Paris was always one of the cities we wanted to see together. When our route to Asia made a European stop practical, flying with Air France helped make the decision for us.
We went expecting the architecture, romance and big-name attractions to justify the reputation. Some of them did. Others left me wondering whether we'd spent too much time chasing the places everyone said we had to see.
The best memories came when we stopped moving between individual attractions and started seeing the city as a whole.
The Seine was the Paris I'd imagined
Our sunset dinner cruise on the Seine became the highlight of the visit. Watching the city change from daylight into evening, and seeing the Eiffel Tower illuminated after dark, felt genuinely special. Of the cruises we've taken, this remains my favourite.
It's difficult to separate the city from the way we experienced it that night. Being on the river gave us time to enjoy the views rather than navigate another packed attraction. A dinner cruise is hardly a secret Paris experience, but for us it was worth prioritising.
I'd go further: if someone asked me what made Paris memorable, I'd describe that evening before I'd describe going up the Eiffel Tower.
A private tour made the city feel different
The other standout was a private nighttime tuk-tuk tour. We'd planned to see a lot in limited time, and Paris's major sights are spread out. The tour connected them in a way that felt like an experience rather than a transport problem.
The views of the Champs-Élysées and the city from the Arc de Triomphe were particularly memorable. For me, looking out from the Arc was more rewarding than the view from the Eiffel Tower. I also preferred seeing the tower as part of the skyline — especially when it was lit up — rather than standing immediately beneath it.
That doesn't make the tower overrated for everyone. It means the most iconic landmark wasn't necessarily my favourite viewpoint.
The museums and bakeries delivered — but not equally
Musée d'Orsay was one of the highlights. I loved the building as well as the art, and it's probably my favourite art museum we've visited. Paris's bakeries were another uncomplicated success: croissants, coffee and macarons made excellent daily rituals.
Elsewhere, the city's dining reputation didn't translate into consistently memorable meals for us. Angelina's famously rich hot chocolate was sweeter than we wanted, and the Moulin Rouge dinner show was enjoyable without being extraordinary. We'd seen other productions we connected with more, and the meal itself didn't stand out.
The Louvre was a similar case of reputation running ahead of enjoyment. Its exterior was beautiful, but the crowds, walking and attention around the Mona Lisa made the visit less rewarding than I'd hoped. I can understand why others love it. I simply connected much more with Musée d'Orsay.
The Disneyland decision I'd change
We spent five nights in the Paris area, with two days allocated to Disneyland Paris. The overall five-night length worked well for our trip, partly because our hotel booking included a fifth-night-free benefit. But staying in central Paris while commuting out to Disneyland on consecutive days was exhausting.
After one long park day, taking the train back to Paris and repeating the journey the next day made the second day feel like hard work. If I were planning the same itinerary again, I'd consider three nights in Paris and two near Disneyland instead.
And having also been to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Disneyland Paris didn't become a compelling reason for me to return. That's my personal comparison, not a recommendation to skip it if Paris is someone's first Disney park.
A reminder that a city is more than its postcard
We also had to make an unplanned return journey to the airport to collect passes we'd forgotten when we arrived. On that train ride, we saw neighbourhoods and signs of hardship that contrasted sharply with the polished tourist centre we'd spent most of the visit exploring.
That contrast stayed with me. It doesn't allow me to generalise about the lives of Parisians, or claim that a train journey captures today's city. It did challenge the simplified version of Paris I'd built up from travel imagery, and it remains part of my memory of that November 2022 visit.
Would I return?
For an Air France connection that made a short stopover easy? Happily. I'd return to the river and the bakeries, and I'd enjoy another evening walking through the illuminated city.
But I don't feel a strong need to plan another dedicated Paris holiday. The Seine cruise and nighttime tour were extraordinary partly because they were first experiences. There are so many other parts of France we haven't explored yet.
Points helped us make this trip happen more comfortably: covering flights and hotels freed up money for the Seine dinner cruise, the private tour and a few other experiences. The value wasn't a theoretical redemption figure. It was what we did with the money we didn't spend elsewhere.
Paris was beautiful, and I'm glad we went. I'm equally glad we discovered which parts mattered to us — even when they weren't the attractions I'd expected to love most.
Dream Lux takeaway: The best way to enjoy a famous destination isn't necessarily to complete its famous checklist. Our favourite Paris memories came from choosing a few immersive experiences and letting the city become the view.