Best thing to do in Paris at 7:30 in the morning?
May 13th, 2005, 09:42 AM
#21
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It appears you have two or three issues that have to dovetail:
Getting to CDG by noonish
Stashing the luggage
Doing something with the morning
First of all, if your date is a weekday, I think you need to factor in the condition of the public transport network during rush hour. Getting to Étoile via RER might be <u>possible</u>, but you have my personal guarantee it would not be very pleasant.
My strategy would be to stash the luggage at either RR station while you settle into a nearby restaurant for a leisurely breakfast. Either that or taxi to a hotel where you could shower, eat, and dump the bags. If I did the latter, my choice would be something over towards Cluny, then I could aim for the RER to CDG rather than backtracking to GdeL.
When the traffic had cleared a little, you could Métro or bus to that sight you'd picked out, then back to wherever the luggage was. I'd probably walk to the Medieval Museum, because I've only seen a few thousand of its treasures.
Getting to CDG by noonish
Stashing the luggage
Doing something with the morning
First of all, if your date is a weekday, I think you need to factor in the condition of the public transport network during rush hour. Getting to Étoile via RER might be <u>possible</u>, but you have my personal guarantee it would not be very pleasant.
My strategy would be to stash the luggage at either RR station while you settle into a nearby restaurant for a leisurely breakfast. Either that or taxi to a hotel where you could shower, eat, and dump the bags. If I did the latter, my choice would be something over towards Cluny, then I could aim for the RER to CDG rather than backtracking to GdeL.
When the traffic had cleared a little, you could Métro or bus to that sight you'd picked out, then back to wherever the luggage was. I'd probably walk to the Medieval Museum, because I've only seen a few thousand of its treasures.
May 13th, 2005, 11:11 AM
#22
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Am I the only person who just thinks, you're in Paris in the early morning and it's probably pretty special? Walk around a bit and pick a place. For me it's a lot less about eating at the right place than it is about taking this brief opportunity to breathe in the atmosphere of Paris!
May 13th, 2005, 12:37 PM
#23
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I think all of you have it right, including (perhaps most of all) Grasshopper. I envision that - - unless there is a downpour rain - - we will only go where we can walk. And I thik it highly likely that an "unknown" place will beckon to us with the looks or smells of baked items with or without coffee or chocolate.
But I was thinking that if some "classic" experience, or particularly good place (judged by their wares) is convenient (but maybe we wouldn't just stumble onto it) - - and known to be open early.
I think that the time analysis is right. We'll fill 7:10 to 9:59 am easily with stashing, refreshing (with or without actual showering), walking and breakfasting. If thereis any daylight at all, hopefully we can enjoy St. Chapelle right when it opens for 30-40 minutes, and then take a taxi back to Austerlitz/Gare de Lyon before 11. I am counting in <i>reasonable</i> (that <u>dreaded</u> word here!) traffic mobility in that 10:30-noon time window.
I'll check a map, with regard to Paul's/rue du Buci or the LPQ mentioned.
But I was thinking that if some "classic" experience, or particularly good place (judged by their wares) is convenient (but maybe we wouldn't just stumble onto it) - - and known to be open early.
I think that the time analysis is right. We'll fill 7:10 to 9:59 am easily with stashing, refreshing (with or without actual showering), walking and breakfasting. If thereis any daylight at all, hopefully we can enjoy St. Chapelle right when it opens for 30-40 minutes, and then take a taxi back to Austerlitz/Gare de Lyon before 11. I am counting in <i>reasonable</i> (that <u>dreaded</u> word here!) traffic mobility in that 10:30-noon time window.
I'll check a map, with regard to Paul's/rue du Buci or the LPQ mentioned.
May 13th, 2005, 03:59 PM
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111op, it appears more & more that we have so much in common! You must be from the south liking iced tea? We have a new lady at my job from Alabama & she insists in sweetened iced tea! She complains that Cincinnati restaurants only serve unsweetened tea (she hates artificial sweeteners).
Jun 2nd, 2005, 02:52 PM
#29
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While I will elaborate in a trip report (still in preparation) - - I'll do some follow-up to this one specific question here on the thread where I first asked it.
Paris turned out to be just about the closest thing to a bummer on our whole (short) trip.
For starters - - I'm not sure if the train was late... I don't feel like we dilly-dallied, nor were we the last ones to get off - - but it was 7:40, as we got off the train (scheduled arrival was 7:<b>10</b
.
We decided that we did not need showers after all (they're 6 euros at Gare Austerlitz, in case anyone wants to know, and that's per person, in the event you're thinking that a couple might choose to share!). And for what it's worth - - a similar service (maybe not quite as nice?) is 3,50 euro at Gare de Lyon.
