A Girls’ Trip to Paris: The Dreamiest 4-Day Itinerary
A girls’ trip to Paris is one of those bucket list trips that lives in your group chat far longer than it should. Last year, our girls’ trip to Paris finally made it out of the group chat, and it was one of the most memorable trips I’ve ever taken.
Champagne on the Eurostar, daily croissants, and late-night Eiffel Tower sparkles with my best friends – this was the Paris trip I’d imagined for years.
I’ve always been obsessed with groups of impossibly chic women who holiday together. I remember watching a group of stylish fifty-somethings on the Eurostar for a birthday trip to Paris years ago, and thinking: I need to be like them when I grow up. And we did it, as our joint 35th birthday trip.
Whether you’re planning your own Paris girls’ getaway or just daydreaming, here’s the exact four-day itinerary we followed (as well as alternatives from my other trips to Paris). From macarons to truffle pasta, Seine picnics to the Moulin Rouge, there is nothing more fabulous than a trip to Paris with your besties.
Day 1: Arrival, Eiffel Tower Lunch Views, and Life-Changing Burgers
Morning
If you’re coming from London, the best way to travel to Paris is on the Eurostar. Generally, trains are a much more civilised way to travel in Europe than aeroplanes.
Also, you can book a four-seater table on the Eurostar, so that you can have cupcakes and champagne on the journey, as we did (you can bring these with you – there are no liquids rules on the Eurostar, and bringing your own alcohol is allowed).
You could, of course, opt for more sensible breakfast food (there is a Pret at the station and an on-board cafe), but there is something uncouth about eating a train croissant on the way to the croissant motherland, no?
Naturally, the first thing we did when we arrived in Paris was get proper French croissants. Be warned, not all of the croissants in Paris are created equal. We stopped at Du Pain et des Idées on the way to our Airbnb for a very delightful first Parisian meal, which was buttery perfection. If your blood sugar can handle sweet breakfasts, they are also very well known for their pistachio escargot pastry.
Depending on where in Paris you’re staying, you may want to get an Uber from the Gare du Nord. If the weather is good, I always prefer to walk, but I tend to stay within 30 minutes’ walking distance of the Gare du Nord, and I generally only have a small wheelie bag.
I do this even when I am alone, and I’ve never had any issues, but you shouldn’t hang around outside of the Gare du Nord, which is not in a great area. I get out quite quickly and then have a lovely, inspiring walk through Paris’s beautiful boulevards, which is something I never get tired of.
One slight downside to Airbnb is that you often can’t drop your bags off before check-in time, like you can at a hotel. Not to worry, I have you covered – there are multiple options for places to drop your bags. We used Nannybag, which had a location at a small grocery store near our Airbnb. Some of the girls were slightly concerned about leaving their bags there, but we had no issues at all.
While we all had handbags for our phones and small valuables, there was a big debate about what to do with our passports. Although Paris is generally safe for female travelers, it is also known for its pickpockets. On balance, we all opted to take our passports with us and just be extra vigilant about our handbags.
A general tip about handbags: for a trip to Europe, where you will be on crowded trains a lot, I like a small cross-body handbag, which I can cover with my own hands in large crowds. I am particularly against backpacks because they make you stand out as a tourist. Also, with a backpack, your valuables are behind you, and pickpockets have been known to cut into them.
Afternoon
After dropping our bags, we took a slow stroll down the Champs-Élysées (with multiple photo stops, obvs), to lunch. We had booked lunch at Girafe, which was perfect for our first sit-down meal. It is very chic, and next to the Trocadéro, so the views of the Eiffel Tower are second to none – having lunch here with your best friends is a real pinch-me moment.
A lot of people are concerned about value for money at Parisian restaurants, particularly glitzy ones with views, like Girafe. Although it is by no means cheap (and they do want everyone to order a main course), the food was really good, and the cocktail menu was perfect.
After lunch, we had great fun and games navigating to our Airbnb, inputting multiple security codes into multiple security doors, and getting five bags up three flights of stairs, complete with hilarious elevator selfies (the elevators in Parisian apartment blocks are notoriously tiny and disconcertingly old).
But it was all worth it, because our Airbnb was a Paris girls’ trip dream – high ceilings, panelled walls, parquet flooring, and gilded mirrors. Also, it had the quintessential Parisian Juliet balcony for pre-dinner bubbles and sunset selfies – absolute perfection.
Evening
Early evening is always my favourite part of a girls’ trip – the post-nap, pre-dinner, makeup and getting dressed with a playlist and a glass of wine part of the day. If you don’t have 1) someone in charge of pre-drinks and 2) someone in charge of playlists, get on that.
