We are a family of four arriving in Paris on the Eurostar from London for the day. My thoughts are that we would like to see (part of) the Louvre, stroll the Champs d%26#39;Elysee, and do the Eiffel Tower.
My questions are--Can we do that in eight hours? And what is the best form of transportation. Can we walk it all or should we take a cab? Is there a Metro pass for the day? And would you do it in the order I have listed?
Thanks for your advice....
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I recommend skipping the Champs Elysees stroll. It is really just a big, outdoor shopping mall with stuff you can easily find in Canada.
Here is a sample itinerary :
Take the metro from the Gare du Nord to the Louvre. After the Louvre, hop in a cab to the Eiffel Tower, asking the driver to make a detour around the Arc de Triomphe. After the ET you%26#39;ll have time to see Notre Dame and stroll the Latin Qtr or the Ile St Louis before hopping back into the metro line 4 for the Gare du Nord and the train back.
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One of the most popular ways to get about and see the major sights and attractions of Paris is to purchase a ticket on one of the double-decker, %26#39;..hop-on / hop-off..%26#39; tour buses that make regular %26#39;..circuits..%26#39; of the city (like the brown %26amp; tan %26amp; red %26amp; white double-deckers in London). The best is probably PARIS L%26#39; OPEN TOURS, which has a stop just across from Gare du Nord--
PARIS L%26#39; OPEN TOURS--(four diferent, inter-connected, transferable %26#39;circuits%26#39;)--
http://www.paris-opentour.com/index_eng.htm
Les CARS ROUGES--
http://www.carsrouges.com/uk/index.html
The %26#39;hop-on/hop-off%26#39; tours are great for general sightseeing....but you are bound by the direction of the %26#39;circuits%26#39; and their less frequent schedules.
If you%26#39;re family members have specific items on their agendas of %26#39;..MUST SEE / DO..%26#39; you might be better off by purchasing one-day MOBILIS Zones 1-2 transportation passes (5,50€) and making your own %26#39;..tour..%26#39;.
But either way you work it out, you should be able to hit most of the places on your own priorities list.....but bear in mind that you can spend a fair amount of time waiting on lines at popular sites and attractions. So you need to use some discretion in the selection of places you visit. As an example, between standing in line for tickets, then for the elevators up and then again for the elevators down....a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower can conceiveably eat up anywhere from 2-to-3 hours. The Louvre is a magnificent place....but it gobbles up time like nobody%26#39;s business.
If there%26#39;s one common %26#39;..mistake..%26#39; that people make in brief trips to Paris it%26#39;s that they try to do and see entirely TOO MUCH (but who can really blame %26#39;em...it%26#39;s PARIS !!)...and spend the better parts of their day(s) rushing about, seeing the %26#39;..sights..%26#39; but missing PARIS in the process. Sometimes...LESS is MORE. Pick two or three places / things that you want to see or do and leave the rest to however the day goes...or your NEXT visit....and try to %26#39;..invest..%26#39; some time sitting on a comfortable café chair or bench in a park doing nothing more than watching the world watch you watching the world as it passes by. RELAX !!!
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