Visiting Paris For The Second Time

Last updated on 18 December 2024

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The year was 2013. It was probably around October or November, and my family and I lived in England but were moving back to New Zealand, where we’re originally from, in January 2014. We had lived in England for about 2 years and had been to a bunch of places in Europe and further afield, but hadn’t made it to Paris yet.

My mum had visited Paris when she was in her early 20s (1980s) and didn’t love it because she didn’t have anyone to share it with. She even cut her trip short, vowing to come back when she had a family. Fast forward to 2013, and we were so close it would have been stupid not to go.

And so we booked a whirlwind 2-night trip to Paris, given that we didn’t have much time before we jet-setted back to New Zealand, and we also had to take into account that 3 of us were working, and my sisters had school. But we made it.

It was a great two full days in Paris, and we managed to get a lot in.

We were staying in Montmartre area, which was easy to get to and from. I remember we went to the Sacré-Coeur, took the train into the city and saw the Arc de Triumph, walked down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and enjoyed the Christmas markets (we went in December), visited the Notre Dame, didn’t go into the Louvre but went to the outside. Went to the Musée Rodin, and wandered through the streets of Paris, getting good food and making new memories with Mum.

That was the extent of my Parisian experience. Until 11 years later when I went to Paris with Contiki.

My second visit to Paris was very different to the first, even though we had exactly the same number of nights there both times.

Visiting Paris for the second time, over a decade later

The City

Like many an old European city, it doesn’t change much. The things that I remember seeing and experiencing were the same – the Eiffel Tower isn’t going to change, right? – and the familiarity of Paris came back very quickly.

However! There were obviously still things that have happened in the last decade, a while ago and more recently, that changed the city a little bit. For example, Notre Dame’s fire in April 2019 meant that it wasn’t possible to go into the church this time.

And the 2024 Olympics had just finished up when we visited, so there were still signs up, souvenirs in the shops, and the Olympic Torch sphere thing that they showcased in the Opening Ceremony was still there (granted, on the ground, but there all the same).

I actually saw a lot less of the city when I visited Paris for the second time, simply due to the activities and things that we ended up doing.

In that first trip, we really made the most of the time and covered a lot of ground. It also helped that we had two full days. I believe we flew in in the early morning, had all the day and then next, and then headed off around lunchtime on the third day. A lot more time (but still not enough!) to explore.

For the second visit, due to the fact that we were on Contiki and there was a tight schedule, we arrived in Paris in the late afternoon, had all the next day, and then were outta there early on the third day. The time spent in Paris was limited, which was, as always, a shame, but I’m pleased to say that I did different things this time in Paris than I did the first time. More on that soon.

The Company

The company I had on my second trip to Paris was vastly different to the first.

As I mentioned, the first time was family – mum, dad, and two sisters – and this time was with a friend and also 34 other people on Contiki. Which meant that we had a bunch of things already planned for us that we could do, and also had free time to head off and explore.

We spent Saturday mostly to ourselves, wandering around the city with a bit of a plan (see below), and then met up with the others for the evening activities. The first visit I was with family the whole time, the second visit was with an old friend and many new ones. So the vibe was very different.

The Activities

As were the activities. During our first trip to Paris in 2013, we did a few things that my mum wanted to do, but then we spent a lot of time just wandering around without a lot of plans.

I already mentioned some of the things we did at the beginning of this blog post, but it was a very casual time, with lots of wandering without too much planning, while still getting a decent lot of sightseeing and touristy things in.

The second trip to Paris was a lot different. We arrived from driving from London in the late afternoon on Friday, met up with some of the Contiki group who were joining us from Paris rather than London and headed into the Eiffel Tower to see the lights turn on.

The next day, my friend and I went to the Louvre and wandered through (saw the Mona Lisa from a distance 👋🏻), and then Musée d’Orsay before heading back to our accommodation to get ready to head out for our Parisian welcome dinner with the rest of the group.

The coach dropped us off at the bottom of the Sacré-Coeur steps and we walked up (puffed up, rather), and had dinner at a restaurant near the church.

It was the first time we were doing a proper activity all together as a group, and I still remember the sort of awkwardness but also excitement of that night. The food was delicious (and yes, I tried snails, though my entree was French onion soup), and the party vibes were high already. After dinner, we wandered down to see the Moulin Rouge (just the outside), and made our way to a cabaret show at a different place.

It was a late night before we headed back to the hostel and straight to bed.

So which was better? The first time? Or Paris for the second time?

I honestly couldn’t tell you. They were both so different, and while I think I saw more of Paris the first time, it was still brilliant to be able to go back and do different activities the second time, and get into places like the Louve which we didn’t do the first time.

Paris isn’t my favourite European city, but I do love it. How can you not? And I would absolutely go back.

Have you been to Paris? What did you do while you were? Let me know!