Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Day 1 - Museums and Walking Paris into Our Legs
We (two adventure-lover girls) arrived in Paris before sunrise at Gare du Nord slightly disoriented, slightly sleep-deprived, but very ready. First task: figuring out public transport. We grabbed our tickets from the machines and headed out. Although we initially used single tickets to get to the hostel, the real hero of the trip turned out to be the student 3-day transport pass—only €8 and an absolute lifesaver. Unlimited rides, zero stress.
Without wasting any time, we made our way straight to the museum district to pick up our Museum Pass. From that moment on, Paris officially became an open-air museum—and we started exploring it on foot. Our walk began in the Tuileries Garden, where the city slowly woke up around us. Statues, fountains, wide gravel paths, and that soft Parisian morning light—it felt unreal.
Priority number one, though? Coffee and food. We stopped at a random café, ordered strong coffee and a plain croissant, and honestly, nothing has ever tasted that good. Hungry, caffeinated, and finally alive.
Our first real stop was Musée de l’Orangerie, where Monet’s Water Lilies completely stole our hearts. Those massive, immersive panels are impossible to describe properly—you don’t just look at them, you sink into them. After wandering around the museum and its peaceful garden for a bit, we continued on, fully museum-mode activated.
Next up: the Louvre. We passed by the iconic glass pyramids, soaked in the scale of the place, and—yes—saw the Mona Lisa (briefly, from a distance, surrounded by chaos, as expected). Still, checking it off the list felt surreal.
From there, we walked and walked and walked. Paris is dangerous like that. At some point, we climbed all the way to the top of Arc de Triomphe, and the view made every single step worth it. Paris stretched endlessly in every direction—orderly, elegant, glowing.
We continued down Champs-Élysées, slowly drifting toward Petit Palais, which completely caught us off guard. The architecture alone was enough to leave us standing there with our mouths open. We took a break in its café, cooled down with a refreshing kombucha, and just… breathed.
Then on to Musée d’Orsay, one of the highlights of the day. Inside, we wandered among works by Van Gogh, Degas, Manet, Renoir, and so many others. Soft brushstrokes, movement, light—Impressionism at its finest, all housed inside a former railway station that is a masterpiece on its own.
Somewhere along this route—honestly, the exact order is a blur—we passed through Saint-Germain, crossed and re-crossed the Seine, and saw the Eiffel Tower both from far away and unexpectedly close. We watched the river for long moments, letting Paris unfold slowly as we explored almost the entire city on foot.
Dinner brought us to Bouillon, where we fully surrendered to French cuisine:
onion soup, baguette, duck, escargot… and finally profiteroles and crème brûlée. Absolute happiness.
We ended the night watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle, lights flashing against the dark sky, before making our way back to the hostel—completely exhausted, over-stimulated, and very sure of one thing: this trip was going to be intense.
