Paris trip, May 2025

Not long after my trip to the United States, it was my wife’s birthday. Visiting Paris and Disneyland Paris was something that she’s always wanted to do, so we booked a trip on the Eurostar for four days. It’s a shame there isn’t a direct train to Disneyland Paris anymore, so we went to Paris first, and caught the RER train to the park. Not a bad journey honestly. The last time I had visited Paris and Disneyland Paris was well over twenty years ago, and I don’t remember much about it. So after some research, we had a plan in place. We would split our trip on spending time in Disneyland Paris and the city of Paris itself. There was a lot to cover in a few days! Fun fact, apart from the Uber to my local train station, the whole trip was done via train! There is now an extra benefit to using an EMR train to St Pancras. As once you arrive at St Pancras, it’s a short walk in the station to the Eurostar. Being able to walk between trains took a lot of stress out of navigating around Paris. I also took my new camera, a Ricoh GR III X HDF, with me as well. I’ve included some photos that I took with it in this post. It’s an incredible camera to use. I’m going to use it more when I visit London or other major cities. I definitely want to improve my street photography.

The Eurostar

You’re telling me that I can have all the border checks done in London and just walk on and off a train? Sign me up. I’d rather have that than go through an airport. The seats onboard are comfortable enough in standard class for a two hour trip, anything longer and it might have been slightly uncomfortable. I ended up buying a naviGo ticket on the train for me and my wife which proved to be a good decision in getting around Paris, and it was preloaded with two tickets for the metro and train services. I just wish that St Pancras was a little bigger. It was slightly cramped and desperately needs more seating, and maybe at least one more place to get food. Gare du Nord on the other hand was much bigger and modern in comparison. I’m slightly tempted to use my points from Amex to upgrade my status to get access to the lounge for the next time I travel.

Bonjour RATP mobile application

This is genuinely a good mobile application. Being able to view train times, and reload your ticket via NFC is extremely useful. Plus being able to bookmark favourites and configure alerts is a nice bonus as well. And of course, it’s in English, the biggest benefit of them all. Definitely removes some anxiety when it comes to using public transport in another country you’re not familiar with.

Disneyland Paris

I don’t remember much about Disneyland Paris when I visited it twenty years ago. I do remember being disappointed by it. I think I got a Mickey Mouse plush of some kind? My wife has been to the park in Orlando plenty of times, so she would be my expert when it comes to Disney. We stayed at the New York Hotel at Disneyland Paris during our trip, and it’s possibly one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in. The room was clean, modern, with plenty of room (probably one of the biggest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed at). Shoutout as well for the hotel including a HDMI port, USB port and Chromecast on the TV, which is hard to find all of the above in a hotel room from other chains such as Hilton and Marriott from my experience. The hotel was Marvel themed and unsurprisingly, had artwork all over the hotel, and they had some great pieces on display. I did end up buying the art book of the art used throughout the hotel. I was happy to see several pieces by Alex Ross. There are other amazing artists featured in the hotel as well. The skyline bar was also enjoyable, sure the themed drinks might not be for everyone, but the quality was exceptional. I kind of regret not going there again before I left Paris.

I greatly appreciate the work that the cast members do to ensure that the park keeps working smoothly. Everyone who we spoke to was extremely welcoming. It’s not easy running a theme park that welcomes thousands of visitors everyday. The fireworks that are held each night makes you realise just how many people visit the park.

As for favourite rides, my personal favourite is Avengers Flight Force. It’s an impressive ride that really throws you with twists and turns with good visuals. There is Hyperspace Mountain which is also good, but it’s going through a refurbishment and the theming is a little over the place. I think it could do with some work as you’re in the dark most of the time. Just a few more visual effects to show that you’re in the Star Wars universe. Shoutout to Tower of Terror and Indiana Jones for being great rides as well.

The food throughout the park is pretty decent as well, but slightly expensive (it’s a theme park, of course it will be expensive). We had my wife’s birthday meal at Walt’s which was truly an incredible experience, probably ate some of the best food I’ve ever had there. There’s so much on offer when it comes to food in the park, and we didn’t have enough time to try everything. We did however manage to get some champagne in a unique plastic champagne flute (which we brought back with us as souvenirs).

Speaking of souvenirs, there is always plenty of merchandise for sale, pretty much everywhere you look. From the expected shirt to jewellery by Pandora, Disneyland has everything you possibly want. I can see how people can spend a lot of money in the Park. I think I’ll visit Disneyland Paris again in a few years, and possibly stay in a different hotel. I genuinely think Disneyland Paris is worth a visit, and was definitely better than my first visit.

City of Paris

Paris is a truly exceptional experience. From the architecture, the shops to the food and culture. There’s so much to see and do (partially why we want to go back for a weekend trip in the future).

We saw several of the major landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe. All of which we saw when it was clear skies and warm weather, we got lucky on that front. I think the picture I took of the Eiffel Tower might be one of my favourites of the trip. When we visited the Arc, me and my wife just simply sat and watched the world go by. We were both confused and horrified at the traffic going round. How on earth do drivers navigate it without getting in an accident? I’d have a heart attack trying to drive around it! I believe that walking and using public transportation in a big city is one of the best ways in seeing what life and the culture is like. Going around in a taxi or a tour bus is fine in getting from A to B, but you’re missing out on so much more. Exploring Paris by foot and Metro was fun and a challenge, you never know what scenery or restaurant you’ll come across.

No trip to Paris is complete without visiting the Louvre, the famous art museum. It’s an experience that should be at the top of any list when visiting Paris. The masterpieces on display are exceptional and you could spend an entire day there. And yes, we did see the Mona Lisa, which was honestly a little underwhelming when you compare it to other works such as Liberty Leading the People. You wait ten to fifteen minutes in a crowd, where it gets uncomfortably hot, to work your way to the front to see the masterpiece, yards away and enclosed. It’s just disappointing when you’re able to see other pieces of art up close. The architecture of the museum is a work of art in itself, plus the shopping carousel is incredible and something we stumbled across when we were trying to find the nearest metro station. The Louvre is definitely worth a visit (and you could honestly skip seeing the Mona Lisa).

Then there’s the food, it’s great as expected. There are so many different restaurants and bakeries to try, it’s one reason why I want to go back. I want to visit a bakery first thing in the morning next time and get a croissant. Plus, the exteriors of these places provide a great photo opportunity. Did we go to some touristy spots? Yes, but we had a great time regardless.

Until next time, Paris.

I definitely want to visit Paris again in the near future. But, there’s one thing I must do which is improve my French and speak it more. I tried to speak French whenever I could but there were a few occasions where my mind went blank and I stumbled, I know I could definitely do better. So the next time I’m visiting Paris, I want to be better prepared for conversions in French. I strongly recommend anyone visiting France to have some basic phrases and sentences practiced. The French language is also used in Belgium, another country I plan to visit soon. Because why not? The Eurostar can take us to places like Brussels, or Bruges, which is perfect for a weekend away. Maybe the urge to travel has awoken in me once again.