My partner and I have 9 hours in Paris, France, between flights. What mustn't we miss while we're there?

Question

Neither of us have been to France before, but have always wanted to go. We reckon we have around 6 hours spare, to allow time to get back and forth to the airport.

We want to mix a bit of sight-seeing, possibly some window-shopping, and a bite to eat along the way. Also willing to try something weird or wacky! Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Get a taxi from the airport to the city & get a metro ticket & you should have more thean enough time to see these The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumpe, Champ Elyees, The Louvre.

Answer 2

I assume you are arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport. If not, let me know and I will edit my advice.

If you are flying internationally, you must arrive at the airport 2 hours before your next flight. Going to Paris including all the walking time in the airport terminal (CDG is HUUUUUGE!!!) will take 1 hour. So that already takes 4 hours of your time + the time to go through customs and immigration (and maybe collecting your luggage) upon arrival in Paris.

So assuming you have actually about 4 hours to spare in Paris:

- Take public transportation to Paris (faster cheaper and more reliable than having to deal with the infamous traffic jams around the city): RER B and get off at St-Michel Notre Dame. Visit Notre Dame Cathedral. From there, you have different options:

1) take a walk in the central arrondissements of Paris:

- on the right bank: The Marais district in the 3rd and 4th arondissement.

- on the left bank: the Latin Quarter (5th) and St-Germain des Prés (6th) districts. If you have time, continue west as far as the 7th arrondissement to the Eiffel Tower and use public transportation (RER C) back to St-Michel Notre Dame where you connect with RER back to the airport.

2) Or: take RER B to Paris and get off at the station called Châtelet-les-Halles. From there walk south to the Pont Neuf bridge and go on a one-hour cruise along the Seine. This will give you the opportunity to see a lot of monuments in a short time. Once you get back to the Pont Neuf, take a little stroll around the 4th and 5th arrondissements, visiting Notre Dame just before getting back to the airport.

As far as window shopping and getting a bite to eat, it's everywhere in the central arrondissements of the city, so it shouldn't be a problem. The Marais (g*y district) in the 3rd/4th arrondissements has a lot of fun stores and art galleries. As far as something wacky I can't think of anything you would have time to go to in so short a time.

To understand how the subway system works, here is a map. The RER is a suburban commuter train connecting Paris and the suburbs, it's very fast. They're the thicker lines on the map. The thinner lines are the métro (Parisian subway).

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cartepa...

When you leave the airport, get a Mobilis day pass for zones 1-5. It will be valid on the whole network from and back to the airport all day. get a map of the city or buy one before you go.

Check the Paris tourist office website for tons of great info: http://en.parisinfo.com/

Here is a map showing where the main attractions are : http://www.paris.org/Maps/MM/MM.html

My advice in 4 hours is not to try to get too much done but to enjoy a few districts. So I would stay central. The boat cruise or going to the Eiffel tower is just so you can't say that you have been to Paris and not seen the Eiffel tower. But if you don't care that much for it, you can see it from a distance from one of the more central bridges across the Seine.

Enjoy your few hours in Paris!

PS: Do a little research about the districts I mentioned (Marais, Latin Quarter, St-Germain-des-Prés).