tomboy

If only Al Gore were as concerned....jets here, jets there, meeting others who do the same......

AlessandraZoe

You know, in my youth, during a layover, I took a taxi out to Salt Lake to dip a toe in and I had the taxi driver pass by the Mormon Tabernacle on the way back to the airport. I counted it as a "visit" to Salt Lake City.
No, I would not consider that so today.
To each his own,
AZ

coral22

Thank you for sharing your wonderful day with us! I am sure you have inspired other kindred spirits, with only the option of one day, to go for it!
This would be too much of a whirlwind for most of us, but others might have life circumstances, health issues or budget constraints that would love to have your one day.

I remember my first trip to Paris, upon hearing the French conversation all around me and seeing the Eiffel Tower, I giggled with delight. I am sure you absorbed some of the ambiance and treasured the sights, it sounds like it was what you hoped it would be!

danbiggie0342

Yup, I've done something similar. The metro system is decent, allowing one to move around rather quickly and especially if you get some skip-the line ticket for the places you want to visit, you can definitely visit at least 5 popular tourist attractions in a day.

kerouac

I have gone from Paris to Amsterdam for day trips more than once and thoroughly enjoyed myself, so I'm sure that the reverse is possible, too. Obviously it is not ideal, but it's better tha nothing.

tanek

Yes, Paris really has that je ne sais pas even if you just walk around and don't visit any museums. I didn't even sit in a caffe or bistrot and was a solo traveler and even that way I felt the romantic vibe. Heck, I believe I felt it the moment my plane started to descend. I still remember how the clouds cleared and how I saw those Parisian Haussmann flats appearing. Really like the intro scene of a movie.

Yes, it was February or March, the weather was cloudy/rainy, and I wasn't oblivious to the problems like some immigrants selling tacky things and police looking at them suspiciosly or some street corners smelling like piss, but none of these defracted from the romantic vibe. I expected to be disappointed but I liked it sooo much! It's funny how some overhyped places like Paris, Salzburg and Prague lived up to their hype for me and others like Vienna, London and Athens did not. Anyway, I'm especially glad I saw Notre Dame before the fire (my trip was in 2017). If you like a city in a dreary month that says a lot. I didn't even find the staff at the shop where I bought the box of macarons and croissants rude at all, but I know some French. Even the lady at the train station was nice and dealt fine with my then-rusty French.

I could have even had lunch and a coffee there but the vibe was so nice for even just walking arond the main sights. I really felt like in a movie. Yeah, I know that's just a glimpse of what Paris has to offer but it's apparently a city where even a glimpse is good enough! At least for me. Same like Salzburg and Prague. Vienna is the opposite, a glimpse there could be "Is that it?!". It sure beat having to be stuck in dreary Eindhoven for that day! The Transavia ticket from Amsterdam airport was really cheap. Even the train ticket PAris to NL wasn't all that much. That said I would NOT hop between different places that way. Even for a weekend I'll do just 1 city.

To those who though my day in Paris was too short, this looks like much worse. I present you a Bulgarian travel agency:

"1st day
Flight from Sofia Airport to Charleroi with Ryanair at 05:45 - 07:30. Departure for Amsterdam. Trip in the central part of the city. Departure for Antwerp. Hotel accommodation. Overnight stay.

2nd day
Breakfast. Transfer to Brussels. Downtown tour. Afternoon departure for Paris. Overnight stay in Paris.

3 day
Breakfast. Pre-lunch possibility to visit the Palace of Versailles with advance reservation. At noon, climb the Eiffel Tower and a one-hour river walk Free time along the Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe. Return to the hotel. Overnight stay in Paris.

4 day
Breakfast. A panoramic tour of Paris. Visiting the Latin Quarter with the Pantheon and the Sorbonne, the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, the City Hall, the Louvre, the Tuileries Gardens. At noon departure for Calais. Hotel accommodation and overnight stay at Calais.

5 day
Early morning crossing of the English Channel with the Calais - Dover ferry. Breakfast on the ferry. Arrival in London. Free time or a trip with a local guide, including a combined bus and walking tour. Hotel accommodation. Overnight stay.

6 day
Free time or day trip to Windsor Castle, including transport, entrance and audio guide, booking fee. Flight to Sofia at 18:45 - 23:50 with AK Ryanair."

It's typical for Bulgarian travel agencies to cram as many places/countries as possible. I removed most mentions of sigths, but those trips basically include almost anything touristy you cna think of! So my trip to just see Paris and get a box of macarons and buy croissants was certainly less rushed than that.

