When deciding where to travel this year for our anniversary (10 years together in total, 2 of them married), Neal and I automatically thought of Croatia and we were able to make it happen with Air Transat! It’s a place that has been on our places to see for years after my sister honeymooned there and seeing my friend’s photos from their travels to this underexposed gem! We would never typically go all out and celebrate our anniversaries in the past with a trip, but 10 years together is a huge milestone and a Euro summer was the perfect setting to commemorate it all. When we went to book our flights with Air Transat, we noticed that they offer Multi-Destination flights so we could tack on another place to this trip, and so these lovers headed to Paris first for a few days before venturing off to Croatia.

We landed in Paris and then flew back home from Zagreb, Croatia to Toronto at no extra charge! I love that Air Transat offers this because you don’t have to feel limited to just one destination. Europe is a long flight, so it is nice to see a few places when you make the trip…

PARIS

Hotel: We stayed at this quaint boutique hotel that was in an amazing location called Hotel des Grands Boulevards. They made our stay so lovely and comfortable! The rooms are absolutely adorable, with velvet touches, rich drapes and the prettiest bathrooms you will ever find. The hotel also had this amazing courtyard bar/restaurant and a gorgeous rooftop bar as well! The staff was very friendly, the breakfast was absolutely delicious and the beds are probably one of the most comfortable ones I’ve slept in overseas.

 

 

Neal had never been to Paris before, so it was so cool to see his face light up when the Eiffel Tower sparkled at night. For the best view head up to The Peninsula hotel’s roof top for drinks around 10:30pm, in the summer time the Eiffel lights up at 11pm! It’s a beautiful view and atmosphere!

We saw all of the beauty Paris could offer: Pont Alexandre III Bridge, Notre Dame Church, the cutest cafes/bistros: my favourite was Cafe de Flore (order the club sandwich), Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Place du Trocadero, the Louvre, Place des Vosges and more! With just three days (well more like two, because the first day I was so jet lagged and sick) we fit a lot in. To be honest, it was the perfect amount of time and it was nice to take things slower in Croatia…

 

 

Loved the bistros and cafes all along the streets…

Lunch at Pink Mamma in Paris (beautiful inside and delicious food!) get there right when it opens and line up to grab a seat. This place gets packed quickly!

Easy Parisian style: sneakers and a blazer!

A classic place for lunch or a coffee, Cafe de Flore!

Sunsets at the Ponte Alexandre III Bridge…

CROATIA

We flew from Paris to Dubrovnik and then to come home we flew in from Dubrovnik to Zagreb to catch out flight back to Toronto on Air Transat.

Hotel: We stayed at the 5-star Sun Gardens hotel in Dubrovnik (a member of the Leading Hotels of the World) and it was FABULOUS! This resort is right on the beach (there is a private one just for hotel guests with beautiful lounge chairs, and then along the other side an area where you can lay out with a towel. They had eight restaurants, a salon, grocery store and four swimming pools on the property! You could basically never leave this hotel and you would have an amazing time in Croatia!

 

We took an Uber into Old Town (Stari Grad) a few times (it was only 20 minutes away from our resort) to take in a World Cup game (the energy was amazing), stroll through the beautiful streets, and walk the city walls. You can get the best views and photographs from up there! These walls were built in the middle ages to protect Dubrovnik for centuries throughout wars and have withstood natural disasters. I recommend going in the afternoon to do the city walks because a lot of the cruise ships arrive in the morning which can crowd up the area. It costs $40 Euro, so take your time, and stay hydrated. We packed water bottles with us from the hotel, but there are little shops and restaurants along the walk you can take a seat to refresh yourself. We personally didn’t want to stop, so I’m glad we packed hydration because it was a hot day!

 

Coolest place to get drinks: Cave Bar at Hotel More

World Cup Fever (Croatia won this game and the energy was amazing)…

Our last night in Croatia we got a bottle of Rose from the grocery store on our resort and walked over to the beach to watch our last sunset. Bittersweet!

The water in Croatia is just incredible. It’s so crystal clear and so blue. The salt water and sun is my best secret for good skin!

Thank you so much to Air Transat for making our anniversary trip so enjoyable and memorable!

P.S. If you have any travel questions for either destination please leave me them down below, I’d love to help you plan your trip…