Earlier this month, a week after getting engaged, Ben + I visited France to celebrate our 4 year anniversary (which was in June, but tickets > gifts!) It was Ben’s first time visiting Paris, my third, and both of our first times in Reims/Burgundy. Since we live in a major city, we don’t like to spend all of our time traveling in big cities. Similar to our Italy trip last year, we decided to do a road trip.
Rue Crémieux 
Sainte Chapelle
Where to stay in Paris: We had the misfortune of booking our trip the same week as fashion week. Typically we would have wanted to stay in the Marais, where we spent more of our time. Because of the astronomical prices, we stayed in Montmartre– one of my favorite areas in the city that is just a tiny-bit out of the way. That said, it’s super cute and distinctly Parisian. I would recommend staying in the area.
EAT!
Favorite Restaurants: (because I don’t recommend the average)
L’Annexe: Stumbled into this (french) restaurant in Montemartre because it looked cute. I’ll probably dream about this meal for the rest of my life. It’s going to be my go-to Paris recommendation. We started with the foie gras, which was the best we had all trip. When it comes to foie, it’s really the pairings that matters. This one came with a homemade jam. It was so lovely. For my main course I had the roasted pork that was topped with apples and served with crispy potatoes. It was amazing. Go there, order that. Also, make sure you get the salted caramel tart for dessert. Writing about this makes me want to cry. Why is Paris so far??
The pork roast 
The Caramel Tart
Al Caratello: It may feel weird to go to an Italian restaurant in Paris, but sometimes you just really NEED pasta. This place was recommended to me by my friend Chelsea who has lived in Paris. I had the bolognese, Ben had the osso buco. Mine was fantastic, Ben’s was life-changing. Go here!
Le Souflee: This place was suggested by several friends, so we made it a priority. Truthfully, we aren’t crazy about savory souflee, but our food was very good. I had the filet of sole with mashed potatoes and it was truly excellent. This place is heavily hyped, but we did not leave disappointed.
L’Ebouillante: We ate at this cute spot in Le Marais while vintage shopping. I had a greek salad that was absolutely fantastic. If you’re in the area and looking for something light. I suggest sitting outside of L’Ebouillante and people watching.
Petrossian: Though I no longer work for the esteemed caviar brand. I am forever loyal. Caviar is much less expensive in France, so I highly recommend visiting their flagship (near the eiffel tower) for some caviar and champagne. An incredible experience. I recommend Ossetra.
SHOP!
Where we went shopping: As a certified shopaholic, I was determined only to shop at french boutiques and vintage shops.
Vintage Désir: This place is small, but their selection is great. I wouldn’t call it heavily curated, but I found a vintage Espirit bag from the 1970’s and Ben found himself a windbreaker from the 80’s that he hasn’t taken off since.
Freep Star Rivoli: This place definitely requires some digging, but I could have easily left with 5 coats. I ended up picking up a hot pink FILA coat from the 80’s that is so on-brand that it hurts.
Suncoo: The cutest boutique chain located only in France, with a private label. I bought a black and white leopard print top + it was one of my favorite picks of the trip. It’s moderately priced and definitely worth the visit!
I purchased some other things as well, but I forgot to write down where! Truthfully, you can find a lot of great places in the Marais and the shopping opportunities are truly limitless. Do not go into Zara bitch.
DRIVE (+ then drink!)
About two hours outside of Paris is CHAMPAGNE. To the surprise of nobody, I am a huge bubbly advocate and *sorry to say* a little bit of a snob.
Something to know about Champagne; the two main towns for wine production are Epernay and Reims. We originally booked an Airbnb in Epernay, but when we arrived to town we realized we had made a mistake. Simply put, the town just wasn’t that cute. It was a dreary day, and we were feeling pretty defeated after a gross lunch 🙁
We were unable to check-in to our Airbnb until 4pm, so beforehand we drove to our tasting in Reims. We visited the Taittinger champagne house and it was such a great experience. We got to tour some of the oldest and most historic champagne cellars, and learned just how much manual labor is required for champagne production. The price of great champagne is no longer a mystery.
