Going on a Celebrity cruise and have one day in Paris. Probably 10AM until 10:30PM.
Is it best to take the "cruise tour" or "Do it on your own". If we went on our own-
what would be the "top" places to see and the transportation to do so. Would a private driver be the way to go?????

You definitely don't want a private driver in that Paris traffic if you want to see much of anything at all.

And not sure what you mean by "cruise tour." There are all kinds of boat trips on the Seine, but for clear reasons they just focus on what you can see on the banks of the river. I think you'd definitely want to take one, but it wouldn't really be a "tour" of Paris.

The Paris métro system is excellent. I'd pull out a detailed map of Paris and figure out what highlights you want to catch, then plan a route on the métro and buses. You should be able to do quite a bit in a 12-hour period - maybe the Tour Eiffel, Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle, and Notre Dame at least, plus have a nice lunch (maybe picnic on the boat trip) and maybe a bit of shopping.

I wonder if the "cruise tour" means the on-shore excursion offered by Celebrity?

Is the 10AM to 10:30PM when the ship arrives and departs? Paris is not right on the coast, so transportation to and from the city will take some time. There are some hop-on, hop-off bus tours of the city. L'Open Tour is one that is mentioned here often, although there are others. A cruise on the Seine is definitely worthwhile; they last about an hour and leave from different locations along the river. I've done the Vedettes Pont Neuf cruise three times and it's always the highlight of my day. Just after sunset is my favorite time for the cruise. Be sure to take a little time to wander the charming streets, and enjoy Paris!

I think the type of tour or exploring you do depends on what you want to see. What does the "boat tour offer?" Do you really want to spend the time makeing the travel arrangements..train or what ever. How good are you with reading maps etc? One of my brothers is like a homing pidgeon..never had trouble with direction, once he's been someplace he remembers and can go right back too it etc...as for me? Once I get out of my home territory I'm an idiot...Don't know north from south, right from left so when I'm in a strange city I can spend a whole lot of time trying to find some place...that has lead to a lot of "serendipity" and can a lot of fun, but when your time is so limited, it might not be such a wonderful experience. So, you have to decide what you think you can handle, but what ever you do, I hope you enjoy Paris.

Mary -- The thing I got from my in-laws who frequently use cruises and tours is that the "cruise tour" will be a canned tour that will wing you around town, show you the outsides of a lot of buildings, and maybe drop you at the door of the Louvre and give you an hour or two to see it. They may or may not get you to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

We recently went together for more than a week on an independent trip, and my in-laws were so delighted to spend the time to really see the city. My father-in-law was plain giddy over getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower, among many other things that he didn't have time for on the "cruise tour" they'd had years earlier.

What you have to decide is whether you want to see a LOT in a short time with a herd of people, or if you'd like to venture out on your own and see a few things for longer periods of time.

If I were making the decision, I'd probably want to know where they were going to start the tour, and make some determination about what I'd want to see, how much time it would take to get around to those sights, and then decide whether to ditch the tour and go it alone.

That said, Paris is remarkably easy to get around, both by bus and by subway, and if you're a good walker and have a decent sense of direction and armed with a map, you could do plenty on your own.

You could easily go to Notre Dame, Ste. Chappelle (both on Ile de la Cite, the island in the middle of the Seine in Central Paris) cab it up to Place de la Concorde, walk the Champs Elysees to Arc de Triomphe, take the 92 bus south and get off near the Eiffel Tower (you can get off just over the bridge and walk), go see the park, maybe even go up the tower, and sit in one of the many cafe's there.

At any point that you run out of time you could take a cab to your last stop of the cruise tour to catch your ride back to the boat.

I'd not bother with a private driver. Traffic in Paris can be very bad, and you could end up just sitting in traffic for a large part of your time, when you could be walking/busing or taking the subway.

It's really up to you as to how much work you want to do, how much time you have to plan it, and what style traveler you are.

I'd be glad to help you if you'd like some e-mail advice. I can be reached at [email protected].

Jules

Buy a <i>Mobilis</i> transport pass and get on a bus. Here's a not-very-detailed map that will show you bus routes that interconnect some major sights:

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...aux&amp;fm=pdf
</b>

Check out <b>http://batobus.fr/english</b> - they'll sell you a day pass for 7&euro; with your <i>Mobilis</i> pass, and you can see a lot of history from the river (while eating your <i>panini</i> lunch you bought outside the grocery store).

I posted this on another thread, maybe you can adjust it for your time and interests...

Walk to the Arc de Triomphe (enjoy the traffic circling the monument)
Walk down the Champs, thru Place de la Concorde and into Jardin de Tuileries
(plenty of photo ops)
Walk up to the Louvre for view of famous courtyard with Pei pyramid and Arc de Carrousel
Cross over the Pont du Carrousel to the Rive Gauche, and into Saint Germain
Meander St Germain going toward the Latin Quarter/St Michel
Cross to Ile de la Cite at the Petit Pont and view Notre Dame, circle around to see the flying buttresses architecture and pretty garden in back.
Have a nice dinner somewhere on one of the Iles or nearby
Go to the Seine cruise dock at the tip of Ile de la Cite and take a cruise on the Seine, and enjoy views on the Tour Eiffel (good photo ops if you can stand on the outside deck)

In no case do I recommend walking <u>to</u> the Arc de Triomphe - it's at the top of a hill. Take the bus or M&eacute;tro to Charles de Gaulle-&Eacute;toile, and walk downhill towards Concorde from there.

Actually, I would save the walking altogether for your 2 week long return trip. If you actually have 11½ hours on the ground, you want to conserve your time, not to mention your strength.

If you start to poop out, get on a bus (or the Batobus) and relax for a while enroute to your next destination.

That's true - I took that from a post for someone whose hotel was just off the Arc.
So start at the Arc de T, then adjust the rest as you wish. It's just to get the thought process going...