thereadbaron

Hello...my husband and I have decided in the past few days to fly separately to paris for our first trip without our child who is 6. I now find myself alone in a city where i don't have full grasp of language yet despite my 5 iPhone apps to teach me were going in May.

Actually I'm thrilled to have the day alone and want to make the most of seeing things I know my husband doesn't want to (we've both been before but I missed some things the first go around.)

Is it completely nuts to hire a driver to take me around for the day? Here's what I'd like to see/do. Is it just easier to find a taxi after each item on my agenda?

Musee d'orsay
Grand palais
Palais garnier
Shopping on rue de Montaigne (ok, browse) and Colette

I know these aren't on his "see" list and would like to try and do all without him. Doable? Will be there for 4 more full days afterwards...thank you!

Gretchen

yes, hiring a driver is not a good plan.
If you just want to take a taxi, then you will need to locate a taxi stand at each of the places you are plotting.
If you have been to Paris before did you never use the Metro or bus system? It is probably the best in the world for getting you from point A to B.

thereadbaron

I agree on the metro. My husband doesn't want me going alone. Lordy... This Malaysian air disappearance has made him a bit loopy.

sparkchaser

Loopy is right.

As suggested above, use a taxi. A personal driver would be way too expensive.

thereadbaron

I'm a New Yorker - last time I was in paris was 20 years ago. Is it like here or are there specific places one can get a taxi? Sorry for my ignorance :/

bvlenci

I don't see how being in a taxi or private car makes you any safer if there's some sort of terrorist attack. Anyway, the causes of the Malaysian air disaster are still unknown, and there are even several pieces of evidence that make it unlikely that it was a terrorist attack.

mamcalice

Most of what you want to see/do is easily walkable depending on where you are staying. Get a good map (we like Streetwise) and plot your route. When you are tired of walking, take a taxi.

sparkchaser

mamcalice has some good advice. Weather permitting, walking will be a great way to rediscover Paris. Just remember to bring some comfy walking shoes

thereadbaron, if you are a New Yorker, then you will be just fine. There are taxi stands located at various points in the city.

vjpblovesitaly

"My husband doesn't want me going alone."

So don't tell him. If you really live in NYC I think you and he are being very silly.

thereadbaron

Lying it is!

sparkchaser

nytraveler

Paying hundreds of euros for a driver to spend most of the day waiting for you makes no sense at all. If you don;t want to walk or take the Metro - you can simply use a taxi between each two places for a modest sum.

Gretchen

What the heck is all this about a terrorist attack!! Paris is one of the safest cities in the world--and maybe particularly when there IS the possibility of terrorism--we were there a month after 9/11.
"Going alone"? YOu live in NYC? Sorry, not "getting" this at all. Take the Metro, or even better, the bus, and actually SEE what you are passing. Or walk.
You cannot just hail a taxi however.

janisj

OK -- I'm more than a bit confused . . . What on earth does a missing plane in Asia have to do w/ sightseeing in Paris?

How is he even making a connection between the two?????

jamikins

You aren't flying separately because you are scared of a terrorist attack are you? It doesn't even look like it had anything to do with terrorism. But I cannot imagine hubby and I even discussing flying separately because 1 plane went down anywhere in the world. When you look at the stats it would make more sense to start driving everywhere separately if that is what you are afraid if!

Can't imagine what you riding the metro alone has to do with anything...especially since you live in NYC...do you not tKe public transit alone at home?

StCirq

It all sounds way too panicky to me, but in any case, hiring a driver for a day would likely be obscenely expensive, and likely would really slow you down, given the traffic in the city.

If your husband doesn't want you taking the métro (which frankly is ridiculous), take buses. I prefer them anyway, because you're above ground and can see sights as you travel.

Nikki

You can hail a taxi on the street in Paris as long as you aren't within a certain distance of a taxi stand. If you are close to a taxi stand, you just walk up to the first taxi in line and get in.

StCirq

<< If you are close to a taxi stand, you just walk up to the first taxi in line and get in.>>

IF there's a taxi there, which there never is for me.

Christina

Actually, there have been some bombings in metro stations (a few years back, I remember Port Royal RER station in particular) and those do tend to occur in public place, not private cars. So there is some logic to it if that was the concern. And the metro in many cities certainly can be more dangerous than a private driver (and it is in Paris at certain places and hours), let's be realistic. So why act as if some of these concerns are crazy.

I think if one asks the question, they are used to traveling or living a certain way and it is completely reasonable to hire a private driver for the day. That's not my world, but I know it is the world of some people who shop at Colette, for example. I think I just read that Margaret Thatcher claimed that if you took the bus after the age of 40 you were a failure, or something like that. This isn't my way of traveling, but if you had boatloads of money, you could certainly do it, why not?


I did have a private driver once drive me around a few places and wait for me, but I had some business to attend to, some baggage, as well as getting me from the airport and driving me to an apartment, it was Carey Limousine. They are reliable and you can hire them by the hour to drive you wherever you want https://www.carey.com/Carey/chauffeu..._charters.html

That is certainly not going to be cheap, I can't recall the price but it was many years ago anyway. I imagine it would be around 100 euro per hour, just a guess. It would make more sense to get a taxi which shouldn't be too hard in the center. One good place to get one is outside a nice hotel.

I would never count on hailing a taxi on the street in Paris, in fact, I have never seen one stop for anyone that way. There are some stops where they are more common, such as around where I stay in Montparnasse, there are often quite a few at the queue at the corner of bds Raspail and Montparnasse. But there are some others where I've seen people waiting for a long time with no taxi showing up. And if it is raining, all bets are off on ever getting one.

Nikki

"I would never count on hailing a taxi on the street in Paris, in fact, I have never seen one stop for anyone that way."

I have done it many times. There are some areas where it is very easy, and taxis come by frequently. There are other areas where it is much harder.