P_M

When I first saw this thread I thought it was a bad idea. But after giving it some thought, only one day in Paris is far better than never seeing it. I'm glad you enjoyed your day.

nyse

Yes, one of my favorite days in Paris was when we took a day trip (train) to Luxembourg City.🇱🇺

apersuader65

I used to travel like this - like visiting was a scavenger hunt. I could do an exterior visit of nearly every landmark in Paris in one day. walked up to and touched the Aric de Triomphe and read some of the words on it as I headed down the Champs to the saw the obelisk in Place de la Concorde, walk through the Tuileries, under the arc de triomphe du carrousel, see the pyramid at the Louvre, go north to rue de Rivoli, then down to Tour St. Jacques and then the Hotel de Ville, then turn south and get onto the island and see Notre Dame, turn back west and see the outside of Sainte Chapelle, then turn up to see the Conciergerie. This scavenger hunt walk could be done in a half day. I'd likely win the scavenger hunt, but I wouldn't have seen much, really. Most of this could be done using street view on Google though. Save the expense of getting to Paris and just do it online, it won't feel much different.

Tulips

We do Paris for a day, but it's easy from Belgium. Of course it can be done, but if you are flying from another continent I wouldn't advise it.
That Bulgarian itinerary is insane though.

shelemm

Two opposite things can be true:
1. You don't need much time to get something out of visiting a city.
2. By moving around a lot, you spend an extraordinary amount of time and money on transport rather than being at your destination.

I have no interest in getting on a plane for a one day visit. I have done a 2˝ hour drive to see something for a day. That's probably my limit. If I was in London, I would not even remotely contemplate a plane trip to Paris, even if I had never been.

However, since I have been to Paris, I can tell you I would absolutely not choose what you did for a one-day visit. Walking the Champs-Elysees is a huge waste of time for no good reason. Is it to see the Macdonalds? Or the Foot Locker? How about the Sephora store or Zara? I hear they have a Starbucks.... OMG I feel like a teenager again.

AlessandraZoe

apersuader65, the "scavenger hunt" analogy made me laugh this morning. So true, and very early in our travel days, I was so guilty of that.
I find it ironic that now after 20 or so trips to Paris where that we can't possibly collect more "scavenger hunt" site points, we often DO walk like that in Paris because it's such fun city to walk around in. I'm always surprised to find at the end of the Paris day, I the couch potato just walked 10-15 miles.

shelemm, re Champs Elysee. OMG, that was my first thought. Now THAT is a street I'm never doing again.

tanek

Not really. Street View doesn't really make you feel the vibe of a place, nor are you really surrounded by locasl in real life. Many places look good on Street View but don't feel as nice in real life. Yet, Paris has this special vibe and energy. It can't be felt from photos at all. Sure, it looks beautiful on them. But photos are 2D flat. The air in Paris deffinitely felt different than that of Amsterdam.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I don't think experiencing the Paris air and avenues is wasted time for what felt like the cost of going out in Amsterdam. Each location has its own energy.
Some have to go to do something like see a museum, but I just enjoy a lax walk to see the main sights/symbols of a city.

Now I no longer live in the NL I wouldn't waste 3 hours of my life to fly to Paris and just do that, no way! But I did Athens for just 2 nights/3 days and it was enough for it. I didn't like it as much as I expected so I went 7 hours earlier than my flight to the airport. SO in a way I'm glad I didn't do more than 2 nights. So those probing trips are worth it if they're really cheap. I don't want to book 4+ nights in a country/city I've never been to, even 2 feel too many if you don't end up liking it. And I toally loved Athens on Street View so my disappointment was huge. Honestly, I loved the Acropolis and the beaches but nothing else.

apersuader65

[QUOTE=AlessandraZoe;17538160]apersuader65, the "scavenger hunt" analogy made me laugh this morning. So true, and very early in our travel days, I was so guilty of that.

The other thing we used to do, take pictures of all the sites. I was to excited to actually get pictures with US at the damn Eiffel Tower, but had dozens of the tower itself. Ended that charade on our third trip and now only take pictures of us.

ChristopSim

Sounds like you had a great time! But as you say, it takes a lot more time to see Paris in detail. I am in awe of Paris and it would take me a lifetime to enjoy it. I've even started thinking about immigrating, but I think I need to hear more opinions about it. Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience.

tanek

Well even a drop of Paris was good enough for me when you consider I lived in the dreary drabness of Eindhoven.

ChristopSim

On this dreary, foggy day, my thoughts are once again on Paris.

rouelan

are you sure you are reading reliable sources?
All the names quoted as immigrants are 100% French. Dubuffet, no idea why he is quoted. Duras parents were civil servants who worked overseas, Camus was a prominent figure of Algeria at a time it was a French department, and Cesaire is from Martinique, a French overseas department.
Couscous was rather imported to metropolitan France by "pieds noirs", ie Europeans that had to leave Algeria for Metropole after the independence.

ChristopSim

Yes, I think you're right.... Marguerite Duras, Aimé Césaire, and Albert Camus were not immigrants in the traditional sense of the word.

ParisMetro

> Passed by the Moulin Rouge on my way to the Gare / train station (I don't rememebr which one as it's not far from two train stations).

Metro 2 Blanche station with 1 exit near Moulin Rouge.
For Nation direction (eastbound), get off at the Last carriage, so you're close to the exit.
For Pte. Dauphine (westbound), get off at the 1st carriage...