mazz

We are a family of four (2 adult children) traveling to Paris for one week. We are staying in a timeshare near Euro Disney (east of Paris). We arrive in Paris early Saturday morning and are renting a car. We plan to drive into Paris Saturday from the airport and take a river cruise before heading to our accommodations. We also plan on buying a one week train/metro pass for travel into Paris. The week's pass begins on Monday. We also will purchase a 4-day Museum Pass for use Monday-Thursday. After our week in Paris we are heading to Normandy.
OK. All that background and now my question:
What should we do on Sunday? We don't want to have to buy a train pass for one day. So, how would it be driving and parking in Paris on Sunday. Supposedly there is free street parking. We could visit the sites not covered by the Museum Pass - Eiffel Tower, Catacombs, walking around some of the neighborhoods, etc. Or is there a day trip outside of Paris that would be highly recommended? What would you do on Sunday?
Thanks.

DalaiLlama

Most everything in Paris that tourists want to see is open. Don't know about parking, wouldn't want to ever take the car into the city. Once there you still need to get around, check out www.ratp.fr, buy a carnet and hop on whatever contraption you need to get around.

Nikki

Am I reading correctly that although you are staying near Euro Disney, you are not spending any time at the Disney park? If I am, that is fine, but if I am misunderstanding you then maybe Sunday would be a good day to spend at the park, since you won't have your transit pass yet.

As far as driving into Paris on Sunday, traffic shouldn't be as bad as other days. If you can't find street parking, there are plenty of centrally located garages. But it is possible that the cost of parking would be greater than the cost of buying one day's worth of public transportation for the four of you.

mazz

Nikki- We are not planning on going to Disney at all. Trying to decide if driving and parking in Paris is worthwhile since we already plan on five full days in Paris when we do not have to worry about a car.

txhomes

I can't help with the car parking but I can tell you what we did on Sunday that was fun. We visited the Eiffel Tower and then did a Segway Tour of Paris. They meet you at the Eiffel Tower and it is a 4 hr tour of Paris on a segway. It was a great way to start our week and see some of the neighborhoods of Paris. We all had a great time on the ride.

gh21

If you will be using a Metro pass to travel from you accommodations into Paris (except on Sunday), I don't see the purpose of renting a car until you need it to ravel to Normandy. You could take public transit to from the airport into Paris and then to your hotel.

kerouac

Driving and parking in Paris on a Sunday is really easy, barring a few areas like Saint Germain des Prés, where there never seems to be any parking <b>ever</b>.

avalon

There is underground paid parking but I imagine it is expensive. I agree with gh21, why pay for a week of car rentala when you will not be using it? Buy a one day pass or a carnet for Sunday

Gretchen

If you are going to be in Paris without a car, why don't you go to Giverny or Versailles while you are driving.

Gretchen

You also might not need a 4 day museum pass, even though you are huge museum buffs. Choose your days and your museums.

mazz

Thanks for your input. We are renting a car because we got a really, really good price for a 2 week rental. Almost the same price for the one week we would need for Normandy. Much less hassle getting from the airport and travel to the train station near Disney.
Gretchen- we decided on the 4 day pass because Versailles is actually included and we plan to use one day to go there while we have the pass. Giverny may be a good idea for Sunday. How much time should we allow for a trip there? Thanks.
kerouac- if parking is easy on Sunday we may just drive into the city. My husband is brave. Do you know how the lines would be for the Eiffel Tower and the Catacombs on a Sunday?

Sidny

Can't help w/ specifics on driving/parking, but wanted to mention that you can now reserve tickets online for Eiffel Tower so you don't have to stand in line.

Christina

I don't care how easy it may be to park in Paris on Sunday, parking in the central of any huge metropolis is no fun, and I am not clear if kerouac is saying you won't have to pay and can easily find a space on the street or not. Because if you are going into an underground parking spot, like around the Louvre, those places cost around 20 euro a day.

Also, how do you intend to get all around Paris during this day? I can't believe you intend to walk all over given some of the places you mention are pretty far apart. SO if you intend to buy metro tickets, I would just buy a one-day Mobilis unlimited pass myself and take the RER into Paris. It would be so much more freeing, I think. YOu don't intend to be driving around Paris finding a parking spot at the Eiffel Tower, Catacombs, etc., I hope. A one day Mobilis for 5 zones (what you need for Disney) is only about 14 euro and will cover all transportation you need all day. HOw much do you plan to spend on gas and parking fees, and metro tickets within the city you buy singly (which are 1.7 euro each).

FYI, the term Euro Disney has not existed for many years as a reference to that park. They call it Disneyland Paris. Euro Disney is the name of the corporation.

kerouac

Actually, just about all locals still do call it Euro Disney. As much as I fight against it in conversation, it is a losing battle.

The official name of the place is "Disneyland Paris Resort" which is a bit of overkill. The freeway exit goes for a terse "Parcs Disney."