I don't know how a taxi ride would have been - - but we decided we could make the walk (in a later post, I'll 'fess up to just how much my luggage weighed, with its 13 bottles of spirits packed inside!) - - across the Seine to Gare de Lyon. Phew!
And the walk INside Gare de Lyon actually seemed similarly WAAYYY too long. This puts us at roughly EIGHT-forty five.
While we felt like trying to do something better than breakfast IN the train station, walking in search of alternatives melted at the site of "L'Europeen" - - perhaps just a shade above "tourist trap", right <i>en face de</i> GdL, immediately across from where the Air France buses arrive/depart.
Yet, I rate the food very good there, and I would not complain about the cost. It's Paris. I got an "omelette campagnarde" and grapefruit juice; I've paid much higher for much worse fare.
So, now it's 9:35. While we knew that walking was an option, we figured that a taxi would ensure arrival at or before 10:00, to see Sainte Chappelle - - our one <i>singulier</i> choice of something to see. Maybe we should have gone back up to the line-up at the Gare de Lyon. Getting a taxi on the street took at least a little time.
But he got us there by 9:59 - - we were a bit astonished at how many police, in paramilitary dress, with SWAT-team-type vans were swarming around (it IS, after all, the Palais de Justice, more or less in the same physical building/complex) - - and we never knew why.
At first, a pleasant surprise - - the posted hours on Ste Chappelle <u>say</u> open at 9:00 in winter, and 9:30 in summer - - we could have gotten here even earlier!
But the same kind of paramilitary police at the entrance said <i><b>not open until 11:00</b></i>! "Juste aujourd'hui..."
He indicated that he didn't know why. We could not wait that long to enter at 11 and still make it back to the Air France bus for our ride to the airport.
So we dug out out our Paris (Eyewuitness Guide) book from my wife's purse, and looked to see what else close would appeal to us. I proposed L'église St-Louis-en-l'Ile...
Well, I don't know if I'm stupid or just "dyscartographic" - - but we wasted 20 minutes just trying to find the street (I thought we were 2 or 3 minutes from it)... time to find another cab. Never did see the church itself...
So, two cab rides (totaling 14 euros) and a close call to make our Air France bus on time (repeating that big long schlep of our luggage from the <i>consignes</i> to the bus stop) - - and our three-and-a-half-hours in Paris had amounted to just about nothing (good omelette, notwithstanding)...
Oh well... the rest of the trip was better!
Paris turned out to be just about the closest thing to a bummer on our whole (short) trip.
For starters - - I'm not sure if the train was late... I don't feel like we dilly-dallied, nor were we the last ones to get off - - but it was 7:40, as we got off the train (scheduled arrival was 7:<b>10</b
.We decided that we did not need showers after all (they're 6 euros at Gare Austerlitz, in case anyone wants to know, and that's per person, in the event you're thinking that a couple might choose to share!). And for what it's worth - - a similar service (maybe not quite as nice?) is 3,50 euro at Gare de Lyon.
I don't know how a taxi ride would have been - - but we decided we could make the walk (in a later post, I'll 'fess up to just how much my luggage weighed, with its 13 bottles of spirits packed inside!) - - across the Seine to Gare de Lyon. Phew!
And the walk INside Gare de Lyon actually seemed similarly WAAYYY too long. This puts us at roughly EIGHT-forty five.
While we felt like trying to do something better than breakfast IN the train station, walking in search of alternatives melted at the site of "L'Europeen" - - perhaps just a shade above "tourist trap", right <i>en face de</i> GdL, immediately across from where the Air France buses arrive/depart.
Yet, I rate the food very good there, and I would not complain about the cost. It's Paris. I got an "omelette campagnarde" and grapefruit juice; I've paid much higher for much worse fare.
So, now it's 9:35. While we knew that walking was an option, we figured that a taxi would ensure arrival at or before 10:00, to see Sainte Chappelle - - our one <i>singulier</i> choice of something to see. Maybe we should have gone back up to the line-up at the Gare de Lyon. Getting a taxi on the street took at least a little time.
But he got us there by 9:59 - - we were a bit astonished at how many police, in paramilitary dress, with SWAT-team-type vans were swarming around (it IS, after all, the Palais de Justice, more or less in the same physical building/complex) - - and we never knew why.
At first, a pleasant surprise - - the posted hours on Ste Chappelle <u>say</u> open at 9:00 in winter, and 9:30 in summer - - we could have gotten here even earlier!
But the same kind of paramilitary police at the entrance said <i><b>not open until 11:00</b></i>! "Juste aujourd'hui..."
He indicated that he didn't know why. We could not wait that long to enter at 11 and still make it back to the Air France bus for our ride to the airport.
So we dug out out our Paris (Eyewuitness Guide) book from my wife's purse, and looked to see what else close would appeal to us. I proposed L'église St-Louis-en-l'Ile...
