We will be traveling with our daughter and 2-year-old granddaughter from San Francisco to Paris in June. Our flight arrives at 11am and unfortunately our airbnb in the Bastille will not allow us to drop off our luggage before the 3pm arrival time. We travel light and ordinarily we would take a cab into Paris and have a long lunch at a restaurant that has outdoor seating until we can check in but with a toddler in tow, we need to think of an alternative. We're wondering if it would be possible to stay at CDG where there is seating in the waiting area, food and bathrooms available then cab it to Paris around 2:30pm? I can't remember whether the arrivals area at CDG is conducive to waiting it out with restaurants and bathrooms nearby like JFK is. I'd prefer to head straight to the customs/passport area after we land to get that stress over with then head into Paris but with a jet-lagged toddler it doesn't look like a workable idea. We'd appreciate any ideas you may have. One possibility would be to book the day before but we'd like to avoid the additional $500 expense. Thank you.
Posted by
Sioux Falls, SD, USA
3226 posts
I'd go into Paris, go to the outdoor brasserie/cafe, and have lunch. It will take an hour to get in, you can lunch for a period and then go for a walk. Maybe 1 person can be the baggage minder while the other 2 take the kiddo for the prominade?
Posted by
1755 posts
There's no place to wait, sit, dine, before immigration, and then from there you get swept over to baggage claim. The absolute earliest you'd get into the city center is probably 1pm. So you are really talking about 2 hours.
There was a recent conversation on the forum that I can't seem to find, about a woman (flying in separately) trying to meet up with a college son in the airport before immigration. The end result of the conversation was they decided to meet up at an airport hotel; taking the airport shuttle over to the hotel.
You could also do something like that, get lunch at the airport hotel, etc. then take a taxi from the hotel to city center.
Posted by
Denver, CO
878 posts
I'd go into Paris too. Head to one of the many parks and pick up some sandwiches or other grab and go items. The toddler can run and play - or even nap. Then take a cab from there. This sounds like a more enjoyable start to the trip than waiting at CDG.
Posted by
Boston
429 posts
I agree with Dawn. Look on a map. Anything in green, no matter how small, is likely a park. Look for something close to your lodging. One stays with the toddler and luggage and the other goes to find food to bring back from the local boulangerie.
This is all predicated on a sunny sky. Or at least no rain.
If it's raining, I got nothin.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
2123 posts
There are city parks and playgrounds in the area, so see if there is one near your airbnb. Also, 2.5+ hours is not a bad estimate of how long it could take you from landing to 3:00pm check-in. Your airbnb host really ought to be able to help you plan (like, one playground might be nice and another might be ratty). It has happened to us several times that the airbnb guests staying in the apartment before you are not slobs, but very tidy, so the clean-up takes less time and the host lets us in early.
I hope your granddaughter can sleep on the plane. She'll still be jet-lagged but at least not also sleep-deprived. Our son and another 3-year-old's father stood up for hours so that our grandson and the other kid could stretch out and sleep.
Anyway, I am pretty sure that staying in the airport is your worst option. Maybe somebody else here knows CDG better than I do.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
16988 posts
I agree with KD....you are channeled thru from your plane to Immigration to Baggage Claim to Customs with nothing in between but people. IF you are coming into 2E, there is a small waiting area right outside the secure area exit that would not be comfortable for you and the kiddo. While there are seats it's noisy with lots of transportation people holding up signs and looking for their customers. There is a small grocery store right there which used to be a M&S but I think has changed hands. They should have food to go if you needed it and there are bathrooms right there as well. This is also an area where the taxi touts will come up to you and ask if you need a ride into Paris. You'll avoid them and go directly to the taxi rank.
I agree with going in to town and going to a park. With that arrival time even if you booked a hotel room for the night before you'd be past check out time and before that day's check in time.
Posted by
Chicago
9611 posts
We delayed at the airport and got food from a grocery store with a microwave on our last trip -- bad idea but we didn't have a good idea for a cafe to hang at in our neighborhood and we had a fair amount of luggage for that 6 week trip -- it seemed easier to hang at CDG for a bit then head to the apartment. Bad idea. we have traveled to Paris often enough to have known that.
It would have been worse with a small child. There is nothing nice or entertaining for a child landside at CDG and you have no access airside on arrival. Get a cab to a park near your destination; they all have playgrounds; send someone to get picnic lunch from a nearby bakery. The park on top of the underground canal that runs from Bastille up Richard Lenoir does have playground spaces and nice gardens with benches, or look for a larger more traditional park near your specific address.
Posted by
Ithaca, NY, USA
960 posts
Have you considered looking for a baggage storage service with a location near your rental? That way you can store your luggage prior to check in and have a lot more flexibility