Paris after midnight
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Nov 2016
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Paris after midnight
I plan to be in Paris in December overnight waiting for a flight to the U.S. in the morning. But I don't want to just get a hotel room. I'd rather just go into the city and stay up all night. Is that a feasible plan? I don't speak French. Where can I go after 2 a.m.? I wanted see Eiffel Tower.., Has it light on at night? or is it nothing to see and better to be in the airport?.... if Eiffel tower is nice after midnight, plese how o get there&back cheap&fast?
#5

Joined: Jul 2010
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You don't need to speak French. I am not sure about how late you can get the RER into the city from CDG....not sure where you are coming from. You will certainly have many streets to yourself. Most areas are safe but no guarantees if you are are out alone. Be smart and pay attention to your surroundings.
See the link below to restaurants that are open 24 hours. I don't know that anything will be open in the airport that late, so you may just be stuck sitting at a gate.
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/fr...ants-in-paris/
See the link below to restaurants that are open 24 hours. I don't know that anything will be open in the airport that late, so you may just be stuck sitting at a gate.
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/fr...ants-in-paris/
#6
Joined: Jun 2016
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#8
Joined: Oct 2015
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The suburban train RER B departs from the aiport to Paris til 11pm, and from Paris to the airport from 5am. If your time is other than that, taxi is the only convenient way. The taxi price from the aiport to Paris is fixed, you should look into it beforehand if you intend to get a taxi.
Other than the restaurants list of denisea above, you may go to the Latin Quarter and stroll along the Seine river, then sip a coffee at some 24/24 bar over there. I remember Place Saint-Michel was not deserted during the night, there were bars and music and people, the river bank nearby made for a nice ballad. Or Avenue Champs Elysées is not bad either.
But put your luggage in some locker at the aiport before you venture out. Walk where there are people - please don't go into dark alleys.
Other than the restaurants list of denisea above, you may go to the Latin Quarter and stroll along the Seine river, then sip a coffee at some 24/24 bar over there. I remember Place Saint-Michel was not deserted during the night, there were bars and music and people, the river bank nearby made for a nice ballad. Or Avenue Champs Elysées is not bad either.
But put your luggage in some locker at the aiport before you venture out. Walk where there are people - please don't go into dark alleys.
#9
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 5,564
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The sparkling lights are superimposed over the golden lighting. Made up of 20,000 light bulbs (5,000 per side), they bring the monument to life for 5 minutes every hour on the hour once the Tower has been lit up until 1 am.
Maybe I should have highlighted that.
Maybe I should have highlighted that.
#10

Joined: Aug 2008
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The Metro deadline is between midnight and 1 a.m. Some buses run night routes. Taxis grow very scarce in the wee hours.
http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris/
Depending on when you reach Paris and the hour of your morning take-off, you could take a hotel downtown and then an early RER to Charles de Gaulle, allowing at least 45 minutes for the ride and 2-3 hours for check-in.
But really, the idea of strolling darkened streets alone at 4 a.m. except for the homeless, with most shop windows completely shuttered, does not sound so romantic to me. And, it being Paris, what if it rains?
http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris/
Depending on when you reach Paris and the hour of your morning take-off, you could take a hotel downtown and then an early RER to Charles de Gaulle, allowing at least 45 minutes for the ride and 2-3 hours for check-in.
But really, the idea of strolling darkened streets alone at 4 a.m. except for the homeless, with most shop windows completely shuttered, does not sound so romantic to me. And, it being Paris, what if it rains?
#11

