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Car free day in Paris...

Posted by (Truro, NS, Canada) on

So hubby and I will be arriving in Paris on Sept 27, which is going to be 'car-free' day. We will most likely take public transport to our airbnb, which is in the 15th arr...but right on the border with the 7th (about 15 min walk to Eiffel). Arriving probably early afternoon depending on how long it takes us to get from the airport (plane lands about 9:40).

So...my question...if you were in Paris on car free day...what would you do? Dance down the middle of Champs Elysee? Run circles around the Arc? Is there somewhere that could be really interesting to walk that would be made even more awesome by lack of cars? This will be our 3rd time in Paris (staying 3 nights), and we've seen most of the 'big' stuff, and I have thoughts for our other 2 days, but this seems like a golden opportunity to maybe roam a normally busy car-filled area (I do realize that there will be some traffic from buses and locals and taxis...).

Posted by
299 posts

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s inaugural Journée sans voiture will make the French capital “a pedestrian and bicycle paradise” for one day.
Just looked it up and it sounds really cool. Yeah, I think I'd walk along the Champs Elysees and skip around the Arc de Triomphe. Or, as the mayor said, rent a bike and ride through the streets without fear of les autos!! Have fun!

Posted by
2261 posts

Two things: For the sheer novelty of it I would want to hang around some of the busiest car areas-the Arc, Place de la Concorde, etc, or dance down the Champs, I suppose. Second, I would find a bicycle, and I would ride it.

Posted by
40 posts

So...my question...if you were in Paris on car free day...what would you do?

Unfortunately, that's the day I'm driving out of Paris for Calvados. I hope they let me leave. :-)
(I do plan to be on the road not later than 0900, so I don't anticipate any problems.)

Posted by
3941 posts

I didn't think of doing a bike...but after arriving from an overnight flight, I'm not sure how on the ball we will be. And I don't have the best bike experiences - between taking a header off one in Switzerland (and getting some really huge bruises) and my sad sad performance driving one around Central Park in NYC (yes...that 60 year old jogger is jogging faster than I am peddling - on a straightaway *hangs head in shame) I'm not sure if I'm cut out for more biking...lol. But it would be cool to rent one and maybe bike along the river...and around the Arc - tho I'm sure there will still be some traffic there. I just made a note to research that later today!

Posted by
6509 posts

If I understand the info on the web, they're not fully closing the streets to traffic, just to private cars. If that's correct, be careful as you stroll down those formerly busy streets, the buses might not get you but the taxis will! :-)

If the streets were truly closed to all vehicles, my choices would be the big circles -- Etoile, Bastille, etc. We spent half an hour once just watching the car-truck-bus-motorbike-bike ballet at Bastille, seemingly with no rules but everyone knowing exactly what to do. Pedestrians would have just confused things!

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