I know you guys are so sick of having people ask about things to do during a long layover, but I have a specific plan, and I was hoping you could advise me if it%26#39;s a good idea or not.
My husband and I will be flying in on Sunday, February 3, 2008. Our intinerary has us landing in CDG at 7:55 am and taking off at 3:45 pm. We will be flying Delta. Once deplaned, we would take the RER to St Michel-Notre Dame and board the Paris Open Tour Bus at that stop. We will purchase our tickets from the bus driver, and take the 2 hour Grand Tour. We%26#39;ll likely get off at the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Arc for pictures, but that should be all. Grab some bread and cheese for lunch at one of the stops, call it a day, and head back to the airport no later than 12:30 pm, putting us back at the aiport at 1:30 pm. A good two hours before our flight leaves.
Our baggage will be checked all the way through from our departure in New Orleans to our destination in Prague.
Have I allotted enough travel time on the RER? One hour? We won%26#39;t have anything to declare in customs, so the security check should go quickly. I know some people might not recommend the open tour in February, but I did the same thing last year in London in January in pretty frigid temps, so I%26#39;m pretty tough. Besides, if it%26#39;s the only way my hubby and I can get in a quick tour of Paris while I%26#39;m there, I%26#39;m willing to make it work one way or the other.
If there are any other details I might have forgotten to give, please let me know. PLEASE be honest. If we cannot do this, we will book a different flight. Merci beaucoup!
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Well, your plane gets in a 8 am. So lets assume you get out quickly and take the RER into Paris, arriving around 10 am. The two hour tour has you returning to point of embarkation around 12, that is without you getting out or grabbing a picnic. . too tight, since you then have to take the RER back to airport. I would not do it.
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if you get out to take pictures, it will be at least 30 minutes till the next open top comes by and they are notoriously unreliable as to time -- they are not designed as transportation
you could probably come in and have lunch near Notre Dame -- and even grab the metro to get closer to the Eiffel tower for a view photos -- but the open top tour makes it a bit too tight --
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Okay, assuming we are biting off more than we can chew with my initial plan, how about these options:
1. If we decide against the open top, we can take the RER into town and then take the Metro to a couple of hot spots (Tower, Louvre). Get some photos at our pace, and then head back to the airport. Is the Metro typically reliable or no?
2. Or we could stay on the Open Top for the entire loop, not getting off at all, and then just head back to the airport when we%26#39;re done. It might very well be the most rushed tour of the city ever, but at least we can say we did it!
Would either of those options work?
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Traveling by Metro should be very efficient for time - the trains rarely are more than a few minutes apart, so even if you transfer it should not take long to get from one place to another. With no luggage in tow, I would think you could get around pretty easily to take a couple of pictures and head back. It%26#39;s not much of a visit, but at least it would be a quick intro (and you can come back later when you can stay a week or two). Just do watch the time for your return to the airport!
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;1. If we decide against the open top, we can take the RER into town and then take the Metro to a couple of hot spots (Tower, Louvre). Get some photos at our pace, and then head back to the airport. Is the Metro typically reliable or no?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
The L%26#39;Open Tour bus %26#39;..circuits..%26#39; are ordinarily an GREAT excursion...but not an especially efficient transportation alternative for a visit as brief (3 hours) as yours. Your best bet may be to purchase one-day PARIS VISITE Zone 1-6 transportation passes (17,05 € vs 16,40 € for the r.t.. RER %26#39;B%26#39; fares) which will cover your round-trip RER %26#39;B%26#39; fare as well as provide you with hop-on / hop-off convenience to ALL modes of Paris public transportation (Metro, Bus, Funicular).
Here%26#39;s a couple of possible itineraries for you. Take the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne to the SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME station and come up across from Notre Dame. Pretty obviously, you%26#39;re going to have to prioritize where you%26#39;re going to go and what you%26#39;re going to be able to see and do. From here you can make your way on foot, along the quais of the Seine to Louvre, meander about in the upper-Latin Quarter and Saint Germain des Prés...or take the RER %26#39;C%26#39; ligne from the SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME station to the CHAMP de MARS-TOUR EIFFEL station and begin your touring from there, making your way back to SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME by any combination of foot / Metro / Bus that suits your plan.
Another alternative is to take the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne only as far as GARE du NORD, then come up to street level and take the #42--GARE du NORD / HÔPITAL EUROPÉEN-GEORGES POMPIDOU (heading in the direction of Hopital Européen-Georges Pompidou) The #42 bus route begins its route from just out in front of Gare du Nord so it won%26#39;t be difficult to find the stop...or get seats. The #42 bus route takes you through Place de la Opéra and past the magnificent GARNIER OPÉRA, around Place de la Madeleine and ÉGLISE MADELEINE, through Place de la Concorde, up the lower Champs Élyséees and across the Seine at Pont de l%26#39;Alma, along the Left Bank quais of the Seine to a tall, pointy, cast-iron construction that many visitors to Paris seem to gravitate to. This is one of the %26#39;..best rides..%26#39; in Paris...and a pretty good mini-tour. From Eiffel Tower, you can begin to make your way back to the SAINT-MICHEL-NOTRE DAME RER station for the %26#39;B%26#39; ligne back out to CDG
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All of these sound like great suggestions. One thing I mentioned in my first post but don%26#39;t know if it will factor in very heavily is that we will be flying in on a Sunday.
Are the hours of the RER different on the weekends? I need to know this before making a decison to get stranded in Paris b/c we missed our plane. Of course I guess worse things could happen:)
Is there a website I can visit to find this out?
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Your best bet may be to purchase one-day PARIS VISITE Zone 1-6 transportation passes (17,05 € vs 16,40 € for the r.t.. RER %26#39;B%26#39; fares)%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
KDKSAIL, Paris Visite is the recommended ticket for that trip but since 1st of november the price is € 18,00.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Another alternative is to take the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne only as far as GARE du NORD, then come up to street level and take the bus #42%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
I totally agree to KDKSAILs suggestion - bus 42 is really nice to go through the city from Gare du Nord to Tour Eiffel.
For the trip back from Tour Eiffel I suggest bus #72 (departure point on the other riverside across from Eiffeltower) to Hotel de Ville (close to Notre Dame). A ride along the Seine.
%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Is there a website I can visit to find this out?%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Sunday schedule from CDG to City:
www.ratp.info/orienter/f_horaire.php…
Sunday schedule from City to CDG:
www.ratp.info/orienter/f_horaire.php…
Journey planner (en)
www.ratp.info/touristes/index.php…
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Get a feeling for the journey times (for sun 02-03-08):
CDG to Gare du Nord (express trains)
dep 08:25 - 08:40 - 08:55 - every 15min
arr 08:56 - 09:11 - 09:26 ...
Bus 42 from Gare du Nord to Tour Eiffel
dep 09:00 - 09:20 - 09:40 - every 20min
arr 09:32 - 09:52 - 10:12 ...
Bus 72 from Pont d%26#39;Lena (Lena Bridge) to Hotel de Ville (city hall)
dep 10:24 - 10:45 - 11:06 - ~ every 20min
arr 10:39 - 11:01 - 11:22 ...
Walk to Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite = ~400m
Walk to RER station %26quot;St-Michel Notre-Dame%26quot; = ~400m
St-Michel Notre-Dame to CDG
dep 11:54 - 12:09 - 12:24 - every 15min
arr 12:29 - 12:54 - 12:59 ...
Area maps from Paris Transport with stations:
http://tinyurl.com/3ythr6
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