Eiffel Tower picnic essentials
You can choose between booking a champagne boat tour on the Seine River, finding an Airbnb type experience with a host, or simply brining your own little setup and camping out for however long you feel like — which is what we chose.
Champagne
(duh!) Being in Paris means you’re just an hour and a half drive from the prestigious Champagne wine region. We did a whole day trip to Champagne & Reims a couple days before, tasting champagne at some of the worlds’ largest champagne houses.
Our favorite was Michel Fagot’s Brut Rosé Premier Cru. If you can, purchase a bottle straight from the source and save it for sipping under the Eiffel tower!
Pro tip: If your champagne comes in a box, keep it there! Exposing your bottle to the sun for even five minutes can harm the aromatic intensity of the wine, so it’s best to protect until you pop.
Blanket
Every picnic requires something comfy to sit on. Like most travelers, we did not have a blanket packed in our suitcases, so we improvised. Our airbnb had a nice wool-blend blanket from H&M, so we borrowed that. To avoid dirtying it, we brought an extra bath towel from the airbnb to place under the blanket.
Pastries
The tasty part. Stop at whichever patisserie tickles your fancy on the way. We went down a smaller street off the main path and found a quiet little shop called Notre Pâtisserie. We tried chocolate, regular, and almond. (Almond is our fav!)
Accessories
If you’re drinking champagne under the Eiffel Tower, might as well look cute doing it! Wear white or other neutral colors to avoid distracting from the beauty of your surroundings. Accessorize with simple jewelry, like this gold bracelet from Express.
Summary
We had a wonderful day sitting under the Eiffel tower with friends drinking champagne. It was perfectly impromptu. We knew we wanted to do this on our trip, but grabbed whatever felt right in the moment. The blanket, champagne glasses (also from our airbnb), pastries, and champagne were all in-the-moment decisions. But guess what? It came together perfectly. We hope you find joy in spontaneity during your trip, but don’t be afraid to take our advice ;)
