I have never been to Paris and don't know when I'll get to go back. I arrive in Charles de Gaulle Airport at 7:40am and depart at 1:30pm. I am going to go into Paris even if it is only for an hour...even if all I have time for is one picture. That is not the issue, I need to see if my itinerary is doable? I have read other posts comparing the modes of transport and recommendations of sites. This is what I am thinking of:

Take the B-RER train to St. Michel/Notre-Dame Stop, transfer to the C-RER over to Invalides, Walk or take the 13Metro to Champs-Elysees Clemenceau Stop.

Walk past Grand & Petit Palais over to the Place de la Concorde.

Walk upto and through Opera to Auber RER stop. RER to Chatelet Les Halles, Switch to the B3-RER back to Charles de Gaulle.

I am not new to travel in the city. I've used public transportation in NY, London, Madrid and Rome--subways, trains, buses...you name it. I know it isn't the easiest, but I'm trying to avoid the rush hour traffic possibility and save money.

I just want to say I've at least seen the Eiffel Tower, not that I need to touch it.

Dear Becky,

If you get out at the St Michel/ND stop you will be right in front of Notre Dame.

From there you can go north to the river and walk west to the end of the Ile de La Cite' and the Pont Neuf.

You will get a very nice view of the Eiffel Tower.

You will also see the Conciergerie and Pl Dauphine. Walk back to ND on the south side of the Ile to see the Left Bank, and turn left at the Blvd du Palais to Eglise St Chapelle on your left.

You can then decide if you want to hang around for a while.

I wouldn't do it myself but if everything really does go smoothly, you will have only about an hour in the city given the time it takes on the train and when you may actually be ready to take it. It could help avoid traffic that way, but it would really be easier just to take the Air France bus to the Arc de Triomphe perhaps than what you have planned.

I wouldn't do what you are planning. I agree with Ira, just get out at Notre Dame. I wouldn't make plans to get over to Clemenceau metro stop for any special reason. But could you do that? yes, if you have enough time. YOu won't walk by the Grand and PEtit Palais from the metro stop going to Concorde, they are south of the boulevard on ave Winston Churchill.

Mmmmm I would bail on the RER and take one of the regularly-scheduled busses. Even with the higher charge the time savings would be worth it.

But next time get more time in the City of Light . . .

Just get out at St. Michel, see the Notre-Dame--you get a good view from the top, and you might also be able to take a boat ride on the Seine. Check on the time though. It will take about 25 minutes from De Gaulle to St. Michel, faster than the bus.

gee, i hope your bags are checked through. i can't imagine lugging even a carry-on around paris.

don't forget to add in time for exit and re-entry immigration and check-in at CDG.

assuming you can exit the metro stop at around 9:30, you should have about two hours walking around time. i would stick with ira's suggestion.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I plan to check all my bags--no carryons to drag around this city. I think I might take the metro to St. Michel and walk as suggested. I couldn't tell how spread out things were (being American, our perspective of distance can be deceiving at times). I was sure if I needed to take the metro up near Place de la Concorde or if it was walkable in that time frame. I am excited and hope I can return to this city with more time in the future, but I'm going to take what I can get for now. When I return, I will post my trip report.

Enjoy, becky

OK, it's a bit crazy but I've done worse (4 hour layover in SFO and Bart did the trick for me! ). A few tips :

1. Given the time of the day, RER is the only option. Any surface transport will be stuck in the morning rush

2. What terminal are you landing at? If it's T1, then subtract 20 to 30 mn to your available time: you can walk to the RER/TGV station from T2, but you have to take a shuttle from T1, and it takes forever.

3. I would do the following itinerary: RER B to Les Halles, change there to RER A to Etoile, and you'll have the Champs Elysees area covered. Walk down the Champs to FD Roosevelt metro, there take line 9 to Havre Caumartin (10 mn), you'll be in the heart of Grands Magasins land, and 200 m from the Opera. You can then walk down the avenue de l'Opera to the Louvre and its pyramid, cross the Carrousel, and you are by the Seine! Take any of the buses on their now dedicated lane on the right bank, and you'll get to Chatelet, with just enough time to admire the scenery around you. In Chatelet, either go left into Les Halles to take the RER B to CDG, or turn right, cross the Ile de la Cite, see Notre-Dame, and take the RER at Saint-Michel.

Remember that the Paris metro runs approximately every minute in the day time, and that there is an 80 second lapse between stations. You'd better get a "Formule 1" day pass that covers all transportation means.

Have fun !

Thanks for that detailed info, Vincent. I'm not sure which terminal I'm landing in. I tried calling the airline to ask, but the person I spoke to, didn't know what I was talking about. I figured I could ask the flight crew, if all else fails. I'm flying a Continental flight from direct from Newark to Paris. After my long layover, I change to an AirFrance flight to Pisa, Italy. My guess is I'll fly in one and out the other.