BHUTAN
DISCOVER YOUR INNER ZEN
Bhutan is like no place on Earth. There’s something magical about being in this country. Your spirit awakens. Your soul smiles. Your at peace with the world. I only spent one week in Bhutan but it’s a week that has had a lasting impact on my life. Seeing and being in a country that puts the happiness of everything in the forefront gave me a new perspective on what really makes life important. The genuine experience of a happy life is what the world needs more of.
UNIQUE EXPERIENCES
Learn how to bake your own baguette or pastry <map>
Hidden Paris walking tour
Dinner with Jim Haynes <map>
MY ITINERARY
Bhutan requires all visitors to pay a $200 - $250 per day fee when visiting the country. This includes pretty much everything for your experience…hotel rooms, all meals, transportation, and entry into all of the dzongs, monasteries, museums and experiences. I used Marriott Bonvoy points to upgrade my hotels in Thimphu and Paro to the Le Méridiens. This was well worth it because of my status with their loyalty program…upgraded rooms, late check outs, and extensive breakfast buffets…but the hotel that we stayed at in Punakha was nice and had an incredible view of the Punakha dzong and river.
Get wine and cheese and have a picnic on the Champs de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower <map>
Visit Sainte-Chapelle first thing in the morning when it opens <map>
Hang out in gardens...Luxembourg, Tuileries, and the Palais Royal are three of my favorites
Visit at least three wonderful museums...Musée Rodin, Musée d'Orsay and le Louvre (go early or late to avoid crowds) <Rodin map> / <Orsay map> / <Louvre map>
Take the Métro to Père Lachaise cemetery and explore a little. Then, take bus #69 for a good tourist bus experience. <map>
Have a picnic along Canal St. Martin and explore the Marais <map>
Explore Parisian markets
If the kids are in tow...or if you want to experience the best Space Mountain in the world...take the RER A to Disneyland Paris
Have tea and pastries at the Grand Mosque and a visit to the Institut du Monde Arabe <map>
Go to les Catacombes. Get here early and make sure they’re open the day you go. <map>
Experience the Notre Dame Choir Performance at night
See a movie at Le Grand Rex - the largest movie theater in Europe <map>
Explore Montmartre <map>
A boat cruise along the Seine river at sunset that ends at the Eiffel Tower so you can see it up close and personal at night
FOOD
La Maison de l’Abrac (off the Champs-Elysées) <map>
Frenchie (also, Frenchie-To-Go…an inexpensive lunch joint with great hot dogs!) <map>
King Marcel (inexpensive and tasty burgers) <map>
Restaurant Chartier (inexpensive, kind of touristy but good touristy, old school French restaurant - the waiters write your check on the paper table cloths and add it by head - Métro Grands Boulevards)
Crepes from street vendors - ones that make them fresh with the batter…not just warm one up that was made last week in some back alley - the area around Centre Pompidou and Chatlet/Les Halles has a ton of them…just be careful around this area at night. Cherain's favorite is une crêpe avec banane et Nutella. Mine is une crêpe avec beurre et sucre (butter and sugar)
Get a bottle of wine, a baguette and some French cheeses and sit in the park that's on the island that Notre Dame is on…at the very western-most tip of the island, facing west, watch the sunset
Head to the Ile St-Louis for ice cream at Berthillon (29-31 rue saint Louis en l'ile)
If you would like more Paris tips, Send me an e-mail (welcometomarc@me.com) or fill out the form below. I’d be happy to share more scoop about one of my favorite cities in the world.
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