The Best Paris Itinerary for a Joint Bachelor/Bachelorette

 

The invite

Since we had successfully convinced all our friends and family to fly to France, we knew we had to make the most of it with a joint bachelor/bachelorette in Paris a few days before the wedding. 

Here’s the incredible itinerary my sisters planned for our joint bachelor/bachelorette party in early October:

Morning

After a fairly tame night out the night before, I was up early and offered to run out for takeout coffees & pastries for the crew from a nearby cafe called The Coffee. Armed with oat milk lattes, croissants and cookies, I revitalized our Airbnb crew and we made our way out of the apartment and through the 6th.

Completely random, we stumbled upon the Emily in Paris apartment
A must-do for a Paris bachelorette: find a pack of Vogues, the skinniest and chicest of all French cigarettes.
Paris bachelorette clutch in the colors of the French flag, sourced by Micaela

Our destination: La Grande Épicerie. A multi-level luxe grocery store with prepared foods, this was the place to shop for our first official Bachelor/ette Party activity: a picnic at the Eiffel Tower.

La Grande Épicerie de Paris, fine groceries - Selective ...
The stunning water selection at La Grande Épicerie de Paris. Now, imagine this level of attention to detail and variety for any edible or drinkable item you can think of!

Afternoon

Armed with supplies from La Grande Épicerie, we laid out blankets and popped a few bottles of champagne to kick things off at the Eiffel Tower. Although a lot of people had arrived in Paris earlier, this was the first time we were all getting together as a group and it was so awesome (and strange!) to see everyone together in a foreign country. We snacked on cured meats, truffled honey drizzled over cheese and so many delicious things. 

The bride & groom at the Eiffel Tower along with a perfectly-placed dumpster

After our Eiffel Tower picnic, we walked over to the Seine and boarded our boat to cruise along the river for sunset. 

Rhiannon & I walking to the boat
I don’t have any boat pics! But this is the point of the night that my sisters broke out over 50 custom made beaded bracelets for all the guests with French words and phrases. And some Reggie temp tats, of course.

After docking back near the Eiffel Tower, now lit up for the night, we walked across the Pont de l’Alma towards our dinner spot. Naturally we had to stop for a few photo opps.

Night

The night culminated at Chez Gala, a supper club with club vibes thanks to live music and a lot of dancing on tables.

Best Dressed: Katie & Steve
Me, Haley, Caitlin, Mary at Chez Gala

Another great spot for a group dinner would be either Bouillon Pigalle or Bouillon Republique.

Late Night

We had a super early train the next morning to Bordeaux to meet our wedding planner and go over the last details before all our family joined us at the Chateau for the next four nights. So we dipped out on any late-night festivities. If you did want to tack on some post-dinner drinks & dancing, a few spots to consider:

  • Les Bains: The lobby bar scene at this hotel in the 3rd is very, in the words of Dorit Kemsley, chic.
  • Grouvie: Cool cocktail lounge above a restaurant in the 2nd.
  • Serpent a Plume: 70s-inspired subterranean cocktail bar.
Post-dinner prom pic with Justin, Steve, Micaela and Riona

The Day After

The morning after with friendship bracelets and Reggie temp tattoos
Rough going on the TGV to Bordeaux the morning after

Hungover AF and covered in Reggie tattoos, we Uber’d over to Gare Montparnasse for an 8am train to Bordeaux that we nearly missed. To say it was rough would be an understatement.

By the time we made it to Libourne, the hangovers were gone and we were ready for more champs.

Where to Stay

We had 10 people staying at this Airbnb in the 5th, and it could have been up to 16 total if we had also rented out the first floor apartment in addition to the 2nd and 3rd floors. The apartment overlooked a courtyard with several bars, restaurants and cafes spilling out so it was a great location to meet up casually with the rest of the group for drinks throughout the day.

A few other Airbnbs that we considered and/or friends and family stayed in:

Sleeps 6 with views of the Eiffel Tower

Glam apartment that sleeps 6 near Place des Vosges

Colorful, sleeps up to 8 in Canal St Martin

Luxurious 6-bedroom in the 1st

5-bedroom Haussmannian with over-the-top common spaces

3-bedroom near the Notre Dame

5-bedroom luxury apartment in the 1st

Cool loft in Canal St Martin that sleeps 11

 

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