# 10 hours in Paris **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 26, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273 "2008-09-26T02:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/1 "2008-09-26T02:31:09Z")
I’m going to be in Paris for about ten hours next Friday afternoon. I will be with people who don’t drink so that’s out of the question. Hell, I tend not to drink. Still: The wife and kid are staying home, and I want to bring them back something nice. The wife normally wears Sung, but some perfumes smell like RAID on her. I’d like very much to bring something back to the wife and daughter, in the $50 range, and compact- I’ll have to carry it halfway across Africa before I can bring it back. Also, I need ideas where to go/what to do while there. I speak no french. A little help? Thaniks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/2 "2008-09-26T02:41:53Z")
I had a similar layover in Paris by myself a few years back. It was a little longer. I think I was 20. I found a bar in CDG and started getting pissed on some terrible French beer - it was named after a year - 16-something? Then I had the unbelievable fortune to meet a cute local girl who ponied up something about equivalent of $100 American for a cab ride to the Eiffel Tower. We made out in the back of the cab and I had to pee real bad when we got there. She said (I’ll never forget these words): “You are a boy, zee whirrled eez your toilet!” So I took her cue and peed right on the base of the Eiffel Tower. It was 2 or 3 in the morning so very few people were there. No offense intended, I love France and the French, but I thought it was damn funny. Everybody I met were honestly some of the nicest people ever, but this was maybe 2 years before the invasion of Iraq / Freedom Fries, etc, so I don’t know if the general attitude toward Americans has changed or if you’re even American anyway. This is all very unhelpful to you but I love telling that story. If I could say anything helpful, just try your hardest to speak any amount of French you know, no matter how infinitesimal. Even if it’s just bonjour. I did run into one lady, before I met the local girl, who acted like she didn’t know what the Eiffel Tower was until I dug real deep into the cobwebs of my brain and remembered they call it Le Tour Effel. After that she was friendly and helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/3 "2008-09-26T07:14:11Z")
Go to Notre Dame, on the way out of it, turn left, cross the avenue and walk along the Seine, you may find some nice souvenirs there. Also try to get lost in the small, winding streets on that side of the avenue, very delightful little shops there, I had a wonderful dinner with a friend when I spent _11_ hours in Pairs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/4 "2008-09-26T10:42:07Z")
That’s hot. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/5 "2008-09-26T10:57:11Z")
Mon Dieu! **Billy Rubin** is back!!! And yes, I can still quote parts of your prehensile rectum rant by heart. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/6 "2008-09-26T11:15:53Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > That’s hot. _PARIS_, I spent 11 hours in Paris… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/7 "2008-09-26T12:57:22Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Go to Notre Dame, on the way out of it, turn left, cross the avenue and walk along the Seine, you may find some nice souvenirs there. Plus, admittance is FREE! 🙂 I loved Notre-Dame. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/8 "2008-09-26T14:49:52Z")
Yeah, the area around Saint Michel/Notre Dame is great for touristy things/souvenirs. If you’re getting into CdG, then the RER B into town is your best bet – will take about an hour to Saint Michel/Notre Dame station. Plus its only a short walk across the river to Rue de Rivoli (think the French Oxford Street). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/9 "2008-09-26T14:52:33Z")
> [@Billy\_Rubin](#): > > I’d like very much to bring something back to the wife and daughter… So… they’ll always halve Paris? Damn Billy Boy, awfully nice to see you here again. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/10 "2008-09-26T15:16:15Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > … I dug real deep into the cobwebs of my brain and remembered they call it Le Tour Effel. After that she was friendly and helpful. Nitpick: La Tour Eiffel, though it’s Le Tour de France. The French language has two nouns “tour”, cognate with English “tower” and “tour” respectively, and the one meaning “tower” is feminine. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/11 "2008-09-26T17:29:18Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Mon Dieu! **Billy Rubin** is back!!! > > And yes, I can still quote parts of your prehensile rectum rant by heart. Precisely why I even bothered to click into this thread. