My glamorous birthday trip to Paris & matching outfits for winter
Right after winter holidays, Christmas and New Year’s Eve, my birthday is just around the corner. As I didn’t want to host another party with lots of food, I decided to spend a few beautiful days with my love in the city of love: Paris. An amazing idea, such a glamorous birthday trip to Paris! In the following, I’m going to tell you what I wore, what we did, and where we stayed in the French capital. Have fun while virtually exploring one of the most beautiful cities in the world with me!
*This blogpost contains affiliate links (marked with *)
My Birthday Trip to Paris: Arrival and first Impressions
I really enjoy travelling by train. While you are coming closer and closer to your destination, you are able to read, write, work, paint, or simply dream. Another pro: You don’t loose precious time with travelling to and from the airport to the city, are more flexible regarding your baggage, and travelling by train is also more environmentally friendly. And since I enjoy travelling by train so much, we decided to take the TGV to Paris. In less than six hours, we travelled from Munich Central Station to the Gare de l’Est in Paris. And as we took the train at 7 am, we arrived during lunch time in Paris, and therefore had enough time to already explore the city a little bit.
Paris Outfits for Winter – getting there:
Whenever I’m tavelling, I wear a comfortable jersey dress (with long or short sleeves, depending on the season), a cardigan that can be taken off when it gets too warm, tights, comfy shoes, and a huge scarf. In winter, I also wear a coat on top, of course. Unfortunately, I was too tired to take a photo of my travel outfit (you know, I’m more a night owl than the early bird), but I wore the dress from this blogpost, I promise. 😉
Dress: c/o Vive Maria, similar here*
Tights: Calzedonia*
Our Hotel in Paris: The Villa Opera Drouot
Our lovely hotel was near to the Gar de l’Est: The Villa Opera Drouot is a super pretty 4* Belle Époque style hotel. Thank you so much Miss Sixties Twist for the recommendation! As Paris has so many hotels, and it was quite hard for me to decided which one suits us best, I asked on my Instagram account for hotel tips and got some great recommendations:
- Hotel Chopin Paris Opera* (recommendation from Vintaliciously)
- Hôtel Lumen Paris Louvre*
- Maison Favart* (quite a few recommended this one!)
- Maison Souquet*
In the end, we chose the Villa Opera Drouot, as the hotel is located quite centrally near the Gare de l’Est, looks super pretty, and wasn’t too expensive. As it was my birthday, we went for the junior suite, so we had more space for our luggage (you know, my baggage is never light…), and a lovely Parisian balcony.
The first Hours in Paris
Even though our hotel was great, of course we immediately wanted to discover the city. Our first steps led us the the Galeries Lafayette. Not only for shopping, but also to have a look over Paris from the rooftop terrasse.
Afterwards, we went through lovely passages as well as the Jardin Royal to the Louvre. When it gets dark, Paris looks even more beautiful. Just look at the lovely enlightened pyramide, the entrance of the Louvre. After a quick look at the Seine and Notre Dame, we went back to our hotel. The first day was long and the next day should get very special!
Paris-Outfits für den Winter – Sightseeing:
After our arrival in Paris, I wanted to change my outfit to feel a bit fresher. I went for a lovely and warm tweed dress by Von 50‘, thermal tights, a beret (tres cliché, I know 😉), black pumps, a grey coat, as well as a pink handbag. All in all, this was stylish but still warm and comfy outfit – perfect for a quick walk through the city.
Dress: Von 50′, available in grey/silver*
Tights: Calzedonia*
Beret: very similar here*
Gloves: Roeckl, available in different colours*
Shoes: similar here*
Coat: Mädchentraum, very similar here*
Handbag: Furla, very similar here*
My Birthday Trip to Paris: Sightseeing & the Crazy Horse
The next day was my birthday, and therefore, we planned some special things. We started the day at Angelina, a lovely café in the Rue de Rivoli 226. Beside chocolat chaud, we had some French pastry and then went on in the direction of the Eiffel Tower via the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Whenever the weather is good enough and it is possible, we try discover a city by foot. You see so much more, this is also good for your health, and you can always stop to take a few pictures. (Click yourself through the gallery!)
Sightseeing in Paris
We actually planned to use the lift to the top of the Eiffel Tower. To avoid long waiting hours, we wanted to book our tickets online. However, as we were in times of the longest strike ever in Paris, I read that on some days, it wasn’t possible to go up the Eiffel Tower due to the strike. So in the end, we thought it is better to not book tickets online. On that day, it would have been possible to go up the Eiffel Tower, however, waiting hours were really long. And as I already was on top of the Eiffel Tower a few times before, we decided to do something else instead.
