It’s only been a few weeks since I was in Paris but it already feels like a million years ago…and I’m really missing it! One of my favorite things about the trip was our hotel. I’d been dying to stay at Hotel Providence for a while ever since seeing photos of it online, and it completely lived up to my expectations. Above, the view from our third floor balcony.

The hotel was built in 1854 and it retains all sorts of vintage charm.

I was overall really thrilled with Hotel Providence. It’s beautifully decorated, with the most wonderful design details – moody, dramatic wallpaper, fringey lamps, chic bathrooms…the whole thing was just the stuff that boutique hotel dreams are made of. The room was super comfortable and quiet, and in addition, the hotel’s restaurant was great. We had dinner there two or three times and they were some of my favorite meals…they also had a fantastic breakfast.

Some of my favorite things we did in Paris:

A day trip to Chateau de Chantilly (full post coming soon!)

Musée Rodin – I would go back here in a heartbeat. Such a magical place, with sculptures scattered throughout peaceful gardens and a grand mansion filled with more of Rodin’s incredible pieces.

We also visited The Louvre, Musée Picasso, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, and Le Panthéon.

A stroll around the Luxembourg Gardens is always one of my favorite Paris activities. PS – this print is available in my Etsy shop!

The Jardin des Tuileries, adjacent to the Louvre, is also a gorgeous place to walk around.

One of our other favorite things we did was a self-guided walking tour around the Buttes aux Cailles neighborhood in Southern Paris. It’s a little neighborhood that feels distinct from the city – very quaint and charming.

Place des Vosges is another really pretty little spot to walk around. It’s the oldest planned square in Paris and it’s very picturesque. We stopped for a bite at Carette which is right along the square – it was a lovely place to sit outside and sip a cool drink in the shade.

Some of my favorite shopping:

Ladurée The et Beaute: a super cute outpost of Ladurée which exclusively focuses on candles, tea, and a few homewares like tea china. I got the prettiest long matches with pink tips!

Diptyque: we have it in NYC of course, but I got an exclusive Paris city candle.

Comptoir des Cotonniers is one of my favorite French clothing brands so I had to stop in there.

Maison Georges Larnicol: the BEST French chocolate. I learned about it on the Montmartre food tour I took with my friends on my first trip to Paris, and I’ve made sure to go back on each trip since. The milk chocolate “Glenan Rocks” are out of this world, as are the chocolate covered almonds.

Our favorite dinners:

Buvette: I love the NYC outpost so I was excited to visit the actual Paris location! We had the coziest little dinner here.

Lapérouse – This was the fanciest meal we had in Paris and definitely one of the most delicious! The whole ambiance was great and the service was impeccable. Funny story: when I sat down to eat we both opened our menus and after a moment I noticed something strange…I leaned across to my boyfriend and whispered quizzically “Look, there’s no prices.” He seemed confused for a sec and then a look of dawning realization came over his face before he started laughing and said he’d heard of this before – a ladies’ menu! At the fanciest of (usually European) restaurants, the woman is given a “ladies’ menu” with no prices listed, as a sort of polite (if antiquated) gesture. How funny is that?! I’d never heard of such a thing!

Hotel Providence as I mentioned above, has an awesome restaurant that I highly recommend, even if you’re not staying there.

Coffee and Breakfast

After reading The New Paris I was super excited to check out some of Lindsay’s coffee and breakfast recommendations, and the ones we visited didn’t disappoint! My favorites were Holybelly (loooong lines, be sure to get there right when it opens!), Ten Belles, and Cafe Loustic.

We stumbled upon the sweetest little eatery on our way to Montmartre, called L’Estaminet at 33 rue de Navarin. It seemed totally unassuming but it was so cute, the proprietors were so sweet, and the food was homemade and delicious. Here’s their Insta!

If you have any questions about our trip or the Hotel Providence, feel free to let me know…and remember you can always shop Paris prints over in the Etsy shop. If there’s a particular image you love and don’t see it there, just message me – I’m always happy to create a custom piece!