We have both been to Paris a couple of times before so this time we really wanted to make the short break about us instead of rushing around all the time knackering ourselves out, that’s why we decided to incorporate fitness into our mini break away. We don’t often get to work out together due to work commitments and time constraints during the week so this was the perfect opportunity for us to enjoy our workouts together.
Running
One of our favourite things to do when we go away is to wake up in the morning, put on our running shoes and go for a run. We love exploring the city we are visiting before we have properly started the day.
When we booked to go to Paris we knew straight away we wanted to go for a run. We semi planned our route as we knew the kind of distance we wanted to run and the direction we wanted to head in.
On the Sunday we woke up naturally at 7:30 (that’s late for us) and headed out into the beautiful sunshine. Paris is so peaceful in the mornings it was so nice to see customers queuing up outside the boulangeries waiting to purchase freshly made bread for breakfast. As we have both visited Paris several times before we decided to visit some of the iconic landmarks on our run so it didn’t take up too much of our day.
The circular route we ended up running was just over 5 miles. We manged to see The Notre Dame Cathedral from a distance, Ponts Des Arts bridge, Louvre, Palais Royal & the Pompidiou building which is very bizarre! We would definitely recommend the route to those of your who want to go for a run whilst away in Paris.
Walking
When we visit a city we always make sure we walk everywhere! So Paris was no different we only ever got the metro or the bus if we really had to. We had a map but we like to just head in a general direction making sure we walk down all the little side streets as this is where you find lots of independent coffee shops and restaurants.
We walked 30,000 steps a day in Paris and managed to see so much of the city. It’s so much better that sitting on a metro underground not being able to look out a window. In 3 days we walked more steps than most people would in a week but because we were exploring the beautiful city it didn’t even feel like we walked that far!
Gym
We were lucky enough to have a gym in the hotel we were staying at. The gym was better than most hotel gyms so we had a few options as to what we could workout out.
We went to the gym on the Monday morning (start the week as you mean to go on and all). We had the gym to ourselves which was good because if there was anyone else in there it would have been so hot like most hotel gyms!
We went before breakfast at about 7:30 so we could work up an appetite for breakfast. The hotel we were staying at put on the most amazing spread every morning. We worked out our arms as our poor little legs couldn’t take anymore and we still had a full day of walking ahead of us.
Classes
If we had been in Paris for longer we definitely would have tried out a couple of classes. They have something similar to ‘payasugym’ called ‘zippy pass’ and ‘somuchmore’ where you can find classes and gyms all over Paris for the fraction of the price you would usually pay. On Zippy pass you can also filter the classes for example you could say you only want to see women only classes or classes that are pregnancy friendly.
When we return to Paris we will definitely be looking at both of these so we can experience some of the French fitness scene.