Our first dinner was at Ferdi, which has a very casual vibe, quirky decor, and well-priced food. Don’t be fooled, though – it is a tiny restaurant, and reservations are hard to come by (you have to text them to request a table 30 days in advance). You often wait a while for your table, even with a booking.
All of this is worth it, though, because the food is life-changing. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the best cheeseburger I have had, anywhere, in my entire life.
The reason I keep coming back (apart from the burger) is that for all the celebrity sightings, Ferdi is remarkably unpretentious. I remember the first time I went, which was about a decade ago, I had a hard time convincing my (now) husband that we could afford a place that Penelope Cruz had mentioned as having the world’s best burgers. Lo and behold, we could.
We got a table, despite a misunderstanding about the booking on our part, and they were kindly accommodating. While I was deep in cheeseburgering, my husband noticed a “fixer” on behalf of a high-profile guest come into the restaurant, not once, but twice, to try to get a table, and the second time, slide some money over to the staff members!
To Ferdi’s credit, the high-profiler was rebuffed, along with the cash, as there are literally only 14 seats in the restaurant. And that, my friends, is why I love Ferdi!
If you want dessert, Ferdi has excellent churros, but we opted to stop by Pierre Herme, which is very nearby, on our way home – these are my favourite Paris treats (and also beloved by the one and only Blair Waldorf, so you know they’re good).
Alternative option for tonight: If you’re coming into Paris late on a weekday, here’s a dinner tip for you: Perruche, which is on the top floor of the Printemps department store, stays open late, serves delicious Provençal food, and has panoramic views of the city, including of the Eiffel Tower – absolutely perfect for a girls’ trip dinner. On a different trip to Paris, we rolled into Perruche late one Friday night, having worked a full day in London, for a delicious truffle-infused 10 pm dinner.
Day 2: Versailles, a Seine Cruise, and Eiffel Tower Sparkles
Morning
For our second croissant experience, we went to Mamiche (and when I say “we”, I mean we sent some of our more efficient members as emissaries, while the rest of us [me] spent ludicrous amounts of time getting ready). The croissants here were amazing, buttery, and rustic.
There was no time for loitering this morning, because we had tickets for the Palace of Versailles booked, which are time-sensitive. You can get a train there, and there is more than one route depending on where in Paris you are staying. The best train station to get to in Versailles is the Versailles Château Rive Gauche, which makes for the easiest walk to the palace.
Versailles is huge, and you could easily spend a whole day here. Our tickets were for both the palace and the gardens. The gardens are absolutely spectacular, complete with water shows, and unless the weather is very miserable, I recommend booking a ticket that gives you garden access.
The palace is enormous, with lots to see, but my favourite is the Hall of Mirrors. It is pure French opulence – the walls are covered in bronze and marble, with Baroque sculptures, and the ceilings have painted panels and enormous chandeliers. There are massive arched windows looking out into the gardens on one side of the room, and mirrors on the other.
The Hall of Mirrors is at the end of the tour, but you can’t miss it, and you’ll know when you’re in it.
Hot tip: They prioritise a one-way traffic flow at Versailles, so don’t exit the palace until you actually want to visit the gardens. Some of my friends made this mistake and had a hard time talking their way back in.
Afternoon
Angelina is a must-do on any trip to Paris, but it is particularly important on a girls’ trip. Angelina is a classic Parisian tea room, with fabulous decor and historical clout (it was beloved by no less than Coco Chanel herself). But it is not form over function – the food is top-notch.
Angelina does sandwiches, salads, and other cafe classics really well. But whatever you do, don’t miss the iconic hot chocolate. It is thick, velvety, and very indulgent – see the pour in this post and try not to drool.
There is more than one Angelina location in Paris, but they don’t take bookings. The OG spot on the Rue de Rivoli is notorious for its painfully long queues. But here’s a tip for you: go to an Angelina within a museum, like the Louvre or Versailles, where you don’t wait nearly as long. There was a short queue at Versailles, and we were seated after about ten minutes – you’re welcome.
After lunch, we went into the gardens for a stroll, and then we had some impromptu self-boating around the lake. This was totally unplanned, but probably ended up being one of my favourite things that we did, complete with much hysterical laughter.
Evening
Back in the city, we headed back to the Champs-Élysées for some quick retail therapy (if you don’t have a lot of time, there is a mini Galeries Lafayette here, which is pretty good).
The dinner plan for this evening had been a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower, which I highly recommend, but unfortunately, the gardens were closed during our trip, as Paris prepared for the Olympics. Our (delicious) consolation prize was a Parisian classic, a crepe, for dinner on the Champs-Élysées
After dinner, we had a cruise on the Seine booked. I’d never done one of these before, but it was stunning, and such a good idea. Make sure you book a boat that has a bar, of course. Soaking in these classic Paris landmarks at sunset is also a reminder of why the light in Paris has fascinated artists for centuries – it really is golden.