Well, I don't know if I'm stupid or just "dyscartographic" - - but we wasted 20 minutes just trying to find the street (I thought we were 2 or 3 minutes from it)... time to find another cab. Never did see the church itself...
So, two cab rides (totaling 14 euros) and a close call to make our Air France bus on time (repeating that big long schlep of our luggage from the <i>consignes</i> to the bus stop) - - and our three-and-a-half-hours in Paris had amounted to just about nothing (good omelette, notwithstanding)...
Oh well... the rest of the trip was better!
Jun 2nd, 2005, 05:11 PM
#31
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Laduree on corner of Bonaparte and Jacob does not open very early--perhaps 10? I know, since I tried unsuccessfully to get one more box of macarons before we hopped in cab for CDG in the morning.
Angelina is a salon de the from the turn of the last century when it was known as Rumplemayers. It's fun to go there for tea and a pastry (I think of it more as a lunch or afternoon tea place) just as it is to go to Deux Magots or Flore for croissant and a cafe creme in the morning.
I hope you find something interesting to do during your few hours in Paris!
Wonder what time Charlotte en l'Ile (another great place for chocolat chaud) opens?
Angelina is a salon de the from the turn of the last century when it was known as Rumplemayers. It's fun to go there for tea and a pastry (I think of it more as a lunch or afternoon tea place) just as it is to go to Deux Magots or Flore for croissant and a cafe creme in the morning.
I hope you find something interesting to do during your few hours in Paris!
Wonder what time Charlotte en l'Ile (another great place for chocolat chaud) opens?
Nov 8th, 2005, 12:44 PM
#36
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Unless you are very fast walkers, I think you may be biting off a bit too much, but then I always worry about missing a plane or train, so I am more comfortable getting there a little early.
My suggestion would be to get a cab and go to the Gare de Lyon immediately. Secure your luggage there. and find out where the showers, etc. are, but don't waste time showering then. You can always do that when you return, if you have time, and that gives you a little cushion.
I would then walk down river and across the bridge onto Isle St. Louis. Depending on the day, there may be street performers there. Walk the length of the Isle (I prefer Rue St. Louis, which goes down the center of the island, but it is a small island, and you could easily explore it). At the end of the isle, cross Pont St. Louis, which will put you onto Isle de la Cite behind Notre Dame. There is a nice park there, and also the deportation memorial, but I don't know when that opens. I would walk around Notre Dame and see how much time is left. From there, if you have time, continue down the center of the isle to Rue de Lurece, that leads toward Ste. Chapelle, but there is also a flower/bird fair on your right that you might want to enjoy. Stop almost anywhere along this route at a cafe for a nice breakfast. We ate at a cafe at the start of Pont St. Louis a couple of times; the food was secondary to the scenery.
If you are out of time, catch a cab. If you still have time, I would cross one of the bridges to the right bank and walk along there back to Gare de Lyon for a shower, if you have time.
I habitually rise early, so I would go out and take a walk. The bakeries (I've forgotten the French word) would just be opening, and the crowds were not out yet, so it was a very pleasant time, even in the rain.
My suggestion would be to get a cab and go to the Gare de Lyon immediately. Secure your luggage there. and find out where the showers, etc. are, but don't waste time showering then. You can always do that when you return, if you have time, and that gives you a little cushion.
I would then walk down river and across the bridge onto Isle St. Louis. Depending on the day, there may be street performers there. Walk the length of the Isle (I prefer Rue St. Louis, which goes down the center of the island, but it is a small island, and you could easily explore it). At the end of the isle, cross Pont St. Louis, which will put you onto Isle de la Cite behind Notre Dame. There is a nice park there, and also the deportation memorial, but I don't know when that opens. I would walk around Notre Dame and see how much time is left. From there, if you have time, continue down the center of the isle to Rue de Lurece, that leads toward Ste. Chapelle, but there is also a flower/bird fair on your right that you might want to enjoy. Stop almost anywhere along this route at a cafe for a nice breakfast. We ate at a cafe at the start of Pont St. Louis a couple of times; the food was secondary to the scenery.
If you are out of time, catch a cab. If you still have time, I would cross one of the bridges to the right bank and walk along there back to Gare de Lyon for a shower, if you have time.
I habitually rise early, so I would go out and take a walk. The bakeries (I've forgotten the French word) would just be opening, and the crowds were not out yet, so it was a very pleasant time, even in the rain.
Nov 8th, 2005, 10:05 PM
#40
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I would recommend the new branch of the National Library, Bibliothèque National, site Francois-Mittérand, it's in walking distance but the exhibits only open at ten. Check www.bnf.fr if you can squeeze another hour out of your layover.
A stroll through Marais quarter maybe?
WK
A stroll through Marais quarter maybe?
WK
