Candid Club

There’s always been a certain kind of girl who dreamed of Paris long before she ever got on a plane. The one who doodled the Eiffel Tower in the margins of her notebooks, who collected postcards, who pressed flowers between journal pages. She tied ribbons in her hair, watched Sofia Coppola films a little too seriously, and believed that somewhere across the ocean was a city made just for her.

This guide is for her.

It’s for the girl who never stopped romanticizing her life, even when the world told her to be practical. It’s for the one who finds magic in tiny rituals: morning pastries, handwritten notes, matching dresses with her best friend. It’s not a whirlwind tour of Paris, but a slow, thoughtful wander. The kind of trip where you leave room for quiet moments and serendipitous beauty.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re planning a real trip or just daydreaming one, you just need to let this soft and pastel-tinted itinerary be your permission slip to pause, to play, and to feel it all deeply.

Here’s how to do Paris the girlhood way.

Day One: Soft Landings & Slow Starts

• Check into a boutique hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or Le Marais
• Enjoy a croissant + noisette at Café de Flore
• Journal or write a letter to your younger self
• Visit Musée de la Vie Romantique in Montmartre
• Shop for vintage postcards or dried flowers
• Stroll along the Seine River at sunset
• Have a picnic dinner (baguette, cheese, fruit) in Jardin des Tuileries or Square du Vert-Galant
• Press a flower into your journal

Arrive in Paris and check into a boutique hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or Le Marais, somewhere with a tiny balcony or floral bedding that feels like your own movie set.

Start the morning with a croissant and noisette at Café de Flore, journaling or writing a letter to your younger self as the city wakes around you.

Spend the afternoon at the Musée de la Vie Romantique in Montmartre, then browse for vintage postcards, dried flowers, or secondhand books nearby.

As golden hour sets in, stroll along the Seine, pause on a bridge, and enjoy a simple picnic dinner—baguette, brie, fruit—in Jardin des Tuileries or Square du Vert-Galant. Press a flower into your journal before the day fades.

Day Two: Ribbons, Romance, & Rituals

• Morning reflection in Jardin du Luxembourg
• Try a raspberry tart or rose macaron from Pierre Hermé
• Go vintage shopping in Le Marais (look for silk slips, rings, lace gloves)
• Stop by Merci Concept Store in Le Marais. Head into the Used Book Café inside. Grab a drink, find a corner, and write a postcard to your 13-year-old self
• Dress up for a photo moment at Palais-Garnier
• Dine at Chez Janou or a cozy bistro nearby
• Toast to your inner girl

Start the day slow, with a quiet walk through Jardin du Luxembourg. There’s no need to rush, it’s just you and the morning air.

Pick up a raspberry tart or rose macaron from Pierre Hermé, something sweet to hold you over as you wander Le Marais in search of vintage silk, delicate rings, or something unexpected that reminds you of who you used to be.

At Merci, find a corner in the Used Book Café, order something warm, and write a postcard to your 13-year-old self. Say what she needed to hear.

Later, dress up just for you, and head to Palais-Garnier to take a photo you’ll want to keep. When evening comes, settle into a table at Chez Janou, toast to the girl you were, and let her know: she made it here.

Day Three: Bookstores, Boats & Beautiful Endings

• Slow start + journaling at Boot Cafe
• Get lost inside Shakespeare & Company bookstore
• Pick a poetry book or love letters to take home
• Attend a watercolor or perfume-making workshop
• Or sketch quietly near Pont Neuf
• Collect small souvenirs: flower bookmarks, vintage trinkets
• Take a Seine River night cruise
• Bring a blanket + sparkling grape juice (or wine)
• Watch the Eiffel Tower twinkle at night

Start the morning slow at Boot Café, tiny, quiet, and just right for journaling with your first coffee.

Then make your way to Shakespeare & Company and get wonderfully lost between the shelves. Pick out a book of poems or old love letters to take home, something that feels like a secret kept just for you.

In the afternoon, join a watercolor class in Montmartre with Le Cœur à l’Aquarelle, or blend your own perfume in a sunlit atelier at Maison Molinard.

If you’re not in the mood to plan, you can just sit by Pont Neuf with your sketchbook and let the city pass gently by. Pick up a few soft souvenirs, pressed flower bookmarks, vintage trinkets, or something handwritten.

As night falls, wrap up in a blanket on a Seine River cruise with sparkling grape juice or wine, and watch the Eiffel Tower shimmer like a soft exhale to end the trip.

Final Thoughts

Girlhood doesn’t have to be something we outgrow. Sometimes, it shows up again, quietly, in places we used to only see in movies or postcards. In soft dresses and secondhand shops. In long walks with no real plan. In the kind of afternoon that makes you pause, look around, and feel like maybe your younger self would be proud.

Maybe it’s not about chasing anything or anyone anymore. Maybe being here – still soft, still dreaming – is more than enough.