Notre-Dame, Sacré-Cœur, and Luxembourg Gardens
Reopened December 2024 after the 2019 fire. The restoration itself is a remarkable story — 5 years, hundreds of artisans, medieval techniques revived. Free entry. The new interior gleams.
13th-century Gothic chapel with 15 floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows — 1,113 individual scenes. Small, quick visit (30 min), utterly stunning. When sunlight hits, the entire interior glows purple and blue.
White basilica on the highest point in Paris. Take the funicular up (Ricki's knees). The artist square (Place du Tertre), winding streets, street musicians. This is the Paris of Amélie.
Impressionist masterpieces in a converted train station — Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh. The building itself is stunning. The giant clock face windows frame the Seine.
Sail toy boats in the octagonal fountain (€5 rental, kids push them with sticks). Puppet theater (Guignol shows, in French, kids love them anyway). Chairs everywhere — sit and breathe.
Famous since 1903 for le chocolat chaud l'Africain — hot chocolate as thick as pudding. Coco Chanel, Proust, and Audrey Hepburn were regulars. €8.50/cup. Worth it.
Hemingway, Sartre, de Beauvoir all sat here. Now it's touristy but the terrace is still perfect for watching Saint-Germain go by. Espresso: €6. The view: priceless (and that's not ironic — it genuinely is).
Full Paris day. Start at Notre-Dame — reopened after the fire, the restoration is itself a wonder. Then Sainte-Chapelle, two minutes' walk away: 13th-century stained glass that turns the entire chapel into a kaleidoscope when the sun hits.
Midmorning: Métro to Montmartre. Take the funicular up to Sacré-Cœur (Ricki's knees will thank you). The view from the basilica steps covers all of Paris. Place du Tertre — the artist square — has portrait painters, caricaturists, and accordion players. This is the Paris of the postcards, and it earns it.
Afternoon: Musée d'Orsay if there's energy (Monet's water lilies, Van Gogh's Starry Night over the Rhône), or Luxembourg Gardens if everyone needs a break. The kids can sail toy boats in the fountain. Ricki and Maritza can sit in the metal chairs and watch.
The Ricki and Maritza option: skip everything, grab a table at Les Deux Magots or Café de Flore (Saint-Germain), order espresso, and let Paris happen around them. Then Angelina for hot chocolate — thick as pudding, famous since 1903. This is a valid Paris day.
Central Paris
Last night in Paris. Train to Bern tomorrow afternoon.
Notre-Dame restoration: they rebuilt the spire using the same medieval construction techniques — oak trees from French forests, hand-forged iron nails, no modern adhesives. The lead roof was replaced with identical materials.
Toy boats in Luxembourg Gardens! Puppet theater (Théâtre du Luxembourg — even in French, the slapstick translates). Also: macarons at Pierre Hermé (14 Rue de Sèvres) — the salted caramel is life-changing.
Montmartre funicular does all the climbing. The Musée d'Orsay has elevators and benches in every room. Or: the cafe-hopping option is genuinely the most Parisian thing you can do. Angelina + Les Deux Magots + Luxembourg Gardens chairs = a perfect day.