Part 1: Lunch at Eiffel and Small group tour (by coach) 

Paris at a glance, lunch at Eiffel and Versailles is another popular tour package that is available for tourist who plans or has the chance for a visit to the city of love. This tour package can be pre-book from a travel website. Name a few: Trip advisor, Agoda.com, Skyscanner, Trip.com, Lonelyplanet.com, and many others.

My hotel pick-up was scheduled at 09:10 am, and we were pick-up from different hotels in Paris for the prepaid sightseeing tour, a tour from a different perspective view of the city of Paris. The driver brushes through the early morning traffic and made a few brief stops at Parisian landmarks: Les Invalides, Notre Dame Cathedral, Place de la Concorde, Avenue des Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. 

 Les Invalides

The scheduled first stop was at the Les Invalides. Les Invalides was formerly known as the House of the disabled. The original purpose is to function as a treating hospital and as a retirement home for war veterans. It houses museums and monuments which are all related to the military history of France. Adjacent to Les Invalides was the former Royal Chapel, which has converted to be the final resting place for France leading military figure, Napoleon Bonaparte. 

Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral also refers to simply as Norte-Dame. This unique Gothic architecture stands out due to its beautiful colorful rose windows, houses the giant size of a historic organ, and church bells. Norte Dame Cathedral is considered one of the iconic symbols of the city of Paris and making it one the most visited monument in Paris.

The next few stops include Place de la Concorde, Avenue des Champs Elysees, and the Arc de Triomphe before the lunch at Eiffel Tower. 

Eiffel Tower

The purchase of Paris at a glance tour package will include a much-awaited lunch break after the morning sightseeing tour in the capital city. The lunch reservation will be at 58 Tour Eiffel restaurant, located on the first-floor platform, 58 meters or 190 feet above ground level. The Iron Lady entrance points were fully packed with tourists as there were two long queues at each site of the tower waiting for their turn to purchase an access ticket to get an experience to mark a footprint at the Eiffel Tower. 

The lunch reservation at 58 Tour Eiffel includes a skip-the-line ticket to the first level of the Eiffel Tower. We were leads through the centerline to get our direct access to the elevator avoiding the long lines and wait. 

The restaurant menu served consisted of Parisian cuisine: Grilled salmon, cream dessert, pumpkin soup of the day, and a glass of wine. It is a great blessing to enjoy the delicious lunch meal while experiencing the spectacular view of the magnificent city of Paris from the Eiffel. We adjourned to our next destination that afternoon to the Palace of Versailles.

Part 2: Palace of Versailles

Google scholar refers Palace of Versailles as the Jewel of French Baroque architecture, and together with its royal garden, a must-visit bucket list. The day-trip Versailles also includes a skip-the-line entry, and at the main entrance gates, we were ushered from a different entrance gate to get our direct access into the palace building. 

The Versailles visitor brochure stated that the main palace consists of 2,500 rooms, and visitors are allowed to visit some of the famous rooms inside Versailles palace and to name a few are the Hall of Mirrors, Marie-Antoinette's bedrooms, and the King's Apartments and Royal Bedchamber. Walking along the massive and high ceiling halls and rooms, together with all the well-preserved interior designs, wall decorations, and antique furniture, one can fantasizing as if one was present at the same timeline in history.

After two hours of a guided tour around the palace, we continued our journey back to the city of Paris, as the royal gardens and musical fountain shows were closed and postponed for maintenance and repair process.

Are you planning to go for a visit to Paris after the pandemic is over? If yes, then listed below are few travel tips and learning points that you may need to take note of to ensure a smooth and enjoyable vacation.

Travel Tips

- Do take note of the specific dress code requirements as stated in your tour voucher.

- Bring along your payment receipt or printed tour voucher as proof of purchase if you are travel as a single traveler or a group tour.

- Do bring along some sandwiches, snacks & a bottle of water because guided tours are usually on a tight tour schedule.

- Do bing some moisturizing sunscreen to protect your skin from dryness.

Learning points

- Again, be more vigilant in crowded areas.

- If you were a person who loved to enjoy and admire flowers, then you may need to check when is the best time to visit Versailles to avoid disappointment.

 - Be observant to follow instructions given as some tourist attractions do not allow for photo or video taking.

- Try to purchase a tour package that includes some special offers: skip-the-line ticket, lunch or evening tea, and most important is that they do provide free transportation.

Things to avoid

- None

Thank you for reading.

(Lead image from Unsplash)