le Relais de l’Entrecôte

Our last full day in Paris sprung up to meet us, and we were not prepared!

The day began with the threat of rain. After two weeks of great weather, we couldn’t really complain about the two drizzly days at the end… could we?

We began our day with a walk to Montmartre, taking in everything on the way. We were saying goodbye to a beautiful city with every step we took.

The foot of the staircase that leads to Sacré-Cœur Basilica at the apex of Montmartre.

The fountains just prior to the last staircase from the top…

Sacré-Cœur Basilica is an amazing place to view the city. From the top of the hill, all of Paris spreads out below you…

Just a few steps along the way to the top!

Sacré-Cœur Basilica really is an architectural wonder!

And, yes, of course we did the thing where the sinking house is sinking! The Sinking House of Montmartre is now officially famous…

The trickery seems fitting for the bohemia of Montmartre…

Prior to this visit, it seemed there was always a service taking place in Sacré-Cœur. I had only ever been able to stand at the back and look into the church. For this visit, though, we had the entire church open to us!

I really got a sense of just how vast the basilica really was. Glad we chose this day to go.

We did a LOT of walking around on our last day. After we walked around up in Montmartre for a while, and stopped in a little restaurant for a petit-déjeuner while waiting out the rain, we walked back down the hill.

Another thing we decided to check off our list! Macarons in Paris. Where else to do this but Ladurée!

One cannot merely window-shop at Ladurée!

We decided to take our treasure to the river and find a place to sit down there…another last day goodbye! The Seine called out to us. But, first, a Bouquiniste along the way.

The treasured Bouquinistes line the walkways beside the river…

With the river at our feet and the Louvre in our sights, we found a nice place to sit and gaze about…

If you want to say goodbye to a city, you need to walk that city, go to its hearts, wander aimlessly like a flâneur. But you also need to take little breaks, stop and sit and watch the city go by about you…have a treat…

We watched the river for a bit, knowing we were leaving it for a very long time…if not forever.

After our snack, we were ready to continue our exploration and goodbyes.

Two weeks and we still hadn’t made our way to the pretty Square du Vert-Galant! We needed to remedy that. This is the pretty little park at the western tip of the Ile de la Cité…next to the Pont Neuf! Such a lovely spot.

Another must-do item on the bucket list was Tour Saint-Jacque. We kept missing out on it. The visiting hours are hard to nail down and possibly sporadic. Anyway, Michael said THIS IS THE DAY. And it was so…

This tower is one of the iconic starting points for the Camino de Santiago…

Michael stayed behind, waiting at the bottom. I went with a small tour group. There are over 300 steps to the top of the tower and it’s a low narrow spiral staircase. A bit of a workout. You need to be fit to do this tour.

There is SO much to see on the way up!

Once you get to the top, that’s the real prize! It’s definitely one of THE best views of the city. I feel like I kept saying that no matter where we went, but this time…it was just spectacular! In every direction!

I was truly stunned by the spectacle of it. The entire city was just there! The skies had cleared and it was a perfect September day…and the city opened up!

Even Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre were there, for one last goodbye…

I couldn’t get enough!

It was time to come back down to earth! Michael was waiting…and we had dinner plans!

It was time to say goodbye to Saint-Germain-des-Prés! But not before returning to one of our favourite restaurants and visiting the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés).

I couldn’t decide if the church was gaudy or beautiful, but I suppose some things could be both. It reminded me a bit of Sainte-Chapelle, only without all the glass.

What did we choose for our last meal in Paris? The same place we chose for one of our first meals!

After dinner we walked back to the hotel, saying goodbye to everything we passed by.

There’s a saying, “We’ll always have Paris.” And we will. No matter how old we get, how far we go, how much we change or don’t change…Paris will always be with us. Like a big shiny diamond, glowing in our past. We might make it back one day, or we might never see it in person again. But it’s a part of us now. We’ll always have it.

To paraphrase Hemingway… “If you are lucky enough to have BEEN TO Paris AT ANY AGE, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

Yes, I bent that quote to my will! But it’s true.

