Paris in 4 hours. What would you do?

opinions4u

Myself, Mrs o4u and o4u Jr (age 15) have a 4 hour window of opportunity to do Paris on a Sunday morning (after waking up close to Stade de France)! Followed by a trip to CDG airport to get us home. We'll have two hand luggage bags and a handbag to lug around with us.

Not too worried about budget (as there's unlikely to be enough time to spend too much) although don't want to be wasteful, so what would you do?

Location to head for - which station / Metro stop etc?
Sights to see - which ones and in which order?
Public transport - what tickets?
Return to airport - taxi or public transport?

We're obviously aware that we can't do it all. While the big towery thing would be nice, it's not essential if we can fit more of the "good stuff" in by heading elsewhere.

What are your thoughts? What would you do?

Hope that gives enough information. Feel free to ask if I've missed anything relevant out.

Voyager2002

CDG is infamous, a nightmare of an airport. The queues to get through security take longer than you would believe possible...

I once had a six-hour stopover there, and yes, it was a Sunday morning in the summer. I headed into town and had a good time, returned to the airport well before my onward flight, and thought I had so much spare time that I even had a coffee and croissant before going through security... And of course I missed my flight!

littlereddevil

I would spend the time in the airport lounge

peachyprice

Where are you coming to Paris from? It's not clear from your post whether you're flying into CDG and then have a free 4 hours or whether you're arriving another way and have 4 hours before you need to leave for CDG.

That makes a big difference, if you're arriving on a flight into CDG and only have 4 hours before you need to check in for the next flight, go nowhere, it's just not worth it.

If you're arriving in the centre of Paris and have 4 hours to kill before you need to leave to get to CDG I would be inclined to get an on-off tour bus ticket. While Paris is small, it's not small enough to be able to see much at all travelling by metro.

opinions4u

For clarity, we're waking up in a hotel near Stade de France and planning to take public transport into the more interesting parts of the city.

maman

opinions4u wrote: »

For clarity, we're waking up in a hotel near Stade de France and planning to take public transport into the more interesting parts of the city.

I think I might take a metro to the Eiffel Tower (just to see it not go up) and then a bateau mouche down the Seine. Any spare time, sit in a pavement caf! and watch the world go by.

Another option is to go to Montmartre and look at the view across the city from Sacre Coeur then wander about and look at the artists and then, if you have time, sit in a pavement caf! and watch the world go by.:)

Voyager2002

peachyprice wrote: »

If you're arriving in the centre of Paris and have 4 hours to kill before you need to leave to get to CDG I would be inclined to get an on-off tour bus ticket. While Paris is small, it's not small enough to be able to see much at all travelling by metro.

Remember that Paris has an excellent bus system, and you can see a lot from a public bus. You could buy a carnet of tickets from any Metro station and use them for bus rides rather than messing about with tour companies.

Beenie

I'd head for the Arc de Triomphe and go to the top. You get a lovely view of several streets (a star shape radiating out from the Arc) and you'll spot some good landmarks. Then I'd go back down and sit at a pavement cafe to have a beer and a snack (quite expensive near the Arc but worth it). Then I'd get to the airport asap.

Dunroamin

Go and have a nice lunch/brunch and get to the airport early.

angelil

Carnet of 10 tickets is probably best for your purposes in terms of getting around.

You have a few options in terms of travel routes and things to do. However, the best one is probably to get the RER B from the Stade de France to Chatelet-les-Halles (get off one stop before, at the Gare du Nord, to drop off your luggage...I don't think Chatelet itself has a left luggage facility - although these guys offer one not far away: http://www.bluemarble.org/ParisLuggage.html). Get off at Chatelet and go to the Pompidou Centre, which has loads of fun modern art and a great (FREE) view of the Eiffel Tower from the top. You can also get lunch in this area and there are plenty of shops as well. Afterwards, you can just get straight back on the RER B to go back to the airport from Chatelet. That'll probably do you for four hours, but if you have any spare time, you could wander down to the Marais (4th arrondissement; St-Paul metro). Public transport is fine for your return to the airport, and it's obviously cheaper than a taxi - just watch out for pickpockets

Maman's first suggestion is a good one (view of Eiffel then boat cruise down the Seine) but Montmartre etc is a bit too far out for such a flying visit. To be honest the suggestion of the Arc is not good - expensive around there as the poster says (and NOT worth it imo), and you can get your free view of it as well from the top of the Pompidou too, so...

opinions4u

Mrs o4u has waded in with a simplistic request. And as she's in charge round here I'll probably have to go with it!

We will get on the RER B in to Paris and we will stay in the same area as an RER B station back to CDG a few hours later.

So what additions to the ideas above do you suggest that will add a bit of interest to the middle of the day and keep Mrs o4u happy?