After taking tons of pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower (I definitely wasn’t the only blogger, there, by the way), we went back in the direction of Notre Dame. Around this breathtaking cathedral, you will not only find the book sellers around the Seine, but also a lot of restaurants, and cafés. After eating something, it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready for a very special evening. But let’s talk about my daytime outfit first.
Paris Outfits for Winter – Sightseeing:
As I already told you, we went a lot by foot on my birthday (31.779 steps to be precise, which are about 24 kilometres, if you believe my smartphone). So my outfit definitely had to be comfortable. However, I also wanted to look good on my birthday. The most important part of this look, though, definitely were my shoes. They are by Ralph Harrison and so comfy! I also wore a simple black top with a brooch from my grandma, an amazing skirt by Ginger Jackie, thermal tights and fishnets with pearls on top, to make this simple look a bit more interesting. I didn’t wore lots of accessories. Just a vintage hat, beige gloves, and my light pink handbag from day one. In winter, a warm coat is a must, of course. Mine is by the German brand Mädchentraum, but unfortunately, no longer available.
Top: very similar here*
Skirt: Ginger Jackie
Coat: Mädchentraum, very similar here*
Tights: Calzedonia*
Fishnet tights with pearls: Calzedonia, similar here*
Shoes: similar here*
Handbag: Furla, very similar here*
Gloves: Roeckl, erhältlich in anderen Farben*
Brooch: Vintage, similar here*
Hat: Vintage, similar here*
Totally Crazy: The Crazy Horse in Paris
I’ve wanted to visit a Parisian varieté theatre for a very long time, now. So for my birthday, we decided to go to one. The decision which one, though, wasn’t that easy, and in the end, we had to choose from the following three: Moulin Rouge, Lido, and Crazy Horse.
After doing a lot of research, we went for the Crazy Horse. I’ve been a Crazy Horse fan for quite a while and already watched all the DVDs I could find. And I also believed the Totally Crazy show is what we are going to like most.
However, it isn’t possible to have dinner at Crazy Horse (you can have dinner at the Moulin Rouge and Lido, by the way). We didn’t regret our decision, though. The show was absolutely amazing, I really like all the lights the Crazy Horse is so popular for, and the dancers were breathtaking.
We booked the Birthday special, by the way, which containes the following: VIP entrance, and cloakroom, half a bottle of champagne per person, a bottle of champagne for the birthday girl, a photo of you and your companion, and 10 % off at the shop in the Crazy Horse.
Read more about our wonderful evening at the Crazy Horse here.
PS: If you are interested in the DVDs I mentioned:
- Crazy Horse with Dita von Teese*
- Crazy Horse Paris*
- Feu by Christian Louboutin – Le Crazy Horse Paris*
Paris-Outfits for Winter – Crazy Horse Paris:
I would describe my outfit for this special evening as trés chic with a touch of sexiness. The base of my look is the little black dress called „Dita“ by Ginger Jackie, which I also wore for my Halloween look 2019. I teamed the dress with my sexiest stockings by Agent Provocateur*, sparkly earrings, as well as a matching hairband. To keep me warm outside, I wore the Pearl Coat by Collectif Clothing on top. So yes, I took a second coat with me to Paris, and no, it wasn’t easy to squeeze it into my suitcase. 😉
I even tell you (and only you, so psst 😉) what I wore underneath: When I visited the Agent Provocateur shop I while ago, I fell in love with the Jem set. A light pink lingerie set with shiny lips, and it somehow really reminded me of the Crazy Horse, so of course I simply had to have it for this evening.
Dress: Ginger Jackie
Stockings: Agent Provocateur*
Coat: Collectif Clothing, available in different colours*
Earrings: Vintage, similar here*
Head band: Vintage, similar here*
Shoes: similar here*
Handbag: Furla, very similar here*
My Birthday Trip to Paris: Montmatre & Dinner Cruise
The next day was a bit more relaxed, because after all, it was a really exciting night. At about lunch time, we went to Montmartre, which was only a few minutes away from our hotel. Even in winter, Montmartre is full of tourists. If you dare to go in some smaller alleys, though, you definitely can find a few really charming and more quiet places.
As we walked so much the day before, we decided to take a sightseeing bus, afterwards. This is something I can recommend for almost all cities. If you choose a Hop on Hop off bus, you can drive a few stations, get off the bus and take another one whenever you want. We made a short stop at the Louvre, as I wanted to recreate a popular photo by Mark Shawn, shown in the Life magazine in the year 1957, which shows a model wearing an outfit by Christian Dior in front of a metro station at the Louvre.