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/12 "2008-09-26T17:44:45Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > I had a similar layover in Paris by myself a few years back. It was a little longer. I think I was 20. I found a bar in CDG and started getting pissed on some terrible French beer - it was named after a year - 16-something? 1664? A friend went to France in high school while I went to Greece, and I had a small bottle collection going. He brought back one of these. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/13 "2008-09-26T20:55:08Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > And yes, I can still quote parts of your prehensile rectum rant by heart. Remember when he broke huge wind on the escalator, unaware that a handicapped person in a wheelchair had just rolled right up behind him? ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/14 "2008-09-26T21:02:18Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Remember when he broke huge wind on the escalator, unaware that a handicapped person in a wheelchair had just rolled right up behind him? Shhh, you’re scaring the newbies. Welcome back **Billy Rubin**. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Billy\_Rubin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billy_rubin/32/3622_2.png) [@Billy\_Rubin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy_Rubin)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/15 "2008-09-27T01:34:23Z")
it’s not like I ever left. I just developed a full time life which required my presence. But, thanks, all, it’s nice to be remembered. And thanks for the info, everyone. The Notre Dame thing sounds like our best bet. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/16 "2008-09-27T02:32:41Z")
I’m weird; I’ve never denied that. For your personal enjoyment while there, I’d go to Pere Lachaise cemetery. You can visit the grave of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Abelard and Heloise… > **[Père Lachaise Cemetery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pere_Lachaise)** > > Père Lachaise Cemetery (French: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise \[simtjɛʁ dy pɛʁ laʃɛːz\]; formerly cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at 44 hectares or 110 acres. With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures in the arts buried at Père Lachaise include Colette, Michel Ney, Frédéric Chopin, Émile Waldteufel, Édith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Georges Méliès, Marcel Marceau, Olivia de Havilland, Sarah B Or you could visit the catacombs. > **[Catacombs of Paris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris)** > > The Catacombs of Paris (French: Catacombes de Paris, pronunciationⓘ) are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people. Built to consolidate Paris's ancient stone quarries, they extend south from the Barrière d'Enfer ("Gate of Hell") former city gate; the ossuary was created as part of the effort to eliminate the city's overflowing cemeteries. Preparation work began shortly after a 1774 series of basement wall collapses around the Holy Innocent Th... ---
**Author:** ![RickQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@RickQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickQ)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/17 "2008-09-27T02:33:09Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > it was named after a year - 16-something? Kronenberg 1664. I used to drink it some in England. Brynda and I just got back from 4 1/2 days in France. If you are going to Notre Dame, try and get to Sainte Chappelle. It is basically on the next block over from Notre Dame. You actually head into the Justice department and there is this amazing chapel with 50 foot stained glass windows. The entire upper level is stained glass except for about 6 inches of brick between each window. The Eiffel Tower was cool but very crowded and you can get a great view from une beteaux mouche (river boat). $50 is only about $35 Euro, but you can get some beautiful art and if you look along the banks of the Seine you will by buying from the actual artists. I would also recommend trying to speak as much French as you can. Most of the people we interacted with spoke good English, but they did seem to appreciate when we said bonjour and merci. Hope you have a great time. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/18 "2008-09-27T04:25:09Z")
I recommend you get on Loop 286 and go South. You will see the Eiffel Tower next to the Love Civic Center. Continue around the loop until you get to 19/24. Take that exit and follow it to the Depot. Stop at Jaxx, mention my name, and have a burger on me. Actually, split the burger between two people as it will be big enough to fill two. After reading the thread, I see you are going to the other Paris. :smack: Anyway, greetings from Paris, Texas. SSG Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2008, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-hours-in-paris/465273/19 "2008-09-27T05:49:27Z")
Are you at all into Impressionist art? I strongly recommend \*Le Musée d’Orsay. \*Especially the top floor.