Plan your own tripTravel Log
by Vandra QuestDropped the bags in the Marais and went directly to the thing you're supposed to be too cool to go directly to. Summit at golden hour, wind coming through the ironwork, the whole city laid out flat and pale gold. Worth every stair-shaped cliché.
The Louvre is not a museum, it's a country. Saw the greatest hits, then abandoned the plan entirely and wandered the Richelieu wing where there was almost nobody. Sat with a Vermeer for ten minutes. Better than the three hours before it.
Cooking class near the Panthéon: market walk first, then four hours of technique. Made a tarte and something with a pan sauce I'm still thinking about. The chef's entire philosophy appears to be more butter, and honestly, results speak.
Did the Hall of Mirrors early and then spent most of the day outside, which is where Versailles actually gets you. Walked out past the Grand Canal until the crowds thinned to nothing and it was just gravel, hedges, and a lot of sky.
No plan, just followed the Seine from Concorde. Pont Alexandre III is absurd — gold everywhere, lamps doubling in the water — and at that hour it was mostly empty. Stood on it for a while and then walked home the long way.