24 hours in Paris
 

My family of four (myself, husband and two sons 18 & 16) will travel via the Chunnel from London to Paris in late July. We will be in Paris for 24 hours. Suggestions on best travel from Chunnel to city, nice hotel in best location for quick visit to see as much as possible, details on underground tour, and best sidewalk cafe. Thank you!

I assume you are taking the Eurostar train into Paris. Note that the term "Chunnel" refers only to the tunnel beneath the English channel and seems to be used only by Americans. The Eurostar arrives at Gare du Nord. For there you can take the Metro or I'd choose to take a taxi to the hotel. "Nice hotel" and "best location" are so none-specific as to be meaningless. What is your hotel budget in Euros? Do you want one room for the 4 of you or do you want a suite or two rooms? Any place within central Paris is a fine location, as everything you might want to see is an easy ride on the metro. Just make sure you have a nearby metro station.

By "underground tour" do you mean the catacombs or the Paris sewers? There is no "best" sidewalk cafe. Go and look at cafes and choose one.

You could benefit from a good guidebook. Fodor's publishes one, for instance. You can also go to the top of the webpage and choose "destinations" and then choose Paris.

Choose carefully what you wan to see in Paris. You want to "see as much as possible" which won't be much in 24 hours. Choose a couple of things you want to do/see. Check opening days/times and plan for those. No doubt you will see other places you want to explore - a pretty park, an interesting shop, a cafe - so allow for wandering and discovering beyond your two planned stops.

Happy researching!

Which 24 hour interval are you talking about?

If it is noon-noon then fly transatlantic, then you only have half a day. If that day falls on Monday, many museums are closed.

If it is 6am-6am then you can do a lot more.

Best hotel location for what purpose for which activities?

If you arrive on the Eurostar, you are already right in the heart of the city.

There are scores of hotels literally a stone's throw from the Gare du Nord. In fact, the Gare du Nord is one of the most connected Metro/RER stations in the city so it worth consideration staying there.

"Chunnel"is an antiquated American term for what is now presumably what you mean traveling on the train between London and Paris. It's the Eurostar.

No clue what you mean by "underground tour" in Paris. The sewers?

"best sidewalk café is a ridiculous notion. The best is the one that's there when you need it.

Paris is full of hotels. Do some research and figure out where to stay. Near the Gare du Nord is not a bad idea and gives you lots of options. You haven't mentioned a budget, so it's impossible to suggest anything specific.

hi, Dana, I hope you have a good day in Paris.

How are you leaving Paris? If either by the train back to London or going to CDG, staying near Gare du Nord is actually a pretty good idea, or at least a hotel not far on the RER line. DO you know what that is? It's the rail system that goes to the airport and is also the rail station the Eurostar arrives at. YOu are only there one day anyway, otherwise I'd say go elsewhere.

I really don't know best hotels for a family of 4 on that line, I'm afraid. I have stayed at the Trianon Rive Gauche which is only a block from the RER Luxembourg and it's very reasonably priced and has some family rooms but not that big a family as far as I know. But it would be a good location for you.

And to be honest, that is really four adults, I think you are just going to need two double rooms.

It depends if you want a sidewalk cafe just for drinks or for dinner, also. But if you stay around Luxembourg RER stop, you'll find several around there and you can decide which you like best. The ones around Sorbonne place have good people-watching and that's a classic location.

But to be honest, for one night, you might just stay at the Ibis Gare du Nord, it will be convenient and quick and relatively cheap.
http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-...th/index.shtml
YOu can get two double rooms there, they have twin bedded rooms.

There is a Mercure around there but I think a lot more expensive. There are actually a couple Ibis around there, I think, you can check them out. Otherwise, you could check the LIbertel Gare du Nord Suede, they are nothing charming, but LIbertel is a reliable chain and that would be convenient, also. And 2 rooms in there at end of July won't be that much.
http://www.hotels-libertel.com/fr/ga...uede/index.php

You are lucky that end of July has good hotel rates.

What tour are you looking for?

Stay at one of the hotels across from the Gare du Nord. There are several.
I would assume your 24 hours is about 10AM to 10AM.
Choose a place for a nice dinner and make a reservation. You will eat late so that will take up your evening. You might even go to the top of the Eiffel Tower after dinner--it is usually not as crowded.
Fill you day with museums or sightseeing ans you desire. If it weren't so late in planning I would have suggested you engage Michael Osman for the day to guide you, but I am sure you can't at this point.