Wattle in Paris
As any weekend break tends to be, it is a lot of cramming in as much as you can see of the place in a matter of days. I tend to try and be as organised (one of the few times I tend to be organised) as I can when it comes to researching the bits I want to make sure I see. Especially when a City is as large as Paris, I know from experience of exploring and living in London is that you really do need to focus on a couple of areas/districts and stick with them to ensure that you don't find yourself travelling from one end of the City to another just to seek out the newest restaurant.
The purpose of my visit to Paris was to accompany a friend to the Paris marathon, I was definitely not the person running it. So I suppose when it came to deciding where to stay we knew we needed to be somewhere that was close enough to do a relatively short journey to the beginning of the marathon on the day.
We chose an Airbnb as there were 3 of us, I have attached the link in case you are interested, plus a couple of my photos that I took.
As I said before I have been to Paris a number of times over the years, so on this visit as a group we decided on a couple of areas that we would love to see. The AirBnB was in the Latin quarter so after collecting the Bib for the marathon which was in the opposite direction of the AirBnB we travelled to our apartment and spent the afternoon and evening exploring the area close to the apartment. We took the early train that morning so a mere 2-hours sleep was starting to catch up with us.
Now I am not sure if anyone reading this already uses Claude or Chat GPT as their new best friend. But I thought it would be a good use of the AI platform to plan my trip to Paris. You do have to ask Claude quite a lot of questions and keep modifying his/her answers to get what you want, but in the end you do end up with quite a helpful guide. I have provided a little of the guide below to show you what I mean.
Highlights included walking the Marais district in the day and walking the Latin Quarter at night, plus a brilliant meal at Les Antiquaires which I would highly recommend. Def book to avoid disappointment. Plus I loved the Shakespeare & Company Book store and we managed to add in a quick visit to Merci, a gorgeous must-see shop.
Here are some pics of the trip, plus my Claude guide to the weekend.
My Plan for the weekend via Claude/AI
Porte de Versailles → Apartment (5th arr)
🚇 Metro — 20 minutes
∙ Take Line 12 (direction Aubervilliers) back to Assemblée Nationale OR
∙ Take Line 13 (direction Saint-Denis) to Odéon — then short 5 min walk to the 5th
∙ Cost: €2.15 each with contactless or ticket
Apartment → Cour du Commerce Saint-André (Evening)
🚶 Walk — 10 minutes!
Straight down from the 5th arrondissement. Head northwest along Rue de la Huchette, cross the Seine and it’s right there. Completely walkable
🏛️ SATURDAY — Montmartre, Marais & Merci
Apartment → Sacré-Cœur Montmartre
🚇 Metro — not walkable (5km, over 1 hour on foot)
∙ Walk to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame station (8 mins)
∙ Take RER B (direction CDG/Mitry) one stop to Gare du Nord
∙ Change to Line 2 (direction Nation) to Anvers or Abbesses
∙ Walk up to Sacré-Cœur from Abbesses (10 mins uphill) or take the funicular from Anvers (included with Metro ticket!)
∙ Total: approx 30 minutes
∙ Cost: €2.15 each — contactless works perfectly here too
💡 Tip: The funicular from Anvers is the fun option and saves the steep climb — use your Metro ticket or contactless to board.
Sacré-Cœur → Le Marais / L’As du Fallafel
🚇 Metro — 20 minutes (walking is 40 mins)
∙ From Abbesses take Line 12 (direction Mairie d’Issy) to Réaumur-Sébastopol
∙ Change to Line 3 (direction Gallieni) one stop to Arts et Métiers
∙ Walk 8 minutes south into the Marais and Rue des Rosiers
∙ Cost: €2.15 each
L’As du Fallafel → Merci
🚶 Walk — 8 minutes!
Head north on Rue des Rosiers, turn right onto Rue de Bretagne and continue to Boulevard Beaumarchais. Completely flat and a lovely wander through the Marais.
Merci → Apartment
🚶 Walk — 25 minutes along the Seine, very beautiful
OR
🚇 Metro — 15 minutes
∙ From Saint-Sébastien–Froissart (Line 8, direction Opéra) to Odéon
∙ 5 min walk to the 5th
∙ Cost: €2.15 each
🏅 SUNDAY — Marathon Day, Shopping & Dinner
Apartment → Champs-Élysées Marathon Start
🚇 Metro — not walkable in time (40 mins on foot)
∙ Walk to Odéon station (5 mins)
∙ Take Line 10 (direction Boulogne) to Miromesnil — change to Line 9 (direction Pont de Sèvres) to Franklin D. Roosevelt
∙ Walk 5 mins to the start area on Champs-Élysées
∙ Total: approx 25 minutes
∙ Leave apartment by 10:00am at the latest
∙ Cost: €2.15 each
Champs-Élysées Start → Avenue Foch Finish Line
🚶 Walk — 15 minutes along the Champs-Élysées
It’s literally the same road — Avenue Foch is at the Arc de Triomphe end. A very easy and atmospheric walk on marathon day.
Apartment → Les Antiquaires (7:30pm dinner)
🚶 Walk — 20 minutes across the Seine, beautiful at night
OR
🚇 Metro — 10 minutes
∙ Odéon (Line 10, direction Boulogne) to Rue du Bac — 2 stops
∙ 3 min walk to restaurant
∙ Cost: €2.15 each
💡 walk on Sunday evening — crossing the Seine at night after a celebratory
🎟️ TICKET BUYING SUMMARY
The single easiest option for your whole trip is to simply tap your contactless bank card at every Metro barrier — no need to buy tickets at all. It automatically charges €2.15 per journey and works on Metro, RER and bus.
🚇 Monday Morning — Apartment (5th) → Gare du Nord
Leave apartment: 6:20am
∙ Walk to Odéon station — 5 minutes
∙ Take Line 10 (direction Gare d’Austerlitz) — wait, actually the most direct route is:
∙ Walk to Cluny–La Sorbonne (Line 10) or Saint-Michel (RER B)
∙ RER B from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame (direction CDG/Mitry) direct to Gare du Nord — just 3 stops, about 8 minutes
∙ Total door to door: 20 minutes
∙ Cost: €2.15 each — just tap contactless as you have been all weekend
Arrive Gare du Nord: 6:40am — giving you a comfortable 55 minutes before your 7:37 departure. Eurostar recommend you check in at least 45 minutes before so this is perfect.Sent from my iPhone
