Tiny Magic in Paris (part 1)

Solo travel, wonderful art, good food and lots of exploring

Jul 12, 2025

I took myself on a solo trip to Paris at the beginning of July.

I’ve been to Paris many times, for work, with my son, with friends. I’ve lived there for 5 years when I was in my twenties. But I haven't been there ALONE in a long time and I wanted to treat myself to art, me-time and exploring.

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I took the TGV train to Gare de l’Est and walked the 10 minutes to my hotel overlooking the Canal Saint Martin. I had chosen that area because it is lively and artsy with lots of cafés, restaurants and shops and because the hotel was reasonably priced, had air conditioning and was walking distance to 3 metro stations.

Back in the old days, one didn’t have to plan much and could just show up at a museum and buy a ticket. In big cities that is no longer possible so I had to plan my days a little bit around the exhibitions I wanted to see.

I arrived at my hotel at 4 pm and after checking in just walked along the canal to soak up the atmosphere. It was a hot day and people were sitting along the water or drinking their apéritif on terraces in the sun.

Kids were jumping off bridges into the Canal

On the Quay the Valmy is one of my favorite bookstores in Paris, Artazart, where I bought some art books and gifts.

I walked all the way to the Marais, a quaint, historic neighbourhood full of shops and restaurants and had dinner at Chez Marianne where I sat outside and watched people go by. Don’t you just love people watching when you’re traveling?

The next morning, after a good night sleep in my air conditioned room, I took the metro to the Tuileries gardens for a morning walk. It was great to see that the Olympic cauldron was back as well.

The first exhibition I had booked was EUPHORIA at Le Grand Palais (on until 7 September 2025). Can you believe I had never been inside this gorgeous building? When I was living here in my twenties, I was not much interested in art and culture and tickets were expensive.

This expo was so much fun. I felt myself becoming a kid again, which was exactly what I was looking for. Full of balloons, interactive installations and magical surroundings !

It definitely spoke to my childhood soul and I was smiling the entire time.

The big ball pool was just amazing, And yes, of course I went in it!

I went on to see Ernesto Neto’s installation which I was only able to see from the balcony as they were doing some repairs.

There was some wonderful Brazilian art on display there as well (I loved Agrade Camiz and Vinicius Gerheim). I mean, look at that!

I had a quick lunch at the Grand Palais. I was wearing a pink dress, sat on a pink chair and just revelled in the coincidence of that color matching. One lady even took a picture of me!

After lunch, I walked all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe to take the shuttle bus to Fondation Louis Vuitton where I had tickets to the David Hockney exhibition (on until 31 August).

I was impressed with the extensive collection of his artwork.

I loved his colourful art as well as the landscapes and flowers.

I didn't know that he ‘painted opera’.

The building is also a work of art in itself. It is right next to the Jardin d’Acclimatation (an amusement park for kids) to which you get free access if you have an entrance ticket.