5 hours in Paris in the evening - what to do?

River Cruise!

Don't stay near the airport -- either stay AT the airport at one of the many hotels on airport grounds or in Paris. WE stay at the Novatel when we do this -- good breakfast and right on the CDG VAL. to the terminals and the RER B Roissypole terminal into Paris.

One idea. If a multi course lovely French dinner would delight -- L'INitial is in the 5th not far from the St. Michel Notre Dame stop of the RER. We have eaten many meals here and never been disappointed. Reserve well in advance. And afterwards walk over to Pont Neuf and do an evening Seine cruise. You can bring your own Champagne or get drinks at the bar.

These are great suggestions. Thank you so much. Keep them coming!!

What is your approximate departure time after you check into the hotel? CDGVAL Links the terminals to hotels near terminal 3. Taxis into the city are a flat rate, but you will need an address (your restaurant). It takes about 40 minutes (depending on traffic) to get to the city center. Be sure you tell the taxi company the number of passengers but no luggage. With 8 passengers you will need specialty transport like a minivan .If you’re heart is set on an outside table in March, do your research as you could need one with heaters.
Currently the RER -B is not in service due to maintenance - back in service (maybe March 1).
Is there a place in Paris your group most wants to see such as the Eiffel Tower and choose a restaurant in that vicinity. Book well in advance if the restaurant is well known and liked.
Hope this helps a little - you should get lots of replies but make sure you know all your parameters.

If you decide to do a river cruise, think about this. Dinner cruises are offered by several companies. The reviews have been mixed in the past; some good, some not so good. We think it's better to have a great meal somewhere before the cruise. Then we can concentrate on the views of the city and not have to split our attention between eating and watching the views. That's just our opinion. Vedettes du Pont Neuf is a river cruise company we've used several times and It is not a dinner cruise. We never had to have a reservation. You might want to google them to see if that is still the case. The evening cruises with the city all lit up give new meaning to "the city of lights". Especially when the Eiffel tower twinkles.

Hi,
Here's my two cents: you'll be on the RER B Line coming from the Airport, so I would get off at the Luxembourg stop and walk through the Luxembourg gardens - exit the far end (near the tennis courts and the Senate) onto Rue Vaugirard, turn left and then take a right and walk down to Saint Sulpice Church. Spend some time in there, exit, and with the church to your back, turn right and head down towards the Seine. You'll run into Blvd. Saint Germaine and there are PLENTY of sights to see there (especially the beautiful interior of St Germaine des Pres). A nice brasserie is Le Pre (excellent beef bourguignon), on the corner of Blvd St Germaine and Rue de Four. Two blocks from there is Les Deux Magots, where Hemenway used to drink (very nice but $$$). Both places are great for people watching.

From there you are only a couple of blocks away from another RER B stop to get you back to the airport.

Parks close at dusk -- what are the odds they are arriving before then? Taxi does make more sense with 8 people -- two cabs for 55 each. But the RER is quick, a slight big cheaper and St. Michel Notre Dame is quite central.

It is illegal to have heaters on Paris terraces so you are not terribly likely to. find dinner on a terrace in March.

But one of the great pleasures in travel is to make the best of a short stop like this. We once had an evening in London before a morning flight and had fish and chips in a pub, went to a Gilbert and Sullivan at the Savoy and walked across the bridge by Parliament before bed and then travel the next morning. It was cobbled together once we arrived at our hotel at about 5 and was a real delight. Hope you find the mix of things to make yours wonderful.

The regular dinner cruises are fairly dire but there are some pricier ones that get good reviews. Alain Ducasse runs 200 Euro or more per head and le Calife - 70-100 ---- both get good reviews. If it were me I would do what I suggest -- have a lovely tasting menu at L'Initial and then a cruise -- but not sure the timing would work. A lovely meal and then a stroll along the river at night before heading back would also be lovely.

You could also find a walking tour map (there are many books with tours of various parts of Paris -- and plan to taxi to somewhere in the 5th (just an example) and then do the walk with dinner on the way and then connect with the RER B back to the airport)

First time in Paris, I’d need to see the Eiffel Tower. Take a taxi and have dinner at Les Ombres (make a reservation). Nice restaurant with views of the ET. Sunset on March 5 is 6:40 pm so the ET may be illuminated as early as 7 pm. It twinkles on the hour for 5 minutes. Beautiful. After dinner and dessert it’s a short walk to experience it up close. For me, that would be a perfect evening in Paris.

can't beat the view les Ombres and if the boats are still running there is a Seine cruise that launches just. below the ET and you could then take a cruise -- you don't have to book these ahead, you can play that by ear.

Unfortunately the limit of passengers in cabs is 7 so you will have two cabs if you do that -- but from the right bank only 55 back to the airport.