npiazza

We will be arriving at Charles de Gaule at 6 am, and only have that day in Paris before taking a train to Geneva in late afternoon. My thought is to go from the airport directly to the train station, leave our luggage in a locker there, and try to take one of the tour buses of the city, maybe getting a chance to visit Notre Dame. I won't bore you with the details of why we only have one day in Paris...
Any suggestions on how to do this efficiently? Also, can I wait until we arrive there to buy train tickets to Geneva?

Andrew

Pity you have only one day in Paris! If you like to walk at all, I would skip the tour bus and just use the Metro to wander around Paris a bit. To me, strolling around a city is as fun as the sites you see, and Paris is a beautiful city. I happen to enjoy the Metro itself, but some people aren't so hip on navigating public transit systems.

On a tour bus, you won't hear the locals speaking in French or living their lives - you'll just see sites and mingle with other tourists.

I would definitely visit at least on Paris park or garden, preferably the Jardin du Luxembourg near the Latin Quarter. Metro stations take you near the Eiffel Tower - tourisy to the max but still an essential viewing (even if just briefly) in my view. - and the Arc de Triomphe. The Arc is huge, probably bigger than it looks in pictures, and the carvings the sides of it are kind of cool too. And sure, take in the Notre Dame.

I'm fairly sure you could just buy your tickets to Geneva when you arrive instead of ahead of time, but is it worth the risk? If you are arriving at a non-busy day of the week maybe it will be easier. Is it TGV? Check this website:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

for Europe train schedules including which ones require advanced reservations.

Andrew

Patrick

While in principle I agree with Andrew, you failed to mention if you've ever been to Paris before. If not, I'm tempted to think you'll actually get a better "taste" of it by doing the bus ride you mention -- at least you'll see a lot of major sites and get a feel for the layout of the city. If it is a hop on hop off type thing, you can get off somewhere in a major neighborhood and have lunch getting a bit of that real feel Andrew is talking about. Somewhere in St. Germain would probably be the idea for that.

Underhill

Skip the metro--why waste precious time underground? I think your idea of a bus tour is a good one; that will give you a sense of the various areas of Paris, and when you're through you can go see a few major sights.

Andrew

Why waste time underground? Because to some of us, the Paris Metro is just as much a part of the whole Paris experience as anything else you'll experience there. Also, you aren't limited to where the tour buses stop - the Metro goes just about everywhere in the core of Paris.

Andrew

francophile03

Of course the metro is a great Parisian experience, no doubt about that. But with just one day to visit, a bus tour makes better sense to me.

Caravaggista

Here's another "non" vote for the bus tour. The center is so compact that you can walk around easily--you can take the Metro to a central station (like St Michel) then get out and just wander. I'm going to commit potential heresy here and say skip going up the Eiffel Tower. Since you want to visit Notre Dame anyway, climb the towers there and get a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower without schlepping all the way over there to it (and spending the money, and standing in line...). I think the most interesting areas of Paris are right there around Notre Dame: the Ile St-Louis, Marais district, Quartier Latin...the beauty of Paris is in just the exploring. If I had only one day, I don't even think I'd go to the Louvre (and for me,that IS heresy) but instead just wander and soak it all in.

npiazza

Thanks to all for the input...it will be my first time in Paris, which is why I thought the bus would work...just to quickly see the highlights. We will get a chance to go again next year and will spend more time there (business meeting for hubby). Could anyone address the logistics of getting from the airport to the train station where we could leave our bags, then come back for the TGV train to Geneva?