Overnight layover in Paris
 

I will be traveling solo in November and will have a 15hr layover in Pairs. My flight gets in at 8pm. It will be a European flight so getting out of the airport should be quick and easy. Could I get some suggestions on stuff to do, places to eat, etc? I know most attractions will be closing but anything would help.

Thank you in advance for any advice

Were you thinking of going into Paris?? Do you intend to check into a hotel and sleep (at all)? Don't you have to be back at the airport at around 8 or 9 a.m. at the latest?

I would just head to one of the nicer hotels near CDG... CitizenM, Pullman, etc.

Yes. Maybe a quick ride into Paris on RER for drinks or some such seems the maximum to me.

PS, the area around Gare du Nord is now gentrifying, also because Olympics 2024, so there's a lot of new restaurants and bars setting up there.

The Novotel is a moderately priced hotel at the airport which directly adjoins the RER. It also has a good dining room for middle-of-the-road food.

Lavandula

My flight does not leave until 11:05 am and I am flying business class so check in will be quick. I plan on getting a hotel. Mainly looking for a good place to eat with a good view that will be open 1030pm or after. Never been to Paris.

Here are some late night places, but they may have changed hours due to the plague. Check before you commit yourself.

https://frenchly.us/paris-24-7-resta...te-night-food/

Getting a hotel where - in central Paris or at the airport?? Check in won't necessarily be quick what with covid checks and the zoo that CDG typically is. Even flying business class I'd want to be at the airport no later than 08:30. (in Coach - more like 07:30-ish)

I don't know the current situation at CDG, but I wouldn't be playing beat the clock at any airport during Covid times.

Not having been to Paris would be a reasonable excuse for a quick trip into the city, but I don't think you'd get all that much out of it, esp. if you intend to eat a meal. You might have an hour to walk around that night and if you got up early perhaps another hour to walk around in the morning before heading to CDG. I'd pick a hotel with reception open at least until midnight (in case your inbound flight is delayed) and in a location close to a couple of things you might want to see up close.

If I were in your shoes, I would get an airport hotel. I don't see the point of going into Paris after dark just for a meal and a place to sleep. And to be back for an 11am flight you'd want to leave the city by 8am or so... Really nothing "scenic" about the ride/drive to and from the airport.

OK, I beg to differ. Paris at night is lovely with all the monuments well lit. I would go into Paris and stroll about enjoying the beautiful city. You can go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower which is fun to do at night as it is beautifully lit and have dinner at a nice restaurant nearby. You can decide to either spend the night in Paris or at an airport hotel. I think I would just head to Paris and plan to have a late night and early morning because ...it's PARIS!

I hope someone else can chime in with restaurant recommendations but I found the article below.

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nyti...ance%252Fparis

Just a few questions. Are you checking baggage? Will you have a Pass Sanitaire or another EU equivalent? Are you flying to the US? What day of week are you departing CDG? What do you plan to do with your luggage? There is a secondary security check at CDG for departures to the US but business class should get you priority.

Can you change your flight so that you have a longer layover? Sometimes I see 21-23 hour layovers. In fact, sometimes I see layovers of more than 30 hours, but this is for the airline's convenience as layovers are typically limited to fewer than 24 hours. Anyway, just a few hours added to your layover would make this a very workable idea. On your current schedule you could fit in a quick dinner and walk around part of the Latin Quarter. You would probably need to plan on getting by with six hours of sleep or less.

One problem is that the first time taking the RER or the Paris Metro is apt to be very confusing and add some travel time. It can be hard to figure out how to buy tickets, etc.

Addendum: Other people have raised the issue of health requirements. These might make this virtually impossible.

It's possible there could be airline schedule changes for either or both flights in the coming weeks. Are you booked on a single ticket (from start, plus layover, to final destination) or two separate tickets (one to Paris and another to final destination)?

Or there could be steady rain on arrival.

I think this is a time for having a Plan A, a Plan B and even a Plan C... with a where-to-leave-the-luggage answer for each plan.

HI, Yimmie.
RE: Getting to the city center from the airports
There is a fixed rate from Orly and CDG using the official taxi ranks, so that might be the easiest way to go. There are (2) of us traveling in November, so we're bypassing the RER. As a solo traveler, it'll be cheaper to do the RER, but not sure yet how long the train vs a taxi would be at 8/9 pm at night.

