Paris day trip - what would be your itinerary

Liquid_Entity · 9 Jul 2019 at 07:41

So am heading to Paris with wife for a day trip on the Eurostar getting the very early train in and a late train back. Trying to figure out a suitable itinerary to take as much in as possible.

Anyone done anything similar recently?

ci_newman · 9 Jul 2019 at 07:47

Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacré-Cœur Basilica

Then some time in between for enjoying Parisian food / drink

If your spoken French is poor then before you visit spend some time researching / understanding how the metro system runs and operates. During my visits I've found that none of the metro attendants speak any English, so you have to work it out yourself.

Semple · 9 Jul 2019 at 08:04

Have you been before OP and when is it you're going?

You'll have to be mindful that the big tourist attractions are typically busy this time of year.

Things like the Eiffel Tower you can get to and walk around/under very easily, but if you're wanting to climb up to the top, you'll spend a lot of time queuing unless they offer some sort of fastpass/skip-the-queue ticket.

The Louvre museum is well worth a visit and the few times that i've been there's not too much of a queue.

Terminal_Boy · 9 Jul 2019 at 08:10

Museé d’Orsay.

https://m.musee-orsay.fr/fr/accueil.html

Shadowness · 9 Jul 2019 at 08:25

Forget the Eiffel Tower.

You could start in the Louvre area, visit that maybe, then walk through the gardens down the Champs Elysse to the Arc de Triomphe.

You could also walk around the area near the Notre Dame, as it's a nice area.

The museums etc open at 10am, so if you're there early enough, just get there before 10am, and you shouldn't be waiting for too long.

House · 9 Jul 2019 at 08:44

Based on my experience going there like that with work,
Spend half the day on a Eurostar and the the other half trying to get back. Hope you dont get my delays.

Mont Marte is ok and the Louvre area is nice if the weather is good, but i generally dont like Paris as its a work place for me, the wife loves it though.

Liquid_Entity · 9 Jul 2019 at 10:14

Shadowness said:
Forget the Eiffel Tower.

You could start in the Louvre area, visit that maybe, then walk through the gardens down the Champs Elysse to the Arc de Triomphe.

You could also walk around the area near the Notre Dame, as it's a nice area.

The museums etc open at 10am, so if you're there early enough, just get there before 10am, and you shouldn't be waiting for too long.

This sounds like the best option. Champs Elysse and Arc De Triomphe we're keen to see and the Louvre.

08:31 London St. Pancras International
Sat 07 Sep
11:47 Paris Nord

20:13 Paris Nord
21:43 London St. Pancras International

I didn't actually realise it would take so long to get to Paris, forgot the hour ahead too. So we have effectively about 6hrs in paris. Maybe we should just go for a meal and head back hahaha :eek:

Ugley_Matt · 9 Jul 2019 at 12:23

i would say that you haven't got time to go in anything, but the beauty of Paris was that its design to look nice and everywhere is a view.
Taxis to Louvre pyramid, then walk through place de la Concorde, to arc de Triomphe, walkt to Trocadero gardens, to Eiffel tower, champ de Mars. That's a 4 mile walk, so take a nice stroll, stop for coffees, cakes etc.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Lou...c4c43d00821e!2m2!1d2.2986304!2d48.8556475!3e2

ci_newman · 9 Jul 2019 at 14:24

Liquid_Entity said:
This sounds like the best option. Champs Elysse and Arc De Triomphe we're keen to see and the Louvre.

08:31 London St. Pancras International
Sat 07 Sep
11:47 Paris Nord

20:13 Paris Nord
21:43 London St. Pancras International

I didn't actually realise it would take so long to get to Paris, forgot the hour ahead too. So we have effectively about 6hrs in paris. Maybe we should just go for a meal and head back hahaha

Arriving at 12pm is really not arriving very early! Assuming 20mins to disembark and 30mins of metro travel to get anywhere to start exploring, I'd say realistically you've got about 5 hours of city-time before having to start heading back to the terminal.

I would take the Metro to Eiffel Tower then take a walk to Arc de Triomphe. Follow that by a long walk back down Champs-Élysées to arrive back alongside the Seine, then a walk down the embankment past the Lourve and Notre Dame.

That's a roughly ~ 2 hour walking route, so you've got plenty of time to explore areas, grab some lunch and not be in a rush at the end.

Liquid_Entity · 9 Jul 2019 at 15:00

So how do you get to Eiffel Tower from Gare Du Nord the quickest on Metro?

edit: seems like walking to Poisonierre then metro to Louvre seems best way

ianh · 9 Jul 2019 at 19:16

I spent a quick 8 hours there back in 2012 and did the following -

Hop On Hop Off Bus tour - Fantastic idea, takes you to all the tourist parts and loads of buses so no waiting around.

Louvre - spent about 2-3hrs there, just enough to see the main attractions but all 1 billion Chinese tourists were there so I left ASAP, wish i had more time/less people there, a big highlight though.

Trocadero - great views of Effiel Tower without the huge queues to go up it. Plus views leading away to the Champ de Mars where everyone has lunch.

Notre Dame - great views inside, probably not so much now.

Seine tour - Just a quick 1hr blast up/down the seine. Great views but a bit smelly strangely.

Arc de Triumph - Quite small, on a very busy road/roundabout so access was tricky but great history on the walls.

Overall the bus tour was absolutely fantastic as a quick way to see everything , you got to see so much but the lack of time meant everything was a "quick look" rather than a slower "take it all in" which, TBH, is what it really needs.