Here at Browndog we’ve been sharing our Browndog Travels series for a little while now. However, just in case you’re new to our blogs, we wanted to provide a little refresh on the meaning behind it.
We often share thoughts and insights about marketing from our team of specialists, but every now and again we like to share our other interests to help you get to know the people behind the projects.
Between us, we love to chat about food, interior design, fashion, music and photography, just to name a few of our favourite topics. In this latest blog, our content writer and SEO specialist Megan Bradbury, shares her recent experience of Paris.
We hope you enjoy reading about her travels…
After discussing holidays with my two best friends, we decided that we were well overdue for a friend trip, and so, without much thought at all, we booked a long weekend in Paris.
Disclaimer: We were in France, so plenty of wine was consumed in and around daily activities.
Day 1 –
25/04/25 – Step Count: 14,857
We flew fairly early in the morning, so after a lovely private transfer from the airport we arrived at our hotel around 1pm. We stayed at the Best Western Plus Hotel Mercedes Arc de Triomphe on Avenue de Wagram which was aptly named as it was a mere 15 minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe. We were too early to check into our room, so after a quick refresh we decided to leave our bags in the reception area (as instructed to do so) and go for a wander.
As it was the afternoon we decided to stop off at the Prince Wagram bar/restaurant for a wine refreshment to kickstart our holiday. We had a beautiful glass of Chenin Blanc which set us up nicely for the 15 minute walk to the Arc de Triomphe.
Once we had admired the Arc de Triomphe for long enough, we decided to take a walk down the road to see the famous Louis Vuitton shop that is shaped like a trunk.
Upon realising that designer shops are only fun if you’re extremely rich, we decided to go find another bar to have some lunch and refreshment. We were drawn to La Flamme cafe/bar which was decorated with bold pink flowers. Here we had another bottle of wine and a pizza to share. Whilst we were here we decided to book a night time river cruise along the Seine for that night. We chose the river cruise with music which was £18.78 pp.
We headed back to the hotel to check in properly, see our room, and get ourselves ready for the evening ahead. Once we were ready we got an Uber towards the port to get some dinner and to catch our boat.
We had food at a restaurant called Le Malakoff which had a diverse menu of traditional French cuisine, burgers, pastas, pizzas etc. Then we made our way to the port under the Eiffel Tower which was beautifully lit up now as it was dark.
We boarded the boat for the river cruise at 11pm and cruised down the Seine for an hour. We passed many famous landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Louvre, Orsay Museum, Grand Palais and Petit Palais amongst others.
Day 2 –
26/04/25 – Step Count: 13,567
On the second day of our trip we decided to visit the Louvre as my friend really wanted to see the Mona Lisa. Admittedly, art museums are not my personal favourite pastime, but I thoroughly enjoyed admiring the architecture of the building.
We looked at some of the art exhibits from different countries including Italy, Greece and Egypt. It was fascinating to see the intricate details of the paintings and statues, as well as the size.
We were ever so slightly underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa, however, that could have been because the crowd was so huge that we could barely even see it without zooming in on our phone cameras.
For me, the true artwork was in the architecture, with this ceiling being a personal favourite of mine.
After the Louvre we went for a walk and found the cutest dessert shop called Amorino which sold the tastiest ice cream and macarons. You could choose as many ice cream flavours as you wanted, which were then crafted into a beautiful flower. I went for chocolate hazelnut, salted toffee and stracciatella with extra caramel sauce. Delicious!
(It was almost too pretty to eat… but I managed.)
For dinner that night we went to Bouillon Chartier which is famous for its traditional French menu. I tried the confit duck and boeuf bourguignon which were both nice, though slightly underwhelming (I’m not a French cuisine convert after this trip, but kudos on the wine!).
That evening we decided to go for some drinks closer to our hotel as we were quite tired. We found a fun karaoke bar called BAM Karaoke Box Etoile which had a great atmosphere and served a variety of cocktails, wines and spirits.
Day 3 –
27/04/25 – Step Count: 7183
We went to get a bite to eat on Sunday morning, which was the hottest day of our trip, before we headed over to the Eiffel Tower. As it was our last day we had to start the day with a cheeky mimosa!
For most of Sunday, we sat in the gardens with a picnic of wine, bread, brie and prosciutto and enjoyed the view in the sunshine.
To celebrate our final night in Paris, we went to the Moulin Rouge to see a show, along with a champagne experience.
Unfortunately (for you) there were no phones permitted once the show began so I couldn’t take any pictures, but the dancers, singers and acrobats were all phenomenal performers, and the champagne experience was fabulous!
After the show we went for a few drinks, then back to the hotel ready for our early pick up!
Top Tip: Wear comfortable shoes, it is a lot of walking!
Paris provided the perfect city break, filled with fun, food and wine. I would definitely recommend it to anyone chasing the ideal weekend getaway with friends, loved ones or even family!
