PHOTO DIARY: Paris, France, January 2017

Last weekend I spent a lovely 24 hours in Paris with my Mum. We usually visit for a day every year but this time decided to stay overnight. Thanks to Eurostar Snap we picked up some super cheap train tickets and before long the day came to catch our train. It was a bitterly cold day with a pathetic drizzle of rain, but we made it work. We've been to Paris loads of times so this particular trip was mostly about food with a little shopping thrown in for good measure.

I booked a double superior room at Hotel Paradis Paris as it wasn't that much more than the classic double. The hotel is a gorgeous, boutique oasis only a ten minute walk from Gare du Nord. Our bed was exceedingly comfortable and we had a lovely view over a typical Parisian street. I can't recommend this place enough as it fits my affordable luxury mantra perfectly.

Our first stop was lunch as Les Papilles where we enjoyed an incredible four course set menu. Les Papilles is a classic French wine bar that serves simple and delicious food. The set menu is excellent value for a leisurely lunch time meal.

By the time we finished lunch is was 3pm and sunset wasn't far off. We walked through Jardin du Luxembourg en route to Le Bon Marché, a beautiful 19th century department store. You might recognise the famous escalator design. The store reminds me of Liberty London and whilst it's full of high end brands, it a gorgeous place to just wander around.

We visited City Pharma to pick up a few of our favourite beauty products and finally managed to pick up a box of macaroons from Pierre Hermé around the corner.

Whilst I've walked past Notre Dame many a time I've never made it inside as there's always a queue. We must have arrived at the right time as we managed to walk straight in. The cathedral is gorgeous and I'm so glad the Christmas decorations were still up as the place looked beautiful.

We normally try to visit a museum or gallery every time we're in Paris. Instead of finding a new spot on this trip we made it over to the Pompidou as I wanted to check out the Cy Twombly retrospective. The Pompidou is my favourite building in the city so I always like to pay it a visit, even if I'm just walking past and checking out the wonderful façade.

Dinner was a smaller affair but still delicious. Juveniles is a wonderful French wine bar with a Scottish twist. It does a great haggis and mash whilst also sticking to that simple but quality ethos of French cooking.

Our final stop of the night was a cocktail at Harry's New York Bar before heading back to the hotel. We had to catch an early train the following morning so we didn't have time for a Parisian brunch, instead we stopped by Dishoom in King's Cross for bacon and egg naans. We had a wonderful 24 hours in Paris and whilst we didn't get that much done it was nice to have a chilled day visiting some new places and eating wonderful food. I'm hoping we visit Paris again later in the year as I've still got a long list of French wine bars I want to visit.

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