Sorry, I can't help with restaurant suggestions. I'd recommend the tripadvisor Paris forum. There's lots of Paris experts over there. Good luck planning!

I would do it. In fact, I did it on my last trip to Paris. Thanks to Delta.
I was flying home from Greece and they wanted my Comfort+ seat for their last flight out of Athens for the season. They made a great offer for $ that included a night at the Sofitel in Athens. I countered with an overnight in Paris with enough time on the ground for me to actually DO something. I think the gate agent took it as a personal mission and found something that would work. As she was researching, I modified my request and said to skip the hotel part and give me 200 for the hotel part of it and I'd book my own hotel - after checking with my favorite hotel first to make sure they had availability. It all worked out!

I arrived late and don't remember the details but the taxi line was not long and I was coming into Paris and crossing the Seine about 9:30 pm (according to my photo time stamp). Arrived at my favorite hotel about 9:45. Ordered room service - I ADORE their room service and the food arrived by 10:15. I was so happy to be back in Paris. Up early the next morning and it was raining! Borrowed an umbrella from the hotel, layered up everything I had to wear (from my Greece trip) and added a woolen shawl (purchased in London on my previous Paris/ London trip) and was OUT the door. The following photos were taken using my smartphone camera. It was a magical morning!
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Arrival at my favorite hotel!
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I love their tomato soup! Hot chocolate for dessert. It was 10 pm.
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I walked for hours, watched shops open up, over to the ET and back again. Returned to the hotel for a large breakfast in their conservatory, arranged for a car to pick me up and then back out for a few minutes to walk around the Luxembourg Gardens and then back to the hotel to grab my bags and get into the town car. I think my flight out was at 3. At noon I was back in the lobby to head out.

It was a magical morning. Less than 24 hours on the ground. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. If your flight lands at 8, you can have a late dinner in Paris. My flight was later than that. A very short Paris fix, but wonderful!

More photos -
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Town car back to the airport.
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Back at the hotel lobby at noon. So I was out and about for about 5 hours, exploring that morning.
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starrs You know how to travel. Lovely pics.

I would never do that either (go into Paris for a couple hours just to eat dinner). I don't see the point unless you have boundless energy, I guess. Sounds like this is the end of a trip, and it isn't clear what kind of flight the next day. If you've never been there, you also aren't going to easily know how to do stuff, etc. (such as take the RER). And what about the time to check into a hotel and you will have luggage, of course. While convenioent around the Gare du Nord for the RER and to stay, I would not say eating at some cafe around Gare du Nord at 11 pm is going to be a magical experience for your first trip to Paris.

I would also never leave central Paris by car only 3 hours in advance of a flight unless it were a local domestic flight. I would never do that for an international flight outside the Schengen zone. I do usually allow about an hour transit to CDG from central Paris, though, however I do it. Of course it depends where you are staying and if you need to transfer for the RER and how long it takes. If you were staying near Gare du Nord, that is a straight shot with no transfers.


There are no attractions open at night. The Eiffel Tower closes around 6 pm in winter. November weather can be dreary, of course, anyway. I mean museums, etc. certainly aren't open late at night. Even the night Seine cruises are not open past 9 pm or so in winter. You won't even get to the center of Paris until maybe 9:30-10 pm if lucky, and then you have to check into a hotel. The only "attraction" would be to walk around and look at stuff, like the bridges and monuments lit up, along the Seine, etc. Walking around the Gare du Nord quartier is not going to be scenic.

Of course there are some jazz clubs open late and some good ones in that general area of Right Bank.

But note that you can't do any of this without a lot of preparation regarding the Pass Sanitaire for France, you can't go anywhere, not even a cafe. I suspect you may know about that since you don't mention it.

But if you do know all about that and have the Pass Sanitaire, the only great restaurant with a view might be something near the Seine, probably. Used to be some with view of ND but now that's now as great a view. My favorite restaurant with a view of the Eiffel Tower is Chez Francis across the river near pont de l'Alma
Richard Paris
I presume the tower will still be lit up even if you can't go in it past 6 pm.

What was your favorite Paris hotel?

Thank you. It was a fabulous day less than 24 hours.
Based on your flights, you could enjoy Paris at night. I had a wonderful morning before my flight out.
It was a surprise "Paris fix". I'm happy to have figured out a way to get back in a few months. ((l))