they were clean, pretty, and had charming, welcoming front desk staff. The hotel is within walking distance of so many great spots – the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and Avenue de Champs Elysées. After dropping off our bags, we headed straight out to go shopping.
“The Avenue de Champs Elysees is home to lots of the fashion houses, Fendi, Balenciaga, Chanel (who had upped their prices, rude!) and the famous Paris Dior store. I bought two purses in Fendi, where the staff were just amazing, and kindly organized to have my bags delivered to the hotel so I didn’t have to carry them around for the rest of the day. However, I did have to pay extra carry on for my next flight as the bags were so big, so my next top recommendation is to use easyJet when flying around Europe. We were headed to Italy, so we took a short flight, and EasyJet is super cheap and pretty reliable.”
“That evening, we went for dinner at a supposedly popular restaurant with celebrities visiting, L’Avenue. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it. This was the only time I experienced racism in Paris; we were black and American, but when we arrived, we were taken past empty tables at the front of the restaurant and taken to the back, where we were sat away from everyone and not with all the white people at the front. It felt a bit weird, and I later found out that the restaurant had some bad reviews for racism against Muslim people (which, if I had known, I would not have gone). The service was pretty poor here, too, the waitress paid very little attention and got her hair in our food when serving, and the meals had a price tag that wasn’t worth it.
“However, on Day 2, we had pre-booked lunch at the Dior Cafe, which is inside Paris’ flagship Dior store, and that was fantastic. It was beautiful inside, with lovely ambiance, the service was immaculate, and the chicken salad I had was made to absolute perfection. After lunch we walked around the store, and I wore one of my favorite dresses, a pink one I bought in Florence that matched the interior of Dior. Of course, had to purchase some Dior sunshades whilst I was there! We spent the afternoon walking around the neighborhood, taking some photos.”
“That evening, we tried a recommended ramen place, Neko Ramen, which was delicious, before heading over to the Eiffel Tower. I’m not sure how we didn’t know, but there’s an evening light show, the hour during darkness, at the Eiffel Tower, which is fun to watch; we went up the Tower to the first level platform, but the views are much better from the ground – especially if you’re afraid of heights!”
On Day 3, we visited the Palais de Versailles, which is stunning. You can get tickets to the house or gardens or a joint ticket, but the house is worth the trip alone; there’s so much art and history to explore in such a beautiful building. Another top recommendation is to find somewhere to eat outside the palace as it’s pretty overpriced (as you’d expect), and they sell out of the menu items quickly. As it’s a little way out of town, your best bet is public transport to get there; otherwise, take a local taxi which is easier to flag than an Uber and not hugely different in price.
Later we went back to the Avenue de Champs Elysees to a restaurant called Le Deauville, where you’re paying a little more for location, and the food was tasty but nothing mind-blowing. My top recommendation if you’re walking or eating here is to beware of people who appear to be begging for money or food scamming you. Just be aware of your surroundings and always give food instead of cash.
“Our final day was just a short day of walking around; we strolled over to the Louvre just to take in the outside and get some photos before heading to the airport.”
“Paris was ok. It wasn’t spectacular, the shopping was great, but I could’ve gotten the same in Italy. I was glad I did it, but I didn’t feel like I needed to return again.”
