We have a layover in Paris this summer - we land at 2:15pm in Charles de Gaulle and then have to fly out of Orly at 9:15pm. Assuming we can get into the city around 3pm and then taking into account that we leave for Orly between 7-7:30pm, that gives us about 4 hours, more or less.
Both of us have been to Paris before and have done all the major touristy stuff - museums, the Eiffel Tower, etc. We were thinking maybe we’d get a nice lunch and just hang out for a bit somewhere.
By the time you get to the city and stash your luggage it will be a bit late for lunch. Maybe have coffee, stroll the Viaduc des Arts and a bit west to the Île St Louis, with a stop for Berthillion ice cream. Across a bridge to the south is the Latin Quarter, for another hour of strolling and window-shopping, and then choose a brasserie for an early supper before hopping on the RER.
For safety reasons, you can’t keep your luggabe anywhere close to airports, but a couple of years ago you could at Gare du Nord. I think this affects your plans. They had those lockers with coins.
A lot of restaurants are closed around 3 or 3:30 until dinner service; however, there are quite a few (especially in touristy areas) that will stay open through. Look for service continu on the sign.
Have you spent time around Canal St. Martin? It’s quite lovely.
I would make it as laid back as possible. Just chill somewhere in a nice place to eat and drink a little vino. Then go for a walk with your guy. I was born there, but have not been back since I was a child. Someday…
Yeah, we’ll probably be exhausted after the flight (12 hours from Seoul).
Canal St Martin sounds like a nice option, and it’s near Gare du Nord. I was also considering Montmarte - I love that area, but it’s always packed to the gills and people are constantly trying to get you to buy something.
We happened upon a small restaurant just across the road from there. Our dinner was simple but delicious and the ice cream especially so. The best ice-cream I have ever eaten.
I mentioned to the waiter that it was superb and he gave me a lovely little gallic shrug and pointed across the street …“c’est Berthillion”
So yes. Have yourself a stroll around that area for a few hours. It has the benefit of being within walking distance of the Chatelet/Les Halles stations that bring you in from CDG and get you out to Orly.
Yeah, I was thinking it’d be nice because it’s fairly close to the train station and the kind of place you don’t mind just sitting, hanging out. I hesitate to recommend Montmartre after such a long flight - dazed and jetlagged is not the best way to be when you’re surrounded by the pickpockets, scam artists, and other denizens of the area (and I say that as a Montmarter). By the canal theres plenty of cafés; however, don’t forget that there’s no laws against “open containers” so you could easily make your own picnic lunch with a half bottle of wine. Can’t go through France without having some wine, no matter how short the trip.
What day of the week is your stop over on?
I missed a connecting flight a CDG a couple years ago and wound up with some time to kill. I took the train into town and hung out at, and around, Notre Dame. It was great. Of course, I only had my carry - on with me, and didn’t have to shlep my luggage around. That would have taken some of the fun out of it.
If you wanted a museum, I’d recommend the Musee Rodin; it’s stunning and small enough to easily cover in two hours, let alone four. But maybe just a walk along the Seine and a long lunch at a restaurant would be better.
Also, I think you may be a little optimistic with the travel time into Paris. I’m assuming you’re taking the RER into town… with getting off the plane, getting your luggage, and getting to/taking the train, I’d expect to get into town closer to four pm than three pm.
If it were me, I would stop by Notre Dame, just because I love it there, then stroll through the Left Bank and find a place for a relaxing early dinner.
I would definitely do that, and check out St-Chapelle as well; a late Gothic chapel designed, so they say, as if it were one giant reliquary. You probably won’t want to spend time waiting in line to go up the Eiffel Tower, but it’s well worth looking at close up, even from the ground.
