Paris in one day
 

Hello to all!
I hope you can give some ideas regarding beautiful Paris!
So, I am going to Paris for just a day, that means arriving by TGV train at 11.40 and leaving the next day at 18.30. It's not much time and Paris is big, so I would like your help as to where exactly I should go at that time.
I'm prepared to walk a lot, but also I would like to know where I should go by metro, and which distances I should walk.
Any suggestions would be great! Thanks!

Hi there,

There are tonnes of things to see in Paris. If you give us a wish list of what you would like to see we can give you suggestions about how to do it. Its impossible to make suggestions without knowing what your priorities are and whether you have been before etc....

Thanks for replying. I haven't been there before, and I want to see the most basics things I could in a short time.
For example, we arrive at 11.40 at Gare de l'Est. Should I take metro to the Eiffel tower and make a walk towards the Seine? And then take the metro to somewhere else.. (Monmartre maybe?). I don't have the time to visit museums (maybe just the Louvre quickly), so I would basically like to know the best places to walk to.

I would take the Metro to teh Arc de Triomphe and then down to Trocadaro - best view of the Eiffel Tower. Then walk towards the river and walk along - crossing Pont Alex. (the big beautiful bridge) to Place de la Concorde, through Tuileries Garden to the Louvre, back along the river to Notre Dame. Long day of walking but should cover the highlights.

Day two you could go up to Montmartre...or Marais...or...

That seems a good start. Thanks a lot!
Also where would you propose to stay for 1 night? Near the train station, or more centrally? Or is it the same because of the good metro connection between them?

I wouldnt stay near the train station - I would stay in the 5th Latin Quarter because its very lively and is by Notre Dame so you could end there and just walk to your hotel. Everything is very well connected by metro. No one area is 'central' to all sites but anywhere in arrond 1-7 is considered 'central'.

A good way to see many of the sights briefly is to take a Seine river cruise. The Ponts du Vedettes leaves from the tip of the Ile de la Cite. If you start near sunset, you can see the lights come on all over Paris.

What train station do you leave from. You will probably need to leave your luggage at your hotel for the day (they will do that) of your departure, so you really might like to stay near the station. There are some very adequate hotels near the Gare de l'Est.
You really might like to poke your head into the Musee d'Orsay--the space itself is stunning (to me). And taking an hour and going through the 3rd floor Impressionists might be such a thrill, IF that style is your cuppa.
There is a bus that goes all the way down the Champs Elysees, and turns at Place de la Concorde. that would be a great trip for a respite from your walk, and a lot to see. Maybe someone will supply the number.
You would like to see Notre Dame, and perhaps take some of your precious time to go in Sainte Chapelle.
To see the Eiffel Tower you might like to go to the Trocadero for the best full on view, or to the Champs de Mars for a view from the other side. Champs de mars would be a great picnic spot--pick up a sandwich at a shop.

I believe you first need to check in to your hotel?
I might suggest going to Place des Vosges from your hotel for lunch. One of the oldest and most beautiful squares of Paris
Skip the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee.
Metro to Trocadero, walk between the Palais Chaillot buildings for a gradn view of the Eiffel, then walk over.

After this you have many choices. You could walk along the Seine to Notre Dame. The views along the river are nice. Wander the Islands. Probably no time for st Chapelle this day

After a nice dinner on the Left Bank, walk to Vedettes du Point Neuf on the western tip of Ile de la Cite. A nighttime cruise would be memorable.

Day 2 could be much more full. With little time, I would probably skip Montmartre, unless you do a visit by going on the Hop-On Hop-Off bus. You could start day at Place de la Concorde...Right Bank stuff (Louvre - outside, Palais Royal,the Passages, Garnier,etc).. cross over...Left bank stuff..(Blvd St Germain, Luxembourg Gardens, rue de Buci,etc..)

Thank you all for your suggestions so far! You are being very helpful. I will buy a map and start organizing!

If you want to do a museum...D'Orsay is more doable in one day.

I concur that going to the Trocodero and walking through the Palais Chailot for the best view of the Eiffel Tower. You can take your "Paris" photo there with the tower in the background. Walk down to the tower and look around, then walk down below the bridge to take one of the boats on the Seine cruise. I like the tour at twilight or at night, when the landmarks are illuminated.

Have you done ANY research about Paris?
Do you have ANY interests toward which we might steer our advice?
How did you hear about Paris?

Tomboy, I really don't get your question, How did I hear about Paris??????????? Of course I know the basic things about Paris, but since I am going there for the first time and just for one day and a half, I would like some opinions one what someone (a tourist) would prefer to do in such a while. Thanks again!

To get a full vision of paris in a day , i recommand you a vespa tour of paris : http://scootertours.com/paris-in-a-day-tour/

I would forget Montmartre in such a quick timeframe. It's far from the city center and really doesn't offer THAT much of the central sites of Paris. I would do what I often do in Paris, which is organize a long walk between the Ile de la Cité and the Champ de Mars. stopping at various sites including Notre Dame, a bunch of places in the Latin Quarter, the banks of the Seine and les bouquinistes, then on to the Musée D'Orsay (even a quick runaround it is exhilarating), then on to the Musée Rodin, even just for the gardens and sculpture outdoors, then the Musée de l'Armée and Les Invalides, including the lovely park between it and the Seine, then a stroll around rue Cler for the shops, then maybe up the avenue Bosquet and across the Seine for a visit to the Place Victor Hugo, the Palais de Chaillot,and all that...of course, you could take buses, too, but Paris to me is all about walking (when I have two working feet, of course, which I don't at the moment).

This thread is 1.5 years old. Presumably the OP has already taken her day in Paris.

I suggested twice to the editors to display, for each thread, the "Starting Date" together with info which are shown now ( title, number of responses and most recent).

They said that will think about this, but meantime, no result. I really consider that this "starting date" will help, as many of us will not open / try to answer to a very old thread.

What do you think?

The old thread was topped by a spammer advertising a vespa tour!

Alec - the "slammer" joined the board over a year ago. Usually advertisers join and then post their advertising immediately, not wait over a year to do so.

Valtor - I think the original date for each post is too much data and will be confused with the post date. Once you open the thread it's easy to see the original date.