A few days away, a change of scenery — that’s usually why so many people have been choosing city trips, which are now more popular than ever. No matter the season, city breaks are in high demand. I didn’t want to resist the trend any longer and decided to try a bold little experiment. 🙂 What would it be like to head to Paris for a weekend?

Why Paris? Well, why not?
The City of Love, shaped by its unique lifestyle and rich history, seemed like the perfect choice for a short getaway. On top of that, I’ve always heard friends – mostly women – rave about how amazing Paris is. Naturally, that raises the question: Why is it that this city seems to captivate women in particular? Feel free to leave your answers in the comments below. 🙂

So, the destination was set – but how should I get there? By car, plane, or train?
To keep it short: I decided to go by train, specifically with the Thalys. Driving didn’t appeal to me because of the stress involved – after all, it’s a 500 to 550-kilometer journey, depending on the route. I can’t imagine starting a relaxing weekend that way. But of course, that’s up to each person. Flying was another option, but given the great connection with the Thalys, the train seemed like the better choice.

At 6 a.m., the world is far from being okay…

Nevertheless, there was no way around it – I had to get up at a painfully early hour on Saturday morning. At that point, even the most exciting destination and the amazing weekend ahead take a back seat. Waking up early is a battle in itself – one you have to win right at the start. After all, the Thalys was scheduled to leave Düsseldorf Central Station at 6:16 a.m.

Whenever I have nights like that, I sleep terribly and never manage to go to bed earlier than usual. It just doesn’t work – my body clock refuses to cooperate. I always set two alarms, just to be sure I don’t oversleep. 😉

Right on time, I woke up. And right on time at 5:40 a.m., Jaquelina – a good friend of mine who was joining me on this trip – showed up. Which meant, at the very least, there would be no shortage of laughter.

 

The taxi was already waiting for me, so we headed straight to the train station. The ride was relatively quiet—we both felt that we needed a bit more time to fully wake up. But once we stepped onto the open-air platform, the fresh breeze brought us back to life and slowly loosened our tongues again. The Thalys rolled into the station right on time, and we made ourselves comfortable in an almost empty first-class carriage. Legroom? More than enough. The seats were super comfy too. Side headrests like on long-haul flights practically invited us to doze off over the next four hours to Paris.

As soon as the train started moving, breakfast was served. Now, whether that had to happen quite so quickly is debatable—we had plenty of time ahead of us and didn’t need to rush. But hey, it was there. And I can’t say a single bad word about the quality. Pretty comparable to what you get when flying, although I must say you wouldn’t get a breakfast like this on a Düsseldorf to Paris flight. You could even choose between a sweet or a savory option. As we enjoyed our meal, the train picked up speed toward Aachen.

On the way to Paris, the train only stopped three times: in Aachen, Liège, and Brussels. That makes the Thalys the fastest connection to Paris if you’re coming from the Ruhr area (it starts in Dortmund) or the Rhineland. After we left Aachen behind, the sun began to rise—and as everyone knows, a sunrise in a clear sky is a beautiful symbol of a new beginning. A new day was dawning, and with that blue sky, we knew this would be a picture-perfect weekend in Paris. No one could’ve predicted that, but I have to give a shoutout to Hurricane Ophelia, whose winds pulled that gorgeous warm weather up north. And sorry to our Irish friends who had to suffer through the hurricane—life isn’t always fair, as the saying goes, every coin has two sides.

Just before 10 a.m., we arrived at Gare du Nord—Paris’ North Station. The Paris adventure could begin.

Quick recap of our Thalys First Class (Comfort 1) experience:

+ Very comfortable and fast way to travel to Brussels and Paris
+ Spacious seats with generous legroom and cozy headrests
+ A tasty meal depending on the time of day (on our return journey, we were served dinner)
– Free Wi-Fi is offered, but in reality, barely functional. My mobile internet worked almost flawlessly 90% of the time
– Tip for Thalys: It would be great if the lights in the carriage could be dimmed at night, and individual reading lights installed like on planes. The bright lighting on the outbound trip was honestly quite annoying
– A bit of chaos when departing from Paris on Sunday: first they said there’d be an airport-style security check before boarding, then they just let everyone get on the train without any control at all

Hey, we’re in Paris!

Sometimes it makes more sense to choose your hotel based on easy metro access. The lines directly at Gare du Nord weren’t helpful, so we walked about 400 meters to connect to Line 7. That took us to the Opéra station, from where we had to walk another 650 meters to the hotel. But honestly—not a big deal, especially in weather this fantastic. If it had been raining, I’d probably have cursed the entire way. *hehe

Since we arrived too early to check into our hotel (New Hotel Roblin, 6 Rue Chauveau Lagarde, 75008 Paris, France), we just dropped off our luggage, freshened up quickly, and launched straight into sightseeing mode.

Have I already mentioned how insanely awesome the weather was? Oh yes, sorry, but it just can’t be said enough. It was mid-October and felt like July or something. Incredible.

