Paris

The reason for the trip, and her city. Six nights, five full days, the most of any stop. Four nights at the Marriott on points (a real bed to recover in, the lounge for breakfast, the Free Night Award and the four upgrade awards all put to use), then two nights at L'Empire by the Louvre where you walk out the door to everything.

How it works here

Tipping, language, and the unspoken rules, so you read as a guest, not a tourist.

The days

Day to day in Paris, food, sights, and getting around, works out to roughly $1,585 for you over these 6 days. Every day breaks that down by activity. Flights and the places to stay are counted on the costs page.

Eating in Paris

Dr. Leticia: “I've never had a bad meal in Paris, it's the feeling of sitting down at a café with a Hugo spritz and a croissant.” Skip Café de Flore (the Instagram one) Les Deux Magots next door is the same for less theatre. Look for brasserie on the sign, tables facing the street. Say “takeaway” not “to-go,” and don't eat while walking. What to eat: croque monsieur / croque madame, steak frites (Le Relais de l'Entrecôte), a bouillon (cheap, classic, an experience), l'As du Fallafel in the Marais, a crêpe in the Latin Quarter, oysters at a brasserie. Sweet: kouign-amann and a thick hot chocolate (Dr. Leticia's spot; Angelina's “l'Africain” also works), macarons from Pierre Hermé, a Berthillon on the Île Saint-Louis.

Eat & drink this, the checklist

Croque monsieur / croque madame

béchamel, ham, grilled, the madame adds a fried egg. “Wherever you go.” Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

Steak-frites

at Le Relais de l'Entrecôte, one dish, secret sauce, unlimited fries, no menu Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

A bouillon

Chartier or Bouillon Pigalle, a working-class classic, cheap, an experience in itself the dossier

Jambon-beurre, standing

fresh baguette, good ham, butter, an espresso, “don't be afraid to just grab a bread” Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

l'As du Fallafel

the Marais, the green sign, the queue, worth it Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

A crêpe in the Latin Quarter

the birthplace of the crêpe, sweet or a buckwheat galette Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

Oysters + a glass of Muscadet

at any brasserie, October is oyster season the dossier

Escargots or soupe à l'oignon

if you want the full set of clichés, and you should, once house pick

A Hugo spritz and a coupe of Champagne

the café ritual, sit facing the street and watch Paris go by Dr. Leticia

A glass of real French wine

Sancerre, a Côtes du Rhône, a Burgundy, look for “bar à vins”; a tasting at Ô Chateau if there's time Julian

Pain au chocolat

the original chocolate-filled croissant, from a bakery with the city baguette-prize plaque in the window; a treat, not a daily house pick

Kouign-amann + a thick hot chocolate

caramelised Breton pastry, and chocolate like “a fountain you put your mouth under” Angelina's l'Africain Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

A religieuse or an éclair

cream-filled, from Stohrer (oldest pâtisserie in Paris) the other “once in a while” treat house pick

Berthillon

on the Île Saint-Louis, the ice cream Parisians queue for Dr. Trace & Dr. Leticia

Macarons from Pierre Hermé

or Ladurée for the pretty box, a few, in a paper bag the dossier

The corner shop, for the room

Stock the room on the first evening, then top up as you pass.
By the Marriott (14th), a residential arrondissement, prices are normal: a Franprix, Monoprix or Carrefour City is close, and Rue Daguerre (10 min, a pedestrian market street) is the move for wine, cheese, water and a rotisserie chicken.
By the Louvre studio (1st), dense and touristy, so corner shops run pricey: walk 8 minutes to Rue Montorgueil or use a Franprix for water and basics. Wine: Nicolas (a reliable chain caviste, branches everywhere) or a caviste on Montorgueil, €8-15 buys something good.
Supermarket water is ~€0.50 a bottle, and the tap is fine, a carafe d'eau is free at any restaurant. Skip the épiceries on Rue de Rivoli and by the Louvre.

A block or two off the tourist line

Real Parisian blocks a short walk from each stay, all safe:
Rue Daguerre (14th, 10 min from the Marriott) a pedestrian market street: fromagerie, a prize boulangerie, a fishmonger, wine. No tourists, just dinner shopping.
Rue Montorgueil (2nd, 8 min from the studio) market street with oysters, Stohrer (oldest pâtisserie in Paris, 1730), and the neighbourhood out at night.
Rue Sainte-Anne (1st, 5 min from the studio) “Little Tokyo”: queue with Parisian office workers for a €14 bowl of udon at Kunitoraya or Sanukiya.
Marché des Enfants Rouges (Marais) oldest covered market in the city, lunch shoulder to shoulder with locals; and Du Pain et des Idées (10th, weekdays only) for the pain au chocolat the 10th swears by.

Out late

Dinner 20:00, out till midnight-1:00 (the Métro runs to ~01:15, later Fri/Sat). Where Paris is out at night:
Canal Saint-Martin, young Parisians on the quais with wine and cheese, a guitar, the iron footbridges. The warm, unpolished side of the city.
Sacré-Cœur steps at night, a busker, the whole city laid out below, free. Go up after dinner; it's a different place than the daytime crush.
Pont Saint-Louis (behind Notre-Dame) there's almost always a jazz trio or an accordionist on the bridge between the two islands.
Caveau de la Huchette, Latin Quarter, the swing-jazz cellar from “La La Land,” live band nightly, small cover, people actually dance. Book nothing, just turn up.
Rue Mouffetard / Le Marais (Rue Vieille du Temple) lit-up, lively, wine bars and late crêpes.
Métro buskers, RATP auditions them, so they're genuinely good; and on the Seine banks at Port de la Tournelle, impromptu tango and salsa on warm nights.

The rhythm, sleep, naps, the gym

Day one is rest, nap on arrival, an easy dinner, no plan. After that the fog lifts and Paris runs late: the city doesn't wake till 10:00, so late starts are fine, lunches are long, and a 2-hour nap before the big dinner is the move. 8 hours in bed on the nights you're not out.

Gym. The Marriott Rive Gauche has a fitness centre, free to you, nights 1-4, do the 1-hour session there. For the studio nights (5-6): Neoness and Fitness Park sell a day pass (~€10-15), Basic-Fit is everywhere. Or run the Seine (Port des Tuileries, Rive Gauche) or the Jardin du Luxembourg / Tuileries loops.

Stamps, chocolate, keepsakes

VAT / tax-free: if there's one big purchase on the trip, make it here. Ask for the tax-free form (Global Blue or Planet) at the till and keep the receipt and the goods with you, you're carry-on, so they are. The UK scrapped tourist VAT refunds, there is nothing to do at Heathrow. You handle the EU paperwork at the final EU exit, which on this trip is the Eurostar on Oct 27 at Gare du Nord: French forms may use the French PABLO electronic process there; Spanish and Italian forms follow the issuing country and refund-provider instructions. Allow extra time if you bought anything tax-free. The Louis Vuitton hot-stamp. LV will heat-stamp your initials (and a choice of foil colours and a small motif) onto a passport cover you already own, for free. Dr. Trace and Dr. Leticia's tip: don't join the walk-in queue at the Champs-Élysées flagship (a one-to-two-hour wait). Paris stores currently quote about a 48-hour turnaround, so this is a drop-off then a pickup, not one stop: drop both covers on Sat Oct 24 at the LV in La Samaritaine (it fits the Marais / Île Saint-Louis day) and pick up on Mon Oct 26. Confirm by phone first that they'll stamp existing covers and that the timing works. Chocolate and skincare: the Champs café “the Pharmacy” (Le Drugstore) does both; Galeries Lafayette's food hall for gifts.