Afterwards, we found probably the best photo spot in Paris: Walk along the Pont d’Iéna around sunset for unbeatable Eiffel Tower views. People take pictures in the middle of the road (be careful!), and while it’s not pedestrianised, there isn’t a huge amount of traffic.
The plan for the rest of the evening was to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle. I know a lot of people think this is a very gimmicky cliche, but no matter how many times I’ve seen it sparkle, it never gets old, and always gets a slight tear out of me. You’d think that with such an emotional connection to this event, I would have gotten the timing right, but of course I didn’t – don’t make my mistake.
The Eiffel Tower is lit up at nightfall, and it sparkles for five minutes, every hour on the hour, but only from the first hour after nightfall. This means that if you want to work out when the first sparkle will be, you need to know when the sun will set (but 11 pm and midnight are pretty reliable, even in summer).
We ended up with another hour to kill before the first sparkle of the night, but this is no problem in Paris. The weather was lovely, and we found a cosy spot along the Seine to have another bottle of bubbles while we waited – Paris perfection.
Day 3: The Louvre, Sainte Chapelle, and the Moulin Rouge
Morning
If you thought we couldn’t top Versailles, a Seine cruise, and Champagne in front of the sparkling Eiffel Tower, our third day in Paris was even more perfect.
We had planned a different spot for our third day croissant, but everyone was so obsessed with Mamiche that we went a second day in a row. If you want to mix it up, I recommend The French Bastards or Maison D’Isabelle.
Alternatively, for a sit-down breakfast, make an early reservation at Cafe Marly. The food is nice enough, but the view of the Louvre pyramids, before the hordes descend, is what makes it really special.
After breakfast, it was off to the Louvre. IMHO, the Louvre is worth seeing when in Paris, as a bucket list item. However, it is big, very touristy, and it’s surprisingly difficult to get a good look at Mona, for example.
If you do go, make sure you check the exhibitions that you want to see in advance and plan your route to avoid getting lost in the maze. At the very least, get a snack at one of the multiple restaurants to avoid meltdowns.
As alternatives to the Louvre, I love the Musée d’Orsay, and my favourite Paris museum is the Orangerie, which displays the waterlily paintings by Monet, made specially for the curved walls of the museum. Both of these are a lot smaller, but also a lot more manageable.
Since some of the girls had never been to the Louvre, and others were very happy never to go again, we ended up splitting up for the morning. This is a great thing to keep in mind for girls’ trips generally – you don’t all have to do everything, and there is a lot of room for people to do their own thing, particularly in European cities, which are easy to get around, and generally safe.
Afternoon
For lunch, our Paris picnic dreams came true at the Seine. We got cheeses, bread, and pastries, and sat with our feet hanging over the water, nattering away.
You can get really good, high quality cheese and charcuterie from most Paris grocery stores, and bread from any neighbourhood bakery. But for a truly lovely Parisian experience, we discovered 47ter BD Saint Germain on our first trip to Paris, and have been enamoured with it ever since.
Head to La Maison d’Isabelle for your bread needs, and then stroll along the neighbouring shops – there is a fish shop, a cheese shop, a butchery, a wine shop, a charcuterie shop, and a grocer, all charmingly lined up to make your Paris picnic dreams come true. There is also a fresh food market in the square, Marché Maubert, which is open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings.
After lunch, we took a detour through the Palais-Royal, which is my favourite hidden spot for photos in Paris (if you go in the morning, get coffee at Cafe Kitsune at the Palais Royal). Girls’ trip tip: lift one of your friends up on one of the very high columns and see if she manages to stand up – I have the best video of this, which I watch whenever I’m feeling a bit low, and it never gets old.
For the afternoon, we wanted to visit Notre Dame, but it was unfortunately closed for renovations after a fire during our trip. We went to Sainte-Chapelle as an alternative, which I’d never been to before, and which was absolutely stunning.
There is a very tiny church here, with the most beautiful stained glass windows I’ve ever seen, which was perfect in the afternoon sunlight. Sainte-Chapelle is also a good option after a morning at the Louvre, because it doesn’t take terribly long, so you don’t risk getting cultured out.
It was also at this point in the afternoon that we discovered the phenomenon of Hot French Policemen. I had never noticed this before (TBF, most of my Paris trips have been with a male accompaniment), but their presence had apparently been increased due to the Olympics later that summer. They hang out at tourist hotspots and cruise along the Seine (on rollerblades!!), and make you feel very safe.
Evening
For our last night, nothing but the ultimate Paris girls’ trip activities would do: Champagne, getting dressed up, truffle pasta, and a show at the Moulin Rouge. I get a slight twinge of jealousy of my past self just typing that.
