This is the post I didn’t originally plan to write. Not because it isn’t part of the story—but because it sits behind it. After sharing our Paris journey, I’ve received so many questions about how I planned it, and more than a few people surprised that I didn’t use a travel agency. The truth is: I didn’t outsource it because I didn’t want someone else to imagine it for us. I had been imagining it myself for twelve years. So I planned it the long way.
Research: Years in the Making
I spent literal years Pinterest hunting Paris travel blogs. Not casually—intentionally. I would read someone’s experience, write down their suggestions, then go research each place myself. Not to collect them, but to understand them. I wanted to decide if they felt like us. It was never about checking boxes of monuments visited. It was about asking: Would this be a memory worth making together?
Mapping the Days: Google Maps as a Storyboard
Once I started shaping our days, Google Maps became one of my most-used tools. I would map out every stop for a single day and look at the walking distance like a story unfolding. If a route felt too scattered or inefficient, I’d adjust it until the day flowed naturally. When ChatGPT came along, I started running entire days through it just to double-check the rhythm—making sure we weren’t backtracking, circling, or unintentionally rushing past the very things we came to see. It wasn’t about optimization. It was about flow.
The Deep Dive: Travel Blogs & Instagram
There wasn’t one travel blog I relied on. There were hundreds. I read everything I could find—small blogs, long-form posts, random itineraries from people who had simply been there before me. I also followed Paris-based Instagram accounts for current tips, restaurant suggestions, and scam warnings. It helped ground the dream in reality.
Building the Itinerary: Neighborhood by Neighborhood
Instead of building one overwhelming master list, I broke the trip into neighborhoods and days:- Montmartre Day- Latin Quarter Day- Central Paris Day- Marais Day- Versailles Day- Bois de Boulogne Day- Disneyland Paris Day. From there, each day became its own small world. I would list every “must see” in that area, then go back to Pinterest again—this time for restaurants. Only the most consistently recommended made the cut.
Booking Flights: Making the Impossible Feel Possible
I used PayLater Travel to book our flights, and it made a huge difference. It turned a single $3,500 expense into manageable weekly payments after the deposit. That structure made the trip feel less overwhelming financially and more doable in real life. Sometimes the difference between “someday” and “we’re going” is simply how something is paid for.
Experiences: Viator Was My Go-To
I booked most of our experiences through Viator:- The Louvre guided tour- A vintage car tour through Paris- A professional photography session- A walking food tour- A baking class- A bike tour of Versailles. Every single one exceeded expectations. For me, it removed the guesswork and gave structure to moments I didn’t want to risk missing.
Restaurants: Timing Matters More Than People Think
Once I had my list, I researched which restaurants required reservations—and how far in advance they opened booking. Then I set reminders in my phone like little checkpoints:Reserve this restaurant today at this time. It sounds small, but in a city like Paris, timing is everything.
What Worked
This approach worked incredibly well.Across ten days and countless places, there was only one café I wouldn’t personally recommend again—and even that didn’t take away from the experience overall.
What I’d Change
Honestly? Nothing. Not because it was perfect—but because it was ours. People often think the magic of travel happens when you arrive. But for me, so much of this trip already happened in the planning—in the slow layering of intention, research, and imagination over years. This is The Long Way Through, after all. And sometimes the long way is the one that makes the destination feel like it’s been waiting for you all along.
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