What to pack for a week in paris in late spring

Well, it’s happening…

DISCLAIMER: My trip to Paris did not, in fact, happen. A little virus known as Covid-19 circumvented all my delicious travel plans this Spring but, fear not, we plan to go in late August. So I will be swapping out the cold weather accessories listed below for summer attire and will update this post when the time approaches. I am leaving this post in tact, however, being that I spent a lot of time and research in finding these Paris travel essentials and I hope that at least someone can benefit from them! Le sigh.

I am going back to France. Without my kids or husband, but with a dear friend, for 8 glorious days of flâneur-ing, eating, shopping, strolling, and hanging out at all the cool cafés I collect on my Instagram feed. No longer will I live vicariously through the podcast hosts and IG authors I support through social media (at least not for that one week in March, anyway).

This of course gives me a lot of fuel with which to blog about, and I’ve decided to write about it all: from planning and prepping to the trip itself and all the tips I have compliled over the last five months. But I will start with this first of important subjects:

What will I pack??

I am slightly obsessed with organizing and including every last little thing that will make me comfortable and calm while on an epic journey. It’s almost a challenge that I must win, to remember the small luxuries like my lavender oil for my pillow, and the earplugs I can’t sleep without at home (thanks to my snoring husband); to make myself feel as comfortable as possible while away from home. It’s today’s buzz word, “self care,” travel style.

And I have been mentally packing for this trip and reading every blog I could find on what other women packed and what worked for them since October of last year. Having made many a journey abroad (save for the last eight years of marriage and babies), I thought it would be fun to include my own two cents, as well as the sage advice I have found in my research.

So, here are my tips for packing for a week in Paris in the early Spring. My goal was to enable myself to pack as lightly as possible and save room for the shopping I intend to carry out while I’m there (so much shopping), while making things as easy yet comfortable as I can.

• Capsule wardrobe – this is probably the best advice I discovered in my research, because I am the type of person who tries to pack two tops for each day of a trip so I have options. And that generally leads to my suitcase being overweight for the airplane and a mad dash to rummage through it and shove items into my carry-on. In essence, a capsule wardrobe is a small collection of clothing items that you LOVE and that can be mixed and matched to form multiple outfits. This means, you’re not bringing separate outfits for each day of your trip- you’re bringing something like 3 tops, 2 cardigans, 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of leggings, a dress, and two or three pairs of shoes. Total. All of the items should coordinate with one another, so that you can pair each top with your skirt, pants, and leggings, your cardi with your dress as well as everything else, your dress with tennis shoes if you want, and your leggings with, well, everything. Thus you are bringing less clothing items, yet they are items you love and are happy to wear, because no one in a big city is going to see you repeating that same top two days in a row (the horror!). More about capsule wardrobes for travel here.

• Packing cubes- I purchased these babies for less than $20 on Amazon, and am excited to try them out. The reviews all said they help condense the stuff in your suitcase to take up less space (read: more space for new items), and to easily organize your things so you won’t have to do the aforementioned rummaging.

• The perfect tote bag. Let me tell you a little story: when I was studying in France in college, I noticed that every French girl on every street had this one type of tote bag, in a plethora of colors. I was completely ignorant as to its brand or where I could get my hands on one, but from that point in my life I knew I had to have one or I couldn’t live much longer. Fast forward about 5 years (in which amount of time I discovered it was a Longchamp tote and they’re actually quite easy to find, but fairly expensive nonetheless): my husband buys me one in my favorite navy blue, and I can die a happy woman. Since then I have acquired another crossbody style while on a trip to NYC, and am currently debating on which one to bring: do I fulfill my wishes to look like all the chic French girls I admired some twelve years ago, or do I go a little more practical with a hands-free (crossbody) version that is still Longchamp but not the quintessential tote bag I coveted for so long? First World Problems, am I right? But this is Paris, people! The point being, I recommend a very lightweight, classic and versatile tote as your “getting around” bag. I am currently leaning toward crossbody for ease but I will of course update with my final decisions before I depart on my trip.

• A rolling carry-on. The jury is still out on this one and I will have to update post-trip as to whether this was a bright idea. I decided I wanted a rolling carry-on to save my back while hiking through airports and public transportation, and also because we are planning on hiring a taxi or Uber to take us to our apartment from the airport, so I won’t have to worry about dragging it up endless flights of stairs in the metro stations (I’ve been there and done that; I’m in my 30’s now and decided I don’t need to travel like a college student this time). Anyway, I read alllll the reviews on Amazon and decided on this bag, as it fit my budget and it slides onto the pull handle of my suitcase via a strap on the back of the bag. Plus it fits under the seat in front of me on the plane, and I hate having to get up to get my stuff in the overhead bins. Plus, it’s cute.

• Cute and comfortable all-weather ankle boots- I read many, many blogs on the right shoes to bring. I knew I needed something comfortable for my high-arched feet and for my back, waterproof because it rains a lot this time of year, and yet I wanted something stylish that would go with whichever outfit I might decide to wear that day. All the blog posts pointed toward black ankle booties as the perfect shoe to tour Europe in, and I decided I agreed this would be a great choice, as long as I could find some that were waterproof. I took advantage of a winter clearance sale and ordered these Sorel Harlow Chelsea booties, and they are comfortable as heck, very grippy for those cobblestone streets, and 100% waterproof. I’ve already worn them several times to break them in and they have been comfy from the get-go.

• A warm coat- y’all, Paris is cold in March. I live in Florida right now and though I am a girl from the Pacific Northwest, temps in the 50’s are cold for me these days. I took a risk and ordered the same Columbia Heavenly Long hooded jacket that my friend did for our trip, in a different color. After trying hers on I could not think about any other coat, so we decided as long as I didn’t get the same color it wouldn’t be too weird to travel together in matching coats. I hope. This coat is long, insulated, puffy yet not too thick, and a beautiful shape. I will keep it for many years to come.

Well, those are my big ideas… Of course I am including all the usual items one brings on a trip as well, such as toiletries, comfortable loungewear/PJs, and costume jewelry (meaning, not fine jewelry that can easily be stolen). To round out this rather long post, here are some other important items to consider bringing on an international voyage:

• Ear buds
• iPad
• Gloves
• Electrical converters
• Extra battery pack for charging phone
• Multi-port USB charger
• Travel journal
• And, of course, YOUR PASSPORT. And photocopies of your passport.

My updated SUMMER post will scrap the coat and boots for sundresses and comfortable sandals, however, that is TBD. I’m still throwing a pity party over having to cancel my trip only a week before we were due to leave. If you’re curious as to what I planned to do on my ill-fated trip, check out my post on 6 Things You Must do in Paris to Feel Like a Local. Nonetheless I hope someone finds these tips useful!

À bientôt!