This concludes our 2023 Paris journey. It was everything and more!

We might see it again…maybe. As Audrey Hepburn said, “Paris is always a good idea.”

“Au revoir Paris. Je t’aime.”

Link to Previous Day.

This was the first morning we woke up in Paris. Our plan was to take it easy and explore. We did have an agenda, though.

Visit Hôtel de Ville to see the Olympic rings
Go to Le Ju’ in the Marais for breakfast
Find Passages
Galeries Lafayette for the rooftop terrace
Free Carnavalet Museum in the Marais
le Relais de l’Entrecôte for supper

Michael wanted to visit the Olympic Rings displayed at Hôtel de Ville and it was in the same neighbourhood as the restaurant we wanted to check out. Le Ju’ ended up being our go to breakfast place throughout our trip. On Instagram, I knew it as the place with the rainbow umbrellas. In person, we found it charming, affordable and with great staff. And COFFEE BY THE BOWL!

The peekaboo is very quick to come out in him!

Do yourself a favour and Google Map Le Ju’. You’ll like starting your day there!

It’s the place with the rainbow umbrellas!

After breakfast, the plan was to walk to Galeries Lafayette and take advantage of their rooftop terrace for views and the Paris sign.

It was on our way there that we found our first Passages. I’ve been intrigued with them, but I don’t remember ever seeing one. We found two on our way to GL. They were directly across the street from each other.

These passages are very boutique…with lovely stores inside. Even the famous Hotel Chopin can be found in one such passage.

Next up was Galeries Lafayette.

Everything is SO big in Paris. I always feel dwarfed by the hugeness of things. Galeries Lafayette is no exception.

And the views from the rooftop of GL were stunning. So glad we visited!

The Palais Garnier…the Opera, which we would be visiting later in our visit.

It was now time for the FREE Musée Carnavalet in the Marais!

The courtyard entrance to the **Musée Carnavalet**.

This museum is dedicated to the history of Paris itself. It can be found in TWO neighbouring mansions that are now combined into one large building the (Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau). The buildings have been around since the 16th century. Imagine walking about inside a building built in the 1500s. That alone is worth the visit.

The exhibits in this museum were exceptional. It’s truly worth the price of the ticket. It’s incomprehensible that the price is ZERO.

The first hallway you enter is filled with signage saved from the streets of old Paris.

The rooms themselves are absolutely stunning, not to mention the artworks on display. I’ll just share a few photos here to give you an idea. It truly is a MUST SEE museum. There’s a garden with a restaurant as well, should you be so inclined.

After the Carnavalet, we were headed to Saint-Germain-des-Prés. This is one of Paris’s most iconic neighbourhoods. One could just walk around for a few minutes and they’d find several of the famous cafes of the 1920s Lost Generation. Yes, they’re still in operation today. Here’s a sampling of the ones we passed by…all within a block of one another and all iconic.

Perhaps the most iconic of all, Les Deux Magots.

But we went in a different direction for our second supper in Paris. Also iconic, though not with as much history as the others, is le Relais de l’Entrecôte. I don’t even know why I love this restaurant so much. Normally, you could not pay me to eat steak. Something about the frenetic charm of this place gets to me. It shares my love for all things quirky.

le Relais de l’Entrecôte, with hints of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi wafting around, mingled with the aroma of fresh cut fries and medium done steak. Be prepared for something a little different.

This restaurant opens around 6:45pm, but don’t be one of those people who show up after 6:00pm…because you will find A LINE. The line will eventually go around the block and yet it still doesn’t seem to deter guests from queuing up.

There is only one thing on the menu. Fries and Steak. When you’re seated, they’ll ask how you want your steak done and what you would like to drink. They’ll write this information on your paper tablecloth.

Before this restaurant, I’ve been sworn off steak for life. I’m so adamant about it, I’m nervous to admit I eat it here. This sauce is magic.

Such a great meal. Such a fun place.

That was the end of our second day in Paris. But in Paris walking home is, in itself, an event. There was still a lot to see before our heads hit the pillow.