Spring in Paris - Cherry Blossoms, Rooftops and April Showers
- Lucy and the lens
- Sep 17, 2018
- 2 min read
When we booked a trip to Paris in April, we were gutted to be missing the Bonn Cherry Blossom Festival (Kircheblutenfest) near our home in Cologne, Germany. Then I realised Paris is known for its cherry blossom season, too! We were a little early for the full display, but we stumbled upon plenty of beautiful blossoms - both cherry and magnolia - during our 4 days in Paris. Here's what we did, and why the blossoms made it even more special!
As I explained here, we took a self-guided food tour with Le Food Trip, and this gave us the chance to explore areas of Paris we hadn't seen before, as well as ones we had! Along the way, there were plenty of blooms to enjoy!
We discovered cherry blossoms to the side and back of Notre Dame, perfectly framing the famous stained glass windows.
Just minutes away, there is also a cherry blossom tree in front of famous bookshop Shakespeare and Company. It was only beginning to bloom when we were there, but I can imagine it looks fabulous in peak season.
Just minutes away from Shakespeare and Company, Odette is a picture-perfect patisserie specialising in choux pastries, decorated with dainty little pastel flowers that fit in perfectly with the Spring blossoms!
From there, we wandered to the Eiffel Tower to eat the merveilleux we'd collected on our Le Food Trip tour, and while the cherry blossoms were again in their early stages, the magnolia trees were a magnificent sight!
Funnily enough, despite all these blossoms, the tree-lined avenue leading up to the Eiffel Tower had yet to even get its leaves back, creating a really interesting frame for the tower!
A sudden April shower took us on a detour to the city's covered passages, including Galerie Vivienne, Passage des Panoramas, and my favourite,Passage Jouffroy.
The rain stopped, and we took to the rooftops! We heard that the view from the rooftop bar of Galeries Lafayette was stunning, so we went to investigate. We were worried about having to buy expensive drinks at the bar for the privilege, but there is a free viewing platform independent of the bar, so we didn't feel so bad lingering for a while, listening to the music drifting up from the streets below.
While the good weather held out, we wanted to visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery, famous for the tombs of Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf, among many, many others. I left Patrick near the entrance with a book and went hunting for the quietest corners of the cemetery. The way the spring sun filtered through the trees, dappling the tombs in a gentle light made this such a peaceful experience.
Spring was the perfect time to visit Paris; despite one very rainy day, it was nice not having to deal with the oppressive heat of summer, and the blossoms we encountered everywhere made the city even more beautiful than usual! This trip was, for us, just as much about great Parisian food as it was about the blossoms though, so check out this post for details of our four favourite meals of the trip!
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