My bff’s brother attended college in Reims, and when he saw we were there, he sent along a list of recommendations. We found ourselves wandering through Reims and were very charmed by the area.
Reims was so lovely that Ben and I said “fuck it” and decided to stay there for the night instead of going back to Epernay. We decided to splurge and spent the night in a beautiful room at the Hotel Restaurant Continental. From there, the night turned out to be our favorite of the trip.
We drank champagne while overlooking the largest and most beautiful church we’d ever seen (Notre-Dame de Reims.) We bought a mini bottle of Perrier-Jouët from Terroir des Rois + the lovely owner let us borrow glasses to drink the champagne at the tables outside of the store. It was one of those special moments that served as a reminder that we chose the right person to be with.
For dinner, we went to Le Boulingrin. Nobody spoke a word of english, there was no translated menu, and it was one of the best dining experiences of our trip. Ben would say it ranks #1, but I place it around #3. We drank fantastic pinot noir. Ben had the veal risotto, I had the filet minion. We started the meal with the best escargot of our trip & had a phenomenal eclair for dessert. It was a delightful way to end the world’s best comeback day.
DRIVE (+ then drink some more!)
Originally when we were planning this trip, we felt the move was to go to Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux region. That was until my friend told me that Burgundy was severely underrated and significantly closer to Paris (3hr drive compared to 6.) We chose to stay in Beaune for 3 days, where we pretty much just ate and drank the whole time.
SLEEP!
We stayed at La Maison des Courtines; which was basically a hybrid between an airbnb and a hotel. It was STUNNING and very affordable. I highly recommend staying there.
Our Favorite Restaurants:
21 Boulevard: The decor alone is a strong enough reason to visit this traditional Bourgogne cuisine. It was recommended to me by someone i’m in a travel Facebook group with, and it was truly the romantic spot she promised. I started with the escargot, of course, and while I didn’t love my roasted chicken (it was paired with a stinky cheese I couldn’t deal with), Ben was absolutely obsessed with his beef bourgogne. I had a poached pair with ice cream for dessert that was a game changer.
Aux FourNeaux: We stumbled into this spot when exploring Savigny-les-beaune before our wine tour. At first, we were reluctant to jump into yet another 3 course lunch. But the menu de jour was so dope we had no choice. First it was crispy bourgogne cheese with a side salad, next it was pork roast with mashed potatoes in a chorizo sauce (that I will die thinking about) + it ended with a chocolate cake. Find a way to stumble into this place, because it was nothing short of excellent.
La Lune: Before visiting anywhere, I always check TripAdvisor for culinary suggestions. I made a reservation at La Lune, ranked #1 on TripAdvisor for Beaune, a whopping 3 months in advance. We sat at the chef’s counter and watched him at work. This place is tiny and a two-man show. The chef is also the sous-chef and the server is also the dishwasher. La Lune is a japanese-french fusion restaurant and it just works. We had korean fried chicken that will never be topped, outstanding seared tuna, and we even tried pigeon (verdict: glad I tried, was delish, not really our thing.) The whole thing was a beautiful experience and La Lune is an absolute must-visit if you go to Beaune.
Caves Madeline: One of the most sought-after reservations in Beaune is Caves Madeline, and it’s really no surprise why. It’s important to make a reservation as early as possible, otherwise you’ll end up at a communal table. Not that I have any problem making friends, but it’s nice to have a candlelit table for two by the window. We ordered the Chef’s menu which was 55€ a person and included 3 appetizers, 2 mains and a dessert. It was the perfect amount of food that left us full, but not stuffed, which we desperately needed after 10 days of binge eating.
Wine & Such: All the red wine in Burgundy is Pinot Noir, and all of the white wine is Chardonnay! Instead of being distinguished by the grape, they are labeled based on the location in which they were grown. Before going to Burgundy, I read Jaclyn Misch’s guide on the region. Pretty much everything I know, I learned from her. Some of the world’s most expensive wines come from this area, a fact I did not know until we had already booked the trip. One thing is for sure, we definitely have a new appreciation for pinot noir.