It wasn’t possible to recreate the photo to 100 %, as I simply couldn’t find the right metro station (maybe the original metro station no longer exists, but I’m not sure). However, I really like the result.
Paris-Outfits for Winter – Sightseeing:
My grey suit inspired by the Dior New Look consisting of a skirt and matching blazer is by Ginger Jackie. I already introduced it to you here, by the way. I actually wanted to replace my thermal tights by nylon stockings, and my boots by pumps for the photo. However, it was January and quite cold. And as I got at least a little bit wiser over the years, I chose warmth over authenticity. In the end, I must say I really like the winter edition of the outfit and think it looks great and très Parisienne. 😉
Suit: Ginger Jackie
Hat: Vintage, similar here*
Tights: Calzedonia*
Coat: Mädchentraum, very similar here*
Shoes: similar here*
Handbag: Furla, very similar here*
Gloves: Vintage, very similar here*
Dinnercruise
After our photo session, we did the rest of the sightseeing tour and went off the bus at Eiffel Tower. As by this time, it already was dark, we were able to watch the amazing light show – always magical this sparkly Eiffel Tower!
Afterwards, we went to our boat for a romantic dinnercruise on the Seine (we booked at Beataux Parisiens, just in case you are interested). My plan was, to change outfits before the dinnercruise. But in the end, I didn’t have time to go back to the hotel, and therefore, I decided to just wear my Ginger Jackie suit. We took photos of my planned outfit on the next day, though, as it was really nice. 😉
Paris Outfits for Winter – Dinnercruise:
My plan was to wear a super glamorous and fancy ensemble by the French designer Marilyn Feltz. It consists of a pencil skirt and a matching crop top with super cute sleeves. I would have only added golden shoes and no more accessories, as this outfit is fancy enough!
Top and skirt: Marilyn Feltz
After the dinnercruise, we actually wanted to take a taxi back to the hotel. In the end, we decided to walk though. Because Paris by day is beautiful, but Paris by night is simply magical! We had another glimpse at the sparkling Eiffel Tower, went over the beautiful bridge Pont Alexandre III to the Place de la Concorde and the Place Vendôme, passed by the opera and eventually reached the Villa Opera Drouot.
My Birthday Trip Paris: Relaxed Hours & Going Home
The next day was already our last day in Paris. But as we booked our train for the late afternoon, we were able to spend a few more relaxed hours. We took some photos of my outfit, went through the Jardin des Tuileries, watched the ducks, and went to Ladurée to buy some souvenirs for our loved ones. Spoiler altert: I ate most of the Macarons by myself – ooops. 😉
Afterwards, we had a last coffee in Paris, picked up our luggage at the hotel, and went back to the Gare de l’Est. To make the bittersweet farewell a little easier, we booked the first class in the TGV.
Although it always is hard to leave Paris, I wasn’t sad. We really spend a wonderful time in this city, and I know, I aways can come back, as Paris is only a 5.5 hours train ride away from my hometown Munich.
Paris Outfits for Winter – Sightseeing & Going home:
My outfit for the last day in Paris was super simple but stylish. The base of my look was a pink dress by Gracy Q, which I already introduced in this blogpost. I wore the Pearl Coat by Collectif Clothing on top and added thermal tights, boots, as well as my pink handbag.
Dress: Gracy Q, similar here*
Tights: Calzedonia*
Coat: Collectif Clothing, available in different colours*
Hat: Vintage, similar here*
Shoes: similar here*
Handbag Furla, very similar here*
Gloves: Roeckl, available in different colours*
Paris Outfits for Winter – my Essentials:
To look chic in Paris in winter but still be comfortable and warm, I have some stylish tips for you:
- A chic and warm coat is a must for winter to stay warm, but also look super elegant. In this blogpost, I told you more about my favourite winter coats and jackets.
- Thermal tights keep your legs warm and are one of my essentials for winter. When it is very cold, I even wear two of them at the same time.
- When visiting a city, you usually have to walk a lot, so flat and comfy shoes are a must. In winter, I choose lined shoes/booties.
- Berets are quite a cliché and you usually only find them in souvenir shops in Paris. I really like to wear them, though. They looks stylish and keep your head warm.
- Don’t forget warm gloves!
- As wool keeps you warm, I recommend to wear a wool dress or sweater underneath your coat in winter.
- Parisiennes are stylish, but never overdressed. So if you want to dress chic in Paris, go for the fashion classics like the little black dress, a striped shirt, elegant coats, classy blouses, and simple accessories.
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