A Parents' Long Weekend Away in Paris
The “Long-Long Weekend” Concept
A “long-long weekend” is what we’ve started calling the ideal amount of time for an adults-only getaway when you have young kids. For our anniversary, my husband and I booked a trip to Paris—just the two of us.
We left the East Coast on a Wednesday evening after work, flew overnight, and spent Thursday through Sunday in Paris. We traveled home on Monday, giving us five nights and five days (including travel). It’s just long enough to really settle into vacation mode without requiring a full week of childcare coverage.
Last year, we did a similar five-day trip to Costa Rica (Wednesday through Sunday), so now that setup has worked well for us twice, I think we will do something similar again next spring.
Why Paris?
We typically gravitate toward adventurous, outdoorsy trips—more focused on mountains, hiking, and nature over cities. But after watching a YouTube video by Ian & Ana on Paris, our curiosity was sparked. Neither of us had been before, it’s a relatively easy overnight flight from the East Coast, and it gave us the chance to return to Europe—something we’ve been dreaming of since COVID.
Paris Rooftops & Eiffel Tower Views from our Balcony at Hotel San Regis
Hotel San Régis: A Bit of a Splurge
We definitely splurged on this trip! It may be a bit cliché, but I wanted a room with an Eiffel Tower view. That requirement led us to Hotel San Régis in the 8th arrondissement.
I found it through the Small Luxury Hotels collection (which we also used for last year’s anniversary trip), and we booked a Junior Suite with a balcony and Eiffel Tower views. It was pricier than we usually go for and had to be booked months out to get the room with the view over our actual anniversary date, but it was worth it.
The hotel was gorgeous, the staff was welcoming, and that balcony was incredible. We enjoyed breakfast there multiple mornings and caught the Eiffel Tower sparkle each night—no need to plan our evenings around it; we just set an alarm and stepped outside!
Experiences in Paris
Our Travel Style: More Local, Less Tourist
This was our first trip to Paris, but instead of packing our schedule with tours, we decided to slow down and soak it in like locals. Aside from a Seine River Dinner Cruise, we didn’t book any structured tours.
We skipped the Louvre, climbing the Eiffel Tower, and walking or food tours. We originally planned to visit the reopened Notre-Dame, but when we had difficulty getting tickets and saw the crowds, we opted to keep wandering the quieter parts of the city instead.
Wandering, Shopping & Café-Hopping
We did a lot of wandering. Here are some of our favorite finds:
Shopping
Atelier Camille is a small shop with feminine and timeless french pieces all handmade by various french seamstresses.
Gaâla is a sustainable french line with classic pieces many of which (like the black and red dress below) are one of a kind.
Sézane while not overly unique as there are now many locations and they ship to the US I still enjoyed being able to shop Sezane in store vs online.
Faguo was a cool sustainable apparel shop we happened across with mostly mens items where my husband got a nice pair of sneakers.
Le Bon Marché is a department store we found that had a great assortment, awesome kids section and really cool stationary items.
We loved both the Red Wheelbarrow book store as well as their sister kids bookstore next door called the Red Balloon.
And two final fun kids shops we found was Marie Puce for clothes and Le Petit Souk for kids accessories, we especially loved the brand they carry called Pause Gouter with cute kitchen items for little ones.
Quick Bites to Eat While Wandering:
Dunes Blanches yummy fluffy cream puff-style pastries
Bread & Roses was where we stopped twice for the most amazing raspberry tart that I can’t stop thinking about
Creperie Pinocchio is a small food stand where we had amazing crepes both sweet and savory
Typical Tourist Moments (But with a Twist)
Even though we skipped the lines and tours, we still saw the sights:
Multiple Eiffel Tower views—from our balcony and a picnic at Parc du Champ de Mars
A couple of scenic Uber rides took us past landmarks like the Arc de Triomphe and other well known squares
Our one pre-booked experience was a River Boat Dinner Cruise (via Get Your Guide). We loved seeing the Eiffel Tower at night from the water, but even more memorable was watching locals enjoy their Friday night picnics and wine along the riverbank.
dinner Restaurants We Loved
Mr. Alphonse – was a super lower key wine bar with incredible burrata and a great wine list
Le Clarence – a splurge-worthy fine dining experience. We did a 5 course tasting menu at the most gorgeous restaurant that is located in a 19th century private mansion. The food and atmosphere were incredible, making it clear why they have received the accolades (multiple Michelin Stars) they have over the years.
Aké – amazing gnocchi and creative seasonal dishes
Hanging Like a Local
Leisurely mornings at Luxembourg Gardens - the first time we walked through Luxembourg Gardens we had other areas we were also trying to explore so we walked through relatively quickly. We then went back on Sunday with plans to just relax.
Slow café time with no agenda, we stopped at multiple cafes while wandering the city when in need of a short rest. We enjoyed the leisurely pace, good conversation and lots of people watching.
One of our absolute favorite things we did was spending our actual anniversary afternoon relaxing along the Seine River with a bottle of wine and good conversation. We grabbed a fresh baguette, a raspberry tart (yes I had to have it more than once), and a bottle of wine to enjoy and pretended to be locals for the afternoon just chatting, and watching the boats go by. Yes we those are kids cups that were a souvenir for our toddler that we used to enjoy the wine :)
Things to Consider When Planning Your Trip
European Holidays
We happened to arrive on May 1st, which is a public holiday in France. Many shops were closed on our first day. It didn’t ruin the experience, but had we realized ahead of time, we might have shifted our dates slightly.
Flexibility Is Key When You Have Kids
When traveling as parents, flexibility matters. We always look for refundable room options, and in the past have also purchased cancel-for-any-reason travel insurance. With little ones at home, you never know when someone might get sick or plans need to change.
Luckily for this trip, most of our bookings had flexible cancellation policies, so we skipped insurance this time—but I still always think about it.
Delays Happen
Our return flight was delayed and then canceled, which meant we had to spend an extra night near the airport in D.C. It was frustrating—especially after five days away from our daughter—but that’s travel. Sometimes you just have to roll with it.
While we had originally chosen a later return flight to enjoy the morning in Paris, we’ve since considered whether an earlier option might offer more rebooking flexibility in case of issues. Still, even that earlier flight was canceled—so it’s always a gamble.
Would We Bring Our Daughter Next Time?
This trip was perfect for just the two of us—fine dining, late nights, long walks. But of course, we spent a lot of time imagining what it would be like to have our daughter with us.
Paris with a toddler would be a different kind of trip, but we know she’d love it:
✅ The pastries
✅ The green parks
✅ The carousels and people watching
✅ Staying up to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at least once
We’ll definitely return as a family one day—but with more picnics and playgrounds, and fewer wine bars and 8pm dinner reservations.
Final Thoughts
Paris was everything we hoped it would be—and then some. While our next trip to France may focus more on the mountains, coast, or wine country, I’d love to time our flights in and out of Paris so we can squeeze in a couple days here again.
Until then, I’ll be dreaming of that raspberry tart.
Want our full Paris itinerary?
I’ve saved our trip details—including a daily itinerary, cost estimates, packing list, and more—in a Notion template. If you’d like a copy, just reach out in the comments or message me!
