Paris in 4 hours. What would you do?

toffeegirl

On the way to Reims last week myself and my friends had 4 hours in Paris between arrival at Gare du Nord and departure from Gare de l'est. We dropped our luggage at Gare de l'est and walked down to Notre Dame, via the Troccadero, lingering for a drink and a chat before walking toward the Louvre where we sat and watched the world (and occasional bride and groom) go by. Our walk to the metro had us spy the Eiffel Tower in the distance - another site crossed off the list for those who had not been to Paris before.

It was definitely worth the effort to take in some of the sights - and we were blessed with good weather.

With your added constraint of getting to and through the airport, don't be too ambitious, go to look at, not go in - pick your site, go for it and enjoy!

sandsy

Seine cruise to see as much as possible in a very short time.

MancBrel

I go to Paris once a year, and have many an experience travelling to and from CDG Airport. Not any more, it's Eurostar every time for me now. The train to CDG is quick enough, and depending on your terminal you may have quite a journey after alighting at the airport. But I'm sure you know all that! What is important is that you check that the train is actually running. Strikes are not uncommon, and when they hit the trains, the airport bus service is a nightmare. Hopefully you'll be spared all this, but I would recommend in checking the Paris Forum on Tripadvisor, as planned industrial action tends to get flagged up on there.

opinions4u

Thanks all. Did Notre Dame, a walk down the Seine noseying at all the riverside book stores, a swift view of the top of the big tower thing and a lovely overpriced sandwich and beer in a bar as the world went by.

RER trip back to CDG was fine. Didn't anticipate having to show my passport to leave the Schengen area which was a queue and a half. Air France not very good at keeping a schedule so no issue.

Will probably go back and do it properly next year.