The plan was to go to Paris for the weekend as we had had some busy weeks at work and needed some proper us-time to relax and re-energise. Little did I know, that my boyfriend had a secret agenda that involved a very sparkly ring. It speaks for itself that our weekend in Paris was magical and will go down the history books as one of my favourite weekends ever!
Since we live in Belgium and Parisian traffic is insane, we always travel there by Thalys which in my opinion is the most relaxed way to get to Paris. We stayed at Hotel Presbytère, located in the heart of the city, attached to the Saint-Merry church. It is a renovated former presbytery dating from the 17th century and has a unique character as the owners combined pieces of its flamboyant gothic architecture with modern luxury. The hotel is super chic and modern and offers everything you need including an amazing breakfast served in the room. It sits above this cute french café which is adorable and in the surrounding streets there are plenty of bars and restaurants.
J'aime Paris
Where I said yes
A fifteen min walk takes you from the hotel to the Louvre and from there you can easily walk into Le Jardin de Tuileries. Since the sun was shining we decided to sit ourselves next one the ponds in the gardens. We were enjoying the vitamin D when suddenly Christian dropped on one knee and gave the most beautiful love declaration before taking out a gorgeous ring and asking me to marry him. Supported by the quacks of the local ducks, I said YES!
From Le Jardin de Tuileries you can easily walk over to Place de la Concorde and onto L’ Avenue de Champs-Elysées, or you can turn right and go to Place Vandôme. Since we had something to celebrated headed over to The Royal Vendôme for a quick bite and some celebratory bubbles. Chef Jonathan Hamel and his team happily share their love of French cuisine with you in a refined and contemporary setting.
The walking path along the river Seine is breathtaking around golden hour so after some shopping we decided to take it back to the hotel and change for dinner. We celebrated our engagement at Lasserre over on Avenue Franklin Roosevelt. Founded in 1942 by René Lasserre the restaurant combines high french gastronomy with celebration. Throughout the years the restaurant welcomed Salvador Dalí, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Robert De Niro. What makes the restaurant truly unique is not the traditional french decor but the mechanical roof that opens up so that guests can eat underneath the starry Parisian nightsky.
National museums in Paris are free on the first Sunday of the month so before heading home, we visited Musée d’Orsay. Make sure to head out in time as the lines can get quite long on these Sundays. Housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station, Musée d’Orsay holds mainly French. The museum is most known for its large collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces by painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Van Gogh.
Before taking the train back home we had lunch at La Brasserie Flottes, previously known as Chez Flottes. The restaurant located near Place de la Concorde captures perfectly the Parisian lifestyle. It traditional cuisine with modern notes and regional flavourings attract both tourists as well as the local French cuisine lovers. And on that tasty note, we were back on the train tired but fulfilled and ready to start a new chapter in our lives, one that started with a romantic getaway in Paris.
“Restaurant Lasserre combines high french gastronomy with celebration, making it the perfect place to celebrate an engagement.”
