Ringing in the New Year in the City of Lights
Checked off one thing on my bucket list last week, celebrating New Year’s Eve in another city. We went to Paris for a long weekend, arriving on Saturday morning and leaving the following Wednesday. Typically a trip like this would be outrageously expensive but I used my Ultimate Rewards and United miles for airfare and lodging, it was $92.90 per person. I was extra motivated to use these miles and points since United Airlines and Hyatt will be devaluing their programs in 2014, making redemption rates less favorable for travelers. I also had two United Club passes (courtesy of the United MileagePlus® Club Card) that were expiring on 12/31/13 that we used at LGA before our flight, cheers to our last trip of the year!
9AM Saturday – 9AM Wednesday
Accommodation: Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile
3 Place du Général Kœnig\nParis, 75017 France
+33 1 40 68 12 34
We took the RER (€9.50) from CDG to our hotel in the 17th arrondissement. The public transportation system there is efficient and clean. Also on new year’s eve starting at 5pm until noon the following day most of the system is free which worked out for us since we were taking the metro everywhere and we took the train back to the airport on Wednesday morning. They should have free subways and trains in all cities on new year’s eve. The app from RATP Visit Paris by Metro was very useful, it allows the user to download a map of the metro system and of the city, as well as plan trips from one metro station to your destination station without needing a connection to the internet.
The hotel we stayed at was conveniently located at the Porte Maillot station stop on the 1 metro. It’s connected to the Palais des Congrès and most of the time we were able to use the mall entrance to get to the metro and didn’t have to walk in the cold. Our room had a nice panoramic view of the city, we can see Sacré-Cœur from the window. We had access to the club lounge that included breakfast, snacks, and cocktails during stay but we only used it once. There’s a bar on the top floor with a view of the Eiffel Tower. For a hotel with 950 rooms, when we asked for a bucket of ice (€5.00) for our champagne on new year’s eve, it arrived within a few minutes, I was impressed. The bed itself wasn’t comfortable but we were exhausted from sightseeing every day we barely cared.
The Eiffel Tower was mesmerizing and the Champs-Élysées was lovely decorated in holiday lights. Living in New York City, I see tourists every day - in Paris it was just the same, imagine Rockefeller Center during the holiday season at all the major attractions. Daylight hours were pretty short there, the sun rose at 8:45 AM and sets at 5:00 PM - on New Year’s Day we didn’t see the sun at all (our flight took off at 11:45 AM). On this trip we saw Notre-Dame, Pont de l’Archevêché (love lock bridge), Centre Georges Pompidou (Le Marais), Sacré-Cœur (Montmartre and Place du Tertre), Champs-Élysées (Avenue Montaigne), Eiffel Tower (Seine), Louvre, and Arc de Triomphe. We didn’t have enough time to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, or Sacré-Cœur but we did see the inside of Notre-Dame and Sacré-Cœur. If you want to see these sites, especially during peak season, you have to arrive when the attractions first open and when the lines are just beginning to form. We got to the Louvre at 9 AM, the queue was long but it moved quickly. We didn’t get to use the secret entrance but it didn’t make much of a difference since we were there early - it definitely would’ve made sense later on in the day.
It was mostly grey, cold, and rainy in Paris during our visit. I enjoy the city more in the summer, when the grass is green and flowers are in bloom. Paris is a walking city, with a well connected metro system (€1.70 each way (or €13.30 for 10 trips) within most of Paris, with a free transfer within 90 minutes). To transfer from one metro to another the walk can be over five minutes through corridors and staircases, depending on the station. This is how the French eat such rich food and still maintain a slender figure.
For new year’s eve, instead of eating out at a restaurant we had a picnic in our hotel room. We picked up the supplies throughout the day: foie gras, champagne, French bread, and from Hediard some crab taramasalata and salmon eggs. It was an intimate feast [click here for Paris food entry.]
There’s art, music, and culture everywhere.
My favorite parts of the trip were:
(1) sitting on the steps outside Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre listening to the street performer sing, with the scenic view of Paris in the background,
(2) watching the sky change color as the sun sets from Trocadéro and admire the sight of Eiffel Tower (and when it twinkles),
(3) white truffle and hazelnut macaron from Pierre Hermé,
(4) walking through Place du Tertre and seeing the artists at work, skillfully drawing portraits,
(5) long leisurely meals with delicious French wine, bread, foie gras, cheese, and soufflé.
One thing that I did miss was ice cubes in my beverages.
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