I will have about 10.5 hours in Paris next month. Not a lot of time, I know, but I will be vacationing in London and hated to be so close and not see Paris, even if just for a day. I%26#39;ve planned the following itinerary and would appreciate your thoughts as to whether you think it%26#39;s doable and not run myself ragged.
Arrive Gare du Nord at 9:23 a.m.
Walk from Gare du Nord to Metro Abbesses to meet up for a walk with Paris Walks (The Village of Montmartre) at 10:30 a.m. (the walk is approximately 2-hours and ends at Basilique due Sacre Coeur)
Take the Metro Anvers to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile and walk from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Elysees, through the Tuileries, ending at the Louvre.
Board a Batobus near the Louvre and cruise the Siene towards the Eiffel Tower, disembark at Eiffel Tower for photo opportunities. Board another Batobus and cruise to Notre- Dame (if time permits hopefully I%26#39;ll have time to go inside).
I will need to return to Gare du Nord by 8:00 p.m. for my return trip back to London, which departs at 8:34 p.m. I%26#39;ve checked the rapt.fr website to see how I could retun back to Gare du Nord. I can return from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame to Gare du Nord using the direction of Mitry-Claye. Is this a train and not the Metro? Sorry, I%26#39;m a bit confused by the various transportation methods.
Merci Beaucoup!
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I would say it is more logical to take your pictures of the Eiffel tower when you first arrive at the arc de triomph, walk to trocadéro to take pictures of the tower. Then head back on to the champs elysées, walk them down, don%26#39;t forget to see the view next to the Grand palais to the Invalides. then Concorde, Louvre. Then it saves you the time the batobus takes to go to the tower and back. You can walk to Notre Dame if you are not too tired (Montmartre is quite tiring as it is a hill!). The you are in the Notre Dame area and you can decide : if you still have time, you can take the Vedettes du Pont Neuf from the Pont Neuf which is a boa trip that returns at the same place an hour later with no stops; if you are running short of time, you take the RER B at St Michel directly to Gare du Nord. More logical this way as i think the Batobus stuff makes you lose some precious time.I would say allow yourself to arrive at the station before 8h00 as the secutiry is now tighter, they open the check-in 90 minutes before the departures...
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To get from Saint-Michel to Gare du Nord, you have two options: the RER and the metro. The metro is the magenta #4 line and it is 9 stops away from the Gare du Nord in the direction of Porte de Clingnancourt.
The RER, however, it is a little more complicated. Not all RER trains stop at all the stops listed on the route. For instance, the sign in the station will show the next three trains approaching, and also the stops each will make. If Gare du Nord is highlighted, then that train will stop there, just make sure you check the name of the train to get on the right one. Gare du Nord is only 2 stops from Saint-Michel on the RER B.
The metro runs more frequently, but makes many more stops. A taxi would be the absolute safest.
Your intinerary sounds fun, but I think you%26#39;ll run out of time. I would cut at least one of the batobus tours (time consuming and not that cool) and reconsider the Montmarte walking tour (spending a lot of time in Montmarte at the expense of other neat areas like the Latin Quarter, Invalides...). Take advantage of the metro, ride over to the Eiffel tower, hop off and hop back on. It kinda stinks to be underground and miss out on the sight-seeing while en-route, but it definitely makes up for it in the time you%26#39;ll save, allowing you to walk around the cooler parts of Paris
Have fun..
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Actually from St Michel, all trains RER B in the direction of the CDG airport will stop at Gare du NOrd. Once you are outside Paris it is true that some trains do not stop everywhere, but Gare du Nord is whithin Paris so any RER B trains in this direction will stop, it only takes ten minutes, quicker than the metro.
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It%26#39;s one heck of a walk from L%26#39;Arc du Trimphe to the Louvre. Why not pay for a cab and save on the time. Are you planning to anter the Louvre? If so, you can%26#39;t see much without spending several hours there. On my first visit, I just saw the outside, which is very impressive. Left the tour for a full day of another visit. Bonne journee!
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magster - a heck of a walk? Depends on a number of factors I know, but an hour at most if you walk slowly and look at everything along the way. I know piccadilly is on a tight schedule, but its a pleasant walk. I%26#39;d agree skip going in Louvre, you need a week at least!
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Yes when i said Louvre, i meant see it from the outside, don%26#39;t try to go inside.
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Don%26#39;t miss this %26quot;walk from the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Elysees, through the Tuileries, ending at the Louvre%26quot; Its a great walk, beautiful and wonderful%26quot;.
I%26#39;m not an expert but my feeling is that you will out of time.
I woudl skip the walk to Sacre Couer, bu it wonderful - Take a taxi straight there and see it quickly - stay there for 30 minutes...45 minutes tops and head to the Arc de Triomphe to walk to the Louvre. When you get to the louvre, take 30 minutes to walk in. You don;t have to pay. You have to line up at the glass dome to go in via a security check (they scan your bags) and then you go down escalators into a little underground city. Down there you can have a look at the Louvre Shop and get a feel for the place - it is incredible and worth the wait to go in. Wander around down there, see the shop, and leave (NO COST).
Make sure you know exactly where to get a boat from on the Sienne so that you don;t spend time trying to find it. Notre Dame is great...by the way its not that far from the Louvre...a few blocks along the Sienne (if i remember correctly).
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The security checks will slow you down, and you won%26#39;t get inside the Louvre, you would just be under the Pyramid, and you will just see it better from the outside. i would also miss out on the whole visit of Montmartre, take the metro, see it quickly and move on, instead of spending two hours there.
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Merci Beaucoup to all for your replies and suggestions. It appears from everyone%26#39;s input that I should pass on the walking tour of Montmarte. I was considering it because the starting point was in close proximity to Gare du Nord and upon arrival I thought I could get a bit acclimated by being led by the hand so to speak for a few hours before heading out on my own. However, maybe my time could be better spent.
Raphy, I definitely want to walk the Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre. Would it be doable to walk to the Eiffel Tower and have lunch at Altitude 95, provided I can get a reservations, and then continue my walk down the Champs-Elysees. How far is it from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower in distance and time? I guess I%26#39;ll pass as well on the Batobus. Time permitting I%26#39;ll try the Vedettes du Pont Neuf you suggested. I did want to end at Notre-Dame because if time permits I want to go inside before returning to the station.
Merci!
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