If you have time for pre-dinner drinks in Montmartre, which is very cute and perfectly bohemian, you should do that. Naturally, we had no extra time, but we had a fabulous evening nonetheless.
Dinner was at Pink Mamma, a multi-level Italian-owned trattoria in Montmartre, with fun decor, fabulous pasta, exciting cocktails, and flirty Italian waiters. I always get the truffle pasta at Pink Mamma, which is delicious, and honestly, a reason to go to Paris in itself.
Hot tip: Reservations at Pink Mamma are very difficult to get. You have to set yourself a calendar reminder to go online and make a reservation at 10 am Paris time, 15 days before you want to go. If you can’t get a booking at Pink Mamma, other restaurants in the Big Mamma Group across Paris might be slightly easier to book, and the menu is similar.
After dinner, we took a very short walk to the Moulin Rouge, where we’d booked a cabaret show. This also needs to be booked well in advance, and was the most expensive thing we did – but we decided that the Moulin Rouge was bucket-list enough that it was worth it. I had been before, years earlier, and it has been excellent both times – the show is amazing and very polished.
Also, be warned! The drinks at the Moulin Rouge are frightfully expensive. We knew about this, and had worked it into the cost of our trip, but I remember being horrified the first time I went.
For an alternative cabaret show, have a look at Crazy Horse and Lido, which have cheaper show tickets (although I’m not sure about the drinks). These two are also on the Champs-Élysées, which is slightly more central.
Day 4: Dior, the Sacre Coeur, and Shopping
Morning
Because we had a mid-afternoon train back to London, we packed up early before dropping our bags back at Nannybag. Since we only had a few more hours, it was imperative for us to go shopping this morning, so we headed to the OG Galeries Lafayette on Haussmann.
But if you have more time, you have lots of options for your last morning in Paris:
- For views, take a trip up the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe (make sure you book these well in advance).
- If you haven’t quite had your bohemian culture fix yet, get a croissant at Pain Pain in Montmartre, and then visit the Sacre Coeur.
- For an absolutely fabulous cultural experience, book tickets for La Galerie Dior. I did this on a different trip to Paris, and it is probably my favourite exhibition I’ve seen in Paris.
Afternoon
Our train back to London was in the mid-afternoon, so we went straight to fetch our bags and then to the Eurostar. However, if you have more time, I always think Paris shopping is best left as your last activity.
Here is how I would do the perfect last afternoon in Paris:
- For lunch, go to Lou Lou – only open in the summer months, this restaurant has fabulous truffle pizzas and amazing Eiffel Tower views. We actually had a reservation here for this trip, but we cancelled it in favour of our Seine picnic lunch, and I’m now obsessed with going again in the future. Then go shopping at Galeries Lafayette for the best views of Paris from the rooftop. Also, on your last day in Paris, don’t miss the Lafayette foodhalls. I always make a pitstop here when I come to Paris, for the best chocolate and macarons.
- For an alternative department store, I prefer Printemps to Lafayette, because I love the lower ground floor gift shop. For lunch, go to Perruche, on the top floor of the men’s department of Printemps. It serves Provençal food and has stunning Eiffel Tower views.
- If you hate department stores, go to Madeleine. Have lunch at Maison de la Truffe, which is very refined and serves truffle everything (also it recently featured in Emily in Paris in the scene where Emily meets Brigit Macron, so you know it’s fab). There are lots of shops in Madeleine, which is endlessly charming and very French.
Have More Time in Paris? Go to Champagne
If you have even more time, I suggest a trip to the Champagne region, which is a fabulous activity on a girls’ trip to Paris. If you go to Reims, you can visit Veuve Cliquot, or if you go to Epernay, you can visit the more well-known Moet and Chandon. I’ve done both on various trips to Paris, and loved both experiences.
The towns in the Champagne region are a lot more rustic than Paris, but they have really great lunch options, and I find the people very friendly. There is also something immensely satisfying about having a glass of Champagne in… Champagne.
Paris Is Always a Good Idea – But Especially for a Girls’ Trip
A girls’ trip to Paris needs the right mix of great food and cocktails, art and culture, and bucket list experiences. But it also needs a good dose of the things that made you friends in the first place, before you ever dreamed of trips to Paris – sharing clothes, doing each other’s makeup, hours of chats on the couch, and laughing so hard your stomach hurts.
This itinerary gave us exactly that. So whether you’re sending it to the group chat or just bookmarking it for one day, I hope it helps you plan a once in a lifetime trip to Paris with your besties.
And if you’re hungry for more Paris tips, don’t miss my guide to what to eat in Paris (yes, I take croissants very seriously).