Hi,

I have a connecting flight from Paris. My flight arrives at 6:10 am on Monday in Paris and departs at 3:25 pm the same day (Monday). Considering that I will be able to get out of the airport at around 7 am and have to come back at around 2, I will have roughly 6-7 hours.

I am a first timer in Paris. What are the must see things ? Should I take some guided tour ? How should I reach the tourist destinations from Airport ?

Cheers,
Salvy

You are being over-optimistic about how quickly you can get out of the airport and when you need to leave Paris to catch your afternoon flight.

You are more likely to leave the airport by 8 am, won't be in the city until 9am, and you need to leave Paris by 1pm at the very latest to be sure to get to the airport and clear security.

So that's 4 hours.

There are some bus tours of Paris that drive you past the most famous sights, and some include a ride down the river Seine, all within 2 or 3 hours. That's probably the safest bet.

Thanks for the quick reply Zeppole. To be safe, I will leave the city at around noon time.
Would you recommend a bus tour or a boat tour for 2-3 hours ? Is there any specific tour that you would recommend ? Should I book it online or take it on the spot ?

Would you suggest taking a taxi or train or bus from airport to city and return ?

Will your luggage be checked through to your final destination? If so, take the train downtown as you will be traveling during rush hour and the traffic will be bad. Go to Notre Dame and then take a river cruise on the Vedettes du Pont Neuf which starts at the foot of the Pont Neuf, not far from Notre Dame. This will give you a rivers-eye view of central Paris. If you have time, stop at a sidewalk cafe for lunch before returning to the airport.

I thing that mamcalice 's advice is right on the dot. The best will be to avoid heavy traffic so
be aware of transportation by train, or metro that suits you. You can start almost anywhere but I would also start in Notre Dame, take a Vedette . Good luck. Even if time is short it will be a great opportunity.

Thanks a lot for your quick suggestions.
My luggage would be checked through so that's not a problem. But I am a first timer, do not know French and I need to change trains to reach city so I was trying to take easier way.

I always take a taxi to and from the Airport so I am not familiar how to get by train or metro but it should not be difficult. French are very organized.

I believe that you have to found out exactly how to doit in advance and then you shouldn't go wrong. This way you will know how much time you will need to go back and forth to the Airport, the taxi of course depends on the traffic. You can print out walking itineraries from www.mappy.com, and know in advance how to reach the train or metro (station to go back to the airport.
I would do this way but maybe some people are more familiar with the trains and metros and can give you a better advice. Good luck.

Thanks Graziella !
I saw the RER trains. Its actually only 1 train to St Michel Notre Dame station which takes around 35 mins. I am planning to take this train.

Thanks all for your help !

This IS a great opportunity - go for it! I had a full day in Paris and did a grand walking tour. Would love more, but it gave me a good grasp of how Paris is laid out. The ideas given you here will do that too. Love the idea of the river cruise. I have friends who went to the top of Eiffel Tower for a panoramic view when there on a short trip - they loved it. I chose not to because of crowds so I can't recommend it personally and I do not know how the transportation would work, but it might be an option.

RER tip----as you are walking through CDG you will see information booths. Stop at one and ask to buy an RER ticket. You can avoid long lines at the booths below the escalators.

Is this after an overnight flight from the US?

Where is your ongoing destination?

You need to plan for at least an hour from landing through passport control, then at least an hour each way from/to CDG/Paris, and you need to be back at CDG at least 2 or 3 hours before your flight departs. That's a total of 5-6 hours and assumes your flight lands on time and everything else goes smoothly.

So, you will, more likely, have only 3-4 hours to spend in the city.

The ride on the RER from CDG to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame is at least 45 minutes, not including getting from your gate to the RER station, purchasing tickets, waiting for the next train, etc.

If the weather is nice, you may want to consider riding around on the l'Opentour Grand Tour, which will take you around to most of the famous sights, including the Eiffel Tower. The panoramic views from seats on the open air upper deck are magnificant and provide terrific photo ops. It's a hop on/hop off bus. The entire route takes 2-3 hours, depending on traffic. You wouldn't really have much time for hopping off, though, as buses are not that frequent (20-30 minutes).

http://www.pariscityrama.com/files/b...-2011-2012.pdf

All in all, though, you really need to know what you're doing and plan your time carefully.

This is just me, but I would get myself a really good map of the city and skip any tours or cruises, and just walk around on my own. You won't get to see the major landmarks that way (Eiffel Tower, etc.) but you would get a small taste of how the centre of Paris "feels"- the islands, Notre Dame, maybe a bit of the Marais or the Latin Quarter. If the weather is nice, grab a sandwich and a drink and find a bench in the park on the Ile de la Cite and people watch.

Take the train into St Michel and visit the Notre Dame area. Don't take a taxi...traffic snarls will cut your time down. You might want to take a Seine Cruise to see more sights. Agree with Apres_Londee above...great little restaurants on Ile de Cite and if the line isn't too long, try Berthillon's wonderful ice cream. The park behind Notre Dame is a great place for a sandwich or ice cream. the Deportation Memorial is also right behind the park.

Take a look at www.parisbytrain.com for step by step instructions on getting to the trains and getting tickets, so you will know exactly where you are going. Exact change in Euros will be fastest. Although, I like TPAYT's suggestion about the info desks...it will save you time!

You don't need to know French except Bonjour, Au Revoir, Merci and S'il vous plait (sorry if any is misspelled).

Hope it goes well...it's quite a task to get to central Paris and back to CDG in only a few hours. Good luck and enjoy.

....if you decide you can't fit in any of the tours/cruises etc., its a short walk from the Notre Dame area mentioned by Denisea and Appres to a bridge that allows a great long distance view of the Eiffel tower. In all honesty, it was that first view of the tower, looking down the Seine from that bridge, that sent chills down my spine - more so then when I was actually standing underneath it. You can have some great "I can't believe I'm in Paris!" moments even with little time!