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Paris 2025 - A Zoo-tastical Day Out (Day 4)

For our second day in Paris, we had two tourist activities we wanted to do. These were Notre Dame and the Sacre-Coer. We had read online that you could book tickets for the Notre Dame a few days in advance so we attempted to do this. However, when logging on multiple times in the two days prior to our desired visit the website stated they were sold out for our chosen date. We decided to check one last time on the morning of our visit and managed to secure ourselves some tickets which meant we had a guaranteed time to visit. As it turned out, the queue at 8.30am on a Monday isn't too bad and we didn't really need it, but it was good to have the confidence that we weren't going to have a wasted trip. We embarked on the metro to Citè station, where it was a few minutes walk to Notre Dame. The sights inside the cathedral were spectacular and definitely worth the visit. 



After a walk around the cathedral and taking some photos, we had decided to head out of Paris slightly to the zoo. We had thought about a zoo visit when planning our holiday but didn't think we would have time, but having explored a large amount of Paris yesterday, we thought we would take the opportunity to visit. We went via a bakery to Grands Boulevards metro station where we headed to the zoo. We have to say, we were pleasantly surprised by the Paris zoo. There was a unique selection of animals to see such as manatee, seals, a huge variety of lemurs and a wolverine. Sadly we didn't get to see the wolverine as it seems whenever we visit a zoo that has one they are hiding. But the other animals, and the general layout of all the enclosures, made it a very enjoyable experience. The only word of warning would be that if you don't like birds (like Nicole), the greenhouse may not be the best place to visit, however if you can brave it, going in is definitely worth it. Whilst at the zoo we also ate lunch at the Zafara restaurant which offered a selection of meals including burgers, pasta, pizza and salads. Shannon had the beef burger and fries which came with a large slice of brie inside and Nicole had the three cheese pizza and chips. Both were very tasty and excellent for meals purchased at a zoo. 





After the zoo, we went back into Paris to the Sacre-Coer. Much to Shannon's dislike, there were a lot more steps to climb here. The views from the top are incredible and there's the option of free entry into the cathedral, which is worth queuing for. We wandered around Monmatre for a short time but probably not long enough to truly enjoy everything it has to offer. If you are someone that enjoys sitting and having a drink, looking at artwork or getting your portrait done, it's definitely the place for you. 


It was then time to head back to our AirBnB, detouring via another bakery to pick up a tarte au citron for Nicole, and then to have a relaxing night so we were energised ready for our first day at Disney! 

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