The Paris explorers are on the move.

Via the Place de la Concorde, we reached the Seine and then strolled leisurely along the river toward the Eiffel Tower. I wanted to at least try to check out the situation and see if there was even the slightest chance that we might get up the Eiffel Tower with minimal waiting time. But forget it!!! Anyone who thinks that is probably the same person who still believes in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Just seeing the crowd on site made it pretty clear that we’d be looking at a wait of several hours.

So imagine answering the question:
“And what did you do on your first day in Paris?”
“Oh, we went up the Eiffel Tower.”
“Okay, and what else?”
“Well… isn’t that enough?”
“Sure, but the day was long, wasn’t it?”
“Unfortunately, not long enough for the Eiffel Tower. We spent half the day just waiting!”

Somehow, I found the idea of having to explain it like that later pretty embarrassing. So Jaquelina and I decided to skip the visit and head instead toward the Place du Trocadéro to get some great shots of the Eiffel Tower. That sounded like a more reasonable plan.

Now before someone asks, “Why didn’t you just buy your tickets online while still in Germany?” – I’d like to say: of course I tried! But there were none left. The tickets to the top would have cost €17. The only option still available online was a guided tour (oops – somehow it always sounds awkward when a German says that in connection with Paris 😉 ), for €59 per person. And I have to admit, that just wasn’t worth it to me.

Question to Paris experts: We noticed that the green phases for pedestrians at traffic lights seemed pretty short – even sporty for us to cross the street in time. How on earth are elderly people or those with mobility issues supposed to manage that?? Maybe it’s a tactic… to actively influence the senior population quota, especially when cars, trucks, and buses immediately start rolling again as soon as the light turns green… bam. Just a thought, not a claim. But the short green phases – that’s definitely a fact.

But I have to admit: the atmosphere in Paris, with all the historic and beautifully restored buildings, is absolutely stunning – and even more so in this GORGEOUS weather. Oops, yes, I know, I’ve mentioned it a few times already. There’s something really special about the vibe here, and I’m starting to understand why so many people love this city. The Parisians, aside from the hordes of tourists, also seem to have a very different take on fashion. They come across as very style-conscious, with that certain je ne sais quoi.

Okay, they also show that “certain something” when it comes to language. Openness to other cultures looks a little different – if you don’t know at least basic French, you’re totally lost when it comes to signs or warnings.

We then took the Metro from the Trocadéro to the Arc de Triomphe. Again, we were greeted by hundreds of tourists. It’s insane how many people are out and about in this city on just one day. Okay, maybe no surprise – we were also ticking off the city’s top landmarks, which naturally attract the most tourists. Not to mention the amazing weather. 🙂

During a talk show, I once heard a story from a well-known German correspondent, Ulrich Wickert, reporting from Paris. He said you can cross a street in Paris without any danger—as long as you don’t look left or right. Why? Because then the drivers feel responsible for watching you. But the moment you glance sideways, drivers assume you’re the one paying attention to them.

Naturally, we had to try this out. So we bravely tested the theory at the eight-lane roundabout of the Arc de Triomphe—and we survived! (Check out the video from our Paris trip). Yeah.

By now, though, we were getting a little tired from the early wake-up call, so we started strolling back to our hotel via the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. After all, we needed a bit of rest—because a real highlight was still waiting for us that evening: a visit to one of France’s most iconic institutions—the Moulin Rouge!

Things are about to get sexy… the legendary Moulin Rouge is calling!

At 9 p.m., we slowly but surely made our way to the Moulin Rouge. We took the metro to Place Pigalle and treated ourselves to a quick dinner on this famous Parisian boulevard of sin and seduction before the 11 p.m. show. The Boulevard de Clichy reminded me a bit of Hamburg’s Reeperbahn — flashy neon signs with erotic messages from various shops, restaurants, and bars, and nestled among them, the world-famous red windmill of the Moulin Rouge.

A heartfelt thank you to the Moulin Rouge and to Fanny Rabasse, the theater’s press officer, for the invitation to this spectacular top-class revue.

After picking up our reserved tickets at the box office, we were escorted to the VIP waiting area at the entrance, where we enjoyed a glass of champagne.

When the moment finally arrived, all VIP guests were the first to be escorted to their tables. On the way, I had the chance to marvel extensively at the red-hued theatre. So this is the world-famous Moulin Rouge – a place I had only ever heard about since childhood. Now it was finally time for me to experience it live and in full color.

Some facts about the Moulin Rouge:

  • 1,700 guests attend every evening

  • 2 performances per day

  • 120 waiters start preparations already in the early afternoon

  • The revue cost 10 million euros

  • 80 dancers perform on stage

  • 1,000 costumes are used

  • 240,000 liters of champagne are consumed here every year (making the Moulin Rouge the largest champagne consumer in all of France)

  • 25,000 bottles of wine and champagne are stored in the Moulin Rouge’s wine cellar

  • 600 bottles are served every night

You can find more information about the Moulin Rouge here: http://www.moulinrouge.fr/

With a slight delay, the revue began – and if you’d like to get a glimpse of this legendary show for yourself, I invite you to watch the following video. Of course, seeing it live is even more intense – it’s a completely different experience.