Joined: Jan 2003
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If you must do this, and frankly I would not, familiarize yourself with the G7 English-speaking taxi service so you can call for a ride back to the airport once you're ready to head back to the airport. You're going to have to use a taxi to get into the city to the tune of 55-60 € (and as noted it could be hard to snag a taxi at that hour), as public transportation is scarce at that hour, and you'd have to be sure that any night buses that are available will actually take you somewhere you'd want to be. And it will be 55-60 € back again to the airport (plus a fee for coming to pick you up from wherever you are). You won't see lights on the Eiffel Tower. There will be places open and pockets of activity well into the night, but whether sitting at a bar having a coffee in the middle of the night without the ability to converse with people is an appealing idea to you, I can't say.
I know Paris better than any other place in the world, speak the language, and am not afraid of being out alone "after dark" there. I certainly wouldn't by choice be on the streets alone in the early morning hours, though, unless you are very familiar with the layout of the city - there's hardly anything to do and see. And I certainly wouldn't be wandering alone down by the Seine at that time of night.
All in all it sounds like a bad idea to me.
I know Paris better than any other place in the world, speak the language, and am not afraid of being out alone "after dark" there. I certainly wouldn't by choice be on the streets alone in the early morning hours, though, unless you are very familiar with the layout of the city - there's hardly anything to do and see. And I certainly wouldn't be wandering alone down by the Seine at that time of night.
All in all it sounds like a bad idea to me.
#14
Joined: Aug 2013
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I like Café St.Régis on île St.Louis.
It's one of the few restaurants that remain open 24/7.
But I was amazed at how early Parisians go to bed. By 11 pm, I was often the only person on the metro platform.
Contrary to New York and London, Paris is a city that actually sleeps.
It's one of the few restaurants that remain open 24/7.
But I was amazed at how early Parisians go to bed. By 11 pm, I was often the only person on the metro platform.
Contrary to New York and London, Paris is a city that actually sleeps.
#15
Joined: Sep 2016
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Again spot on.
Where were you in Paris might I ask ? Or did you not realize you were the first ot go to bed at 11 pm ?
When travel half through Paris on my bike to my hotel at 1 am, I'll remember to dismiss the people I see as trolls.
They aren't there... They don't live, so they are trolls.
Where were you in Paris might I ask ? Or did you not realize you were the first ot go to bed at 11 pm ?
When travel half through Paris on my bike to my hotel at 1 am, I'll remember to dismiss the people I see as trolls.
They aren't there... They don't live, so they are trolls.
#16
Joined: Jan 2007
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But I was amazed at how early Parisians go to bed. By 11 pm, I was often the only person on the metro platform.>
But clubs don't even get started until that time -go to a club and dance the night away but that is not cheap either.
But clubs don't even get started until that time -go to a club and dance the night away but that is not cheap either.
#17
Joined: Jun 2004
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One option on how to spend the night might be to go to one of the clubs. For example Aux Troi Mailletz http://www.lestroismailletz.fr/ has a piano bar in the evenings and then a cabaret down in the cave that starts around 11:00 and lasts until around 5:00 in the morning. We have been a few times, and found it to be a continuous parade of high energy acts in the cellar that ends up with both cast and patrons dancing on the stage and central table top.
I'm sure there are other such cabarets and jazz clubs that run all night to which others on the Forum could direct you.
I'm sure there are other such cabarets and jazz clubs that run all night to which others on the Forum could direct you.
#18
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 564
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Apparently, Paris DOES have a reputation for sleeping early, so much hat clubbers have elected a "nightlife mayor", in the hopes they can bring pack Parisian nightlife to its former glory and rival European hotspots like London and Berlin.
In 2009, there was a raft of pub and club closings after persistent noise complaints from those living next to next to them, and that year Le Monde infamously dubbed Paris “the European capital of boredom.”
"One pub owner summed it up: “Paris isn’t the City of Light anymore – it goes to sleep at 11.”
Am interesting read:
http://www.thelocal.fr/20131115/pari...a-joke-anymore
In 2009, there was a raft of pub and club closings after persistent noise complaints from those living next to next to them, and that year Le Monde infamously dubbed Paris “the European capital of boredom.”
"One pub owner summed it up: “Paris isn’t the City of Light anymore – it goes to sleep at 11.”
Am interesting read:
http://www.thelocal.fr/20131115/pari...a-joke-anymore
#20

Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 24,040
Likes: 6
Unless you are into clubbing, Paris after midnight is not all that great. There are lots of cafés and restaurants that don't close until 2am, and then there are a few that don't close until 5am, but frankly unless you know Paris well, they are probably unsuitable for a wanderer.
However, if you absolutely do want pull an all nighter, Les Halles is your best bet. One rue Coquillère, there are two 24/7 bars/restaurants: Le Pied de Cochon and the Brasserie Karlsbraü a few steps away. There are jazz clubs on rue des Lombards, gay bars on rue de la Ferronnerie (straight people welcome), and it's also a pretty good place to wander around part of the time -- near the Seine and Notre Dame and also next to the Pompidou Center which shines through the night...
However, if you absolutely do want pull an all nighter, Les Halles is your best bet. One rue Coquillère, there are two 24/7 bars/restaurants: Le Pied de Cochon and the Brasserie Karlsbraü a few steps away. There are jazz clubs on rue des Lombards, gay bars on rue de la Ferronnerie (straight people welcome), and it's also a pretty good place to wander around part of the time -- near the Seine and Notre Dame and also next to the Pompidou Center which shines through the night...
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JaniceMacP
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Sep 28th, 2013 03:15 PM






