Europe Trip: France (7-8 April 2013)

Bonjour!

My journey in France started with arrival at Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) airport. Journey from Singapore to Paris took 13 hours on Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380.

We arrived in Paris on 7 April 2013 at 7.20am and the weather was -1 degress celsius...hopped on a bus & headed straight to the city for Paris city tour.

We started with the River Seine cruise to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Paris. River Seine lies 15km across Paris city center and we can find a total of 37 bridges along the 15km. Some of the bridges are very beautiful. We can also see the Eiffel Tower and many other historical buildings like the Notre Dame Cathedral during the cruise.

Seine River Cruise

Notre Dame Cathedral

After the cruise, we took a walk thru the Jardins (gardens) towards Eiffel Tower and took photos while enjoying the cool spring breeze and found some cherry blossoms too!

The walk to Eiffel tower

Ahaaa...found cherry blossom tree in Paris!

We then proceed to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant called Jade of the Fountain. Lunch there was good. 

Our lunch on 1st day in Paris

After a good lunch, we continued journey to outskirt of Paris to see the Versaille Palace. We spent the afternoon touring the old palace which was built by King Louis the 14th. We had a local tour guide named Ghee who shared with us the palace history. This palace was very famous for it's history of King Louis who lived a lavish life while his subjects live in poverty.

Versaille Palace

We then headed back to the city to check-in at our hotel. We stayed 2 nights at the Mercure Ivry by the River Seine.

In the evening, we had a quick outing to see and experience Paris and see Eiffel Tower at night..thanks to our nice Tour Manager, Alice and the most sporting driver..Munir. Ah, I must tell you that every night..at 10pm, the Eiffel tower will have a sort of  brief "light show" where for about 5-10 minutes the Eiffel tower will be illuminated (blinking lights). It's the most beautiful & amazing sight :)

Eiffel Tower illuminated..blinking lights!

So many people came to enjoy the view of Eiffel Tower at night!

After enjoying the night out in Paris, we went back to the hotel to have our rest and ready for the next day.

On the 2nd day, we started our day early to queue up to buy ticket and go up the 2nd level of Eiffel Tower. Very important note people: if you want to go to Eiffel Tower, especially during peak season (in Spring & Summer)..you cannot pre-purchase/book your tickets. You need to go there early to queue up to buy tickets and also queue again to go up the tower. There are 2 ways of going up the tower - by stairs & by elevator. Please buy tickets to go up by elevator. Also, if you want to go to the summit (top) of Eiffel, needs different ticket if I'm not mistaken.

OK, back to the story...view from 2nd level Eiffel Tower..is magnificent. You'll get a panoramic view of Paris which is breathtaking. Now I understand why people want to go there so much...it's an experience of a life time :)

Panoramic view of Paris city

The view from up here is breathtaking!

After enjoying the view in cold weather for about 1 hour (haha..sejuk kauuu), we headed to Galeries La Fayette fo shopping! On the way there, we had photo stops at Arc De Triomphe, Place de la Concorde and passed by Champs Elysees.

Arc de Triomphe

With my roomie, Dayah @ Arc de Triomphe

The biggest LV boutique @ Champs Elysees Avenue

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping....OMG, shopping in Paris (at Galeries La Fayette) is sooooo tempting, with lots of designer handbags, perfumes, clothing, etc. The best thing is...we can get tax refund! Please take note: To be entitled for the tax rebate, you need to spend at least 175 Euro at the shop in 1 receipt. After purchasing you item(s), be sure to get the tax rebate/refund form from the shop. After finish all your shopping, go to the tax counter there at La Fayette...there will be somebody who can help you organize all your receipts & forms. Please keep you tax refund form to claim the refund at the airport. There are 2 options for the refund - cash or credit card. If you choose cash refund, the rate will be less...which is 10% as compared to refund to credit card, which will be 12% (plus, refund to credit card has shorter queue compared to cash refund queue at the airport).

Galeries La Fayette...the best place to shop!

Shopping done...we headed back to the hotel, packed our stuff and had a good night's rest as the next day, we had a long journey to Geneva (Switzerland).

Photos for tour in France is available here. For friends who are connected with me via Facebook, you can check out the photos in the "Europe Trip: France" album too :)