raphaekg

We will be passing through Paris (Charles de Gaulle airport) on our way to Athens this summer. Our flight arrives at 9:00 pm and we don't depart for our connecting flight until the next day at 1:25 pm. We are two adults with two teens (ages 13 and 18). Couple of questions: (1) Any reasonably priced hotels near the airport that you recommend, or should we stay closer to the city? (2) Is it possible to see anything of Paris in our morning there? Any recommended quick tours or quick must-see sites? Thanks!

Lori

What is "reasonably priced" to you ? Everyones idea of that is different.

You arrive at 9 p.m. so if it were me I'd stay at an airport hotel (there are many, just do a search). It takes awhile to collect luggage, etc. so 9 p.m. is not when you will exit the airport. With a flight out at 1:25 p.m. the next day you need to check in no later then 2 hrs before (11:30 a.m.). Do you honestly think you can get yourself and two teens up and out early enough to go sightseeing ? You DO NOT have a morning in Paris, you have a couple of hours which will be needed to wake up/shower/do hair/etc. Eat a good breakfast at the hotel and get back over to checkin for next flight.

This is just my opinion, I am sure someone will say you can get up at 5 a.m. and take the train in and wander around till 9:30 or something but I'd leave Paris for when I could actually stay in Paris.

travelhorizons

It's not the least expensive option, but the Sheraton at CDG is by far the most convenient. It's right *in* the international terminal.

MaddieAstrid

I would be EXHAUSTED and yet I would stay in Paris, have breakfast and a nice walk and catch a cab back to the airport a little before 11AM (later if the airline kept my luggage). I have been “stuck” in Paris overnight a few times due to flight delays, and it is easier to take one taxi into the city and one taxi back to the airport than the shuttle to the airport hotel, taxi into the city, taxi back to airport hotel and shuttle back to airport (it is even worse if you plan on using the train). It isn’t economical, but how to put a price on stealing a few hours in Paris….That said, I wouldn’t do it if I needed to incorporate the train or airport hotel transportation (and I have tried it too!).

lincasanova

i have secured rooms at cdg o priceline.com for $75.. of course this depends on when you go if there is a fair then.

i was awarded the hilton. i bid 4 stars . free shuttle to airport.

janisj

If your schedule was different, w/ that much time I'd probably stay in Paris. But your layover is not convenient for that at all.

CDG is a zoo, and 2 hours ahead is being very optimistic. Check in and security can be quick but more often is a mess. I would want to be there by 10:30 (or 11 at the very latest). Meaning you would have to check out of your hotel, leave the bags there, see whatever you could squeeze in, return for your luggage and be on you way to CDG by 0930. Not even barely worth it.

Just stay at CDG.

mari5

There was a posting similar to this not too long ago. You probably don't have time, and it's really wiser to address your possible jet lag and get a good nights rest before your trip Athens.
You can google "airport hotels CDG". There are a group of them in the town of Roissy, only a few minutes away as well as some adajent to the airport. and ALL OFF THEM would have shuttles to and from the airport terminals.
IF you are there on a weekend (Fri, Sat. AND SUN&gt you can usually get very good rates at the top hotels like Hilton, Marriott etc...with a buffet breakfast. Other hotels a few minutes away are good also like, Radisson, Ibis, Holiday Inn, etc. Air France put us up once at the Ibis because they cancelled our flight...it's adequate for one night, but far from luxury. One other time we stayed at the Hilton close to the airport..lovely, and it was on a weekend.
It IS about an hour and $50 or so to get into Paris by taxi, depending on the time of day. (and not much to see UNTIL you actually arrive in Paris center . Some people like the RER train , but you would be going early morning with the commuters etc. The trip in is really not feasable, but some would say it is. &gt
Twice, and the airlines usually allow one 2 or 3 day stopover on the way to another destination, we have taken advantage and enjoyed Paris for those 2 nights.
Lots of possibilities and our Trip to Greece sounds wonderful.

Robespierre

"The [RER] trip in is really not feasable..."

And yet...thousands of French people do it five days a week.

ellabella

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport and the single room was around EUR 100 per night. The room was very big, very clean, and its walking distance to a small town where I had a fantastic dinner.

rkkwan

Bid 4* Priceline. All of those are fine with free shuttle (or Sheraton which doesn't need one). Just relax.

Cimbrone

I wouldn't try it. I think getting a good night's sleep and having a relaxed morning are more important than squeezing in a blurred two hours of Paris.

Paris is too good to skimp on. Return soon and see it properly.

Robespierre

Skimp on? By that you could mean "less than 6 months."

My advice: see as much as you can in the time you have. We may never pass this way again.

Get a hotel in the Ve or VIe near the St-Michel Notre-Dame RER B station. If you head to the airport by 10:30, you should have plenty of time for a leisurely breakfast and a walk around before checking out. You'll have plenty of time to relax when you get on your flight.

Christina

I'm not clear on when the flight leaves the next day at 1:25 pm, which I suspect, rather than when you depart for the flight, I'd say no way. I always try to get to CDG about 3 hrs before flight time myself, and allow at least 45 minutes more for the trip from Paris. Most tourist sites aren't even open early in the morning. The Eiffel Tower isn't open until 9 and museums aren't open that early, either. Of course you could look at the outside of things but with the getting up, packing, etc., this sounds insane to me to try to plan sightseeing in Paris from say, 7-9 am.

nbujic

ditto
for 2 reasons:

jet-lag
kids

Robespierre

If you get to bed at a reasonable hour, then jetlag will be no more than a minor inconvenience.

Two teens (13 & 18) don't require much in the way of maintenance. You could probably just turn them loose for a couple of hours.

Cimbrone

Turn a 13 and an 18 year old loose for two hours on your first (and only) day in a strange, foreign city just before you have to catch a flight? Are you serious?

raphaekg

Quite a variety of opinions! After digesting your thoughts, I'm leaning toward not going crazy. I'll probably be frustrated with a less-than-satisfying taste of Paris. I will save it for next trip, with or without kids. Not worth getting exhausted or sick, at the beginning of a vacation. Thanks again to all you amazing Fodorites, who have helped me plan my vacations over the last few years!

Cimbrone

I recently had an unexpected six hour layover in Madrid, and I took advantage of the opportunity to taxi into the city and see a bit of it. I had a total of two hours to look around BUT 1) I was on my own (left SO in the airport) 2) Barajas is not nearly the chaos that CDG is 3) it was the middle of the day, so shops were open and 4) I was yet to fly internationally, so I wasn't exhausted. Even so, I was looking at my watch the whole time.

Robespierre

Yes. Maybe my kids are more...capable...than others. My 13-yo had Métro navigation nailed in about ten seconds. I understand there are people who have a problem "figuring it out."

rkkwan

I mastered the Paris Metro system first time I went to Paris at age 10, within 8.7 seconds.

But I'm still saying "no".