Categories: First Time in Paris, One Day in Paris, Paris
Today’s show was inspired by a listener question and revolves around this: what amazing things can you do in Paris if you only have a few hours? Maybe you have a layover in Paris on your way to another destination, maybe you have a few hours to kill before a business meeting, maybe you need to wait for a friend who is going to arrive on a different flight. Either way, you don't want to hire a company, you want to do your layover in Paris on your own.
What is the best way to kill a few hours in Paris and do some cool stuff? Don’t waste that time, make the most of it! How? I tell you exactly what to do in this episode. When time is short, having a good strategy is vital or all you'll achieve is rush around and wave your flight goodbye. So let's think it through and do this the smart way!
Here are some of the questions Annie answers on the show:
- What's the minimum amount of time you're going to need to make the layover in Paris on your own work?
- What do you do with your luggage?
- Do you have to take a taxi to save time during your layover in Paris on your own?
- Can you use the RER train to get into Paris while on a layover in Paris?
- How about Les Cars Air France? Is that a good way to get to the center of Paris quickly?
- What are sites that are easy to enjoy while on a layover that will give you a good feel for Paris?
- What is the best thing you can do to fight jet-lag?
- What's the minimum number of hours that will allow you to enjoy your layover in Paris inside the city?
- What are some great walks you could take to get a feel for Paris?
- What are some things you need to know to use luggage lockers in Paris?
List of public lockers at Paris airports and train stations.
Private lockers in Paris. The one I recommend you use is at 6 rue des Bernardins, 75005 Paris.
Places that Will Give You a Great Feel for Paris Quickly
These are the places you should go if you want to get a good feel for Paris in a short time. We've talked about those places in details in other episodes, so I'll refer you to those. But if you just want a quick answer, I'd say either Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower.
- Notre Dame (Episodes 4,5 and 6)
- Walk around the Ile de la Cité (Episode 2)
- Quartier Latin (see our walking tour route in Episode 7)
- Cluny Museum (Episode 8)
- Sainte Chapelle (Episode 3)
- Eiffel Tower and Trocadero (Episode 12)
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Discussed in this Episode
- CDG airport
- RER
- Les Cars Air France
- Eiffel Tower
- Notre Dame de Paris
- Tour Montparnasse
- Bateaux Mouches
- Solo travel in France
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Show NotesCategories: First Time in Paris, One Day in Paris, Paris
We’ve traveled to Paris 6 times in the last 10 years and have used Les Cars from CDG to L’Etoile most of the time. Good price and comfortable, reliable service. We’ve found that if you take a taxi anywhere (perhaps other than a major landmark/station) it helps to have a map printout with your location circled—one taxi driver could not get us from L’Etoile to Rue Cler in the 7th—not that tough. It was a good thing we knew where we were going.
We were asked about layover options from a 60+ couple 2 weeks before your podcast. It was their first time in Paris and they had a 10 hour layover before continuing on to South Africa. Our suggestion was to try the IBIS hotel right there at the airport for a nap and a shower rather than stressing out getting to and from the airport. There are areas to sit outside in the sun and even take a short walk. And then they could attempt Paris on their return trip when they weren’t jetlagged. Age, health, adaptability (like if you haven’t traveled much) are things to consider.
Great podcast with lots of info, as always!