 

Between the dance numbers of the Moulin Rouge performers, there were even four spectacular acrobatic and artistic acts – most likely seasonal highlights that are regularly rotated. Now, all that’s missing on our next visit to Paris is a stop at the Crazy Horse. 😉

The show lasted about an hour and a half overall and ended shortly after 1 AM – a bit delayed due to a late start. By then, the exhaustion from getting up so early finally hit us, and we were glad to make it back to the hotel and drift off into the land of dreams.

Oh, how we laughed! The Harald Glööckler of Notre Dame…

 

Shortly after 7:30 in the morning, that terrible, ear-piercing constant sound started—an unrelenting fire alarm. At first, I thought I was having a nightmare. But since Jaquelina had already dared to peek into the hallway, where the tinnitus-inducing noise was even louder, we immediately realized: this was a real fire alarm. We briefly debated what to do—wait it out or get out? After we heard footsteps in the hallway and Jaquelina took another look outside, she simply said, “I think it’s real, the alarm!”

Alright then—we threw on our bathrobes, I quickly slipped into my sneakers, and off we went down the stairs to the lobby. There we found numerous other guests, all looking just as groggy as we did. One woman drew quite a bit of attention, clearly unintended, standing there in just a sports bra and barefoot. Then came the relief from the hotel staff: FALSE ALARM!!! Couldn’t have asked for a better start to a Sunday, I thought, as we headed back to our room and slept in until 9 a.m. We had sworn to ourselves that we would take the day slowly and calmly.

After a nice breakfast, we checked out but left our luggage at the hotel and started our second day in Paris shortly after 11 a.m.

Back at Place de la Concorde, we strolled once again through the vast baroque gardens of the Jardin des Tuileries under perfect weather, heading toward the Louvre. Our plan for the day was simple—enjoy and relax. With our tight schedule, a visit inside the Louvre wasn’t possible, so we crossed the Seine via the Pont des Arts and set our sights on the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Standing in front of the cathedral, we quickly got to talking about the most famous story linked to it—The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. At some point, Jaquelina accidentally referred to it as “The Glööckler of Notre-Dame,” and suddenly I couldn’t get the image out of my head—Harald Glööckler playing the Hunchback! He’s always been known for his flamboyant and extravagant appearances, so why not as the Glööckler of Notre-Dame? *laughing myself silly

Once we recovered from our laughing fit, we wandered through the narrow alleys of Saint-Michel and soaked in one last breath of French flair before heading back to the hotel and then on to Gare du Nord to catch our train home at 5:55 p.m.

But I want to mention two more experiences—both involving the Paris Metro and the Thalys check-in process.

The Paris Metro is absolutely wild. The distances underground are insane—just getting to the platform can take ages. At one station, I swear we went up four long escalators before we could finally see the sky again. It really makes you think twice—maybe even three times—about whether to take the Metro for just two stops, considering the time it takes just to get underground. At certain stations, you can literally feel and see how old the Metro is. It’s the fourth-oldest in Europe, and according to Wikipedia, with 219.9 km of track and 303 stations, it’s one of the largest metro systems in the world. Definitely an experience—not always a pleasant one, but still something you should try at least once.

When we arrived at Gare du Nord, we weren’t quite sure how to proceed. If you’re used to Frankfurt’s central station, for example—when the train’s there, you just hop on. But not with the Thalys. We stood by the platform entrance, unsure if we were allowed to proceed. Then we spotted a guy with a trolley heading in that direction, so we followed his lead. But suddenly, a railway employee ran after us, shouting “Non, non, non!”—the platform wasn’t open yet. We explained in English as best we could that there hadn’t been any barrier back there. But when we returned to where we’d started, lo and behold—there was a barrier now. Curious, right? 🙂

Now for the actual procedure: a few meters from the platform entrance was a designated waiting area for Thalys passengers. You had to wait there until they allowed access to the platform, where you’d then line up in one of four queues for a security check—complete with metal detector and baggage scanner, just like at an airport. Once all four lines were filled and we were waiting to be checked, a railway employee suddenly rushed over to his colleague, pointing at his watch. Apparently, there was no time left for security checks, and suddenly everyone was allowed onto the platform without being screened. Bizarre, right? Why have a security check if you’re not going to do it? I found it all a bit chaotic and questionable.

But I won’t let that be my final memory of this beautiful city. Paris was truly wonderful, and I’ll definitely be back—there’s still so much left to discover.

And a big thank you to my charming travel companion Jaqueline, who made the trip so much fun in the first place.