Hello. My husband and I will be visiting Paris in March. We used a companion voucher so our flight from Canada arrives in Paris and departs for home from Paris. We are scheduled to arrive around noon on a Tuesday. We would take the 12 minute train to Disneyland, relax that day, spend the night. Visit Disneyland, spend the night then take the train to Paris for 3 days/ three nights before taking the train to Brugge ( spend two nights). We will then take a train to Utrecht ( spend eight nights), explore different parts of the Netherlands before returning to Paris for one or two nights. During those first three days in Paris we plan on exploring the Left Bank, visiting a few churches, the D'Orsay, going for a boat ride on the Seine and taking a hidden gems bike tour. We realize there are numerous museums to visit and things to do but we mainly just want to wander, visit different neighborhoods and parks, sit and people watch. I need your help with the end of the trip plan please. The train from Utrecht to Paris is about 3.5 hours, meaning we could arrive in Paris around noon giving us the afternoon/evening to see what we did not see on the first part of our vacation. Does it make sense to only spend one night at the end of the trip or two nights? Would one night be too rushed? Should we shorten our time in the Netherlands by one day? Our flight home departs at 13:00 meaning we will need to be at the airport by 10am. For the first part of the trip we are staying in the 5th arrondisment, suggstions for where to stay at the end of the trip? Maybe somewhere on the Right Bank?
Thanks for reading my very long post, I appreciate your suggestions.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
17571 posts
Have you been to Paris before?
This is your trip so your choices would be different from mine!
What is attracting you to Utrecht? Where to you plan to explore from there?
Personally I would spend at least 2 nights at the end in Paris which just gives you one full day. This also will give you some flex in your schedule in case of travel delays or strikes. I’d probably vote for all your nights at the beginning to be in Paris although I have NOT been to Disney Paris so don’t know if there is a huge advantage to being there overnight.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
837 posts
Not sure what the attraction of Paris Disney is or how it compares in expense to the City of Paris. There is so much to see in Paris itself. But at minimum I would take one day away from Utrecht - stay 3 nights in Paris - which is 2 full days. I know people love or hate the Louvre but we always go. The Orangerie Museum or the Rodin are also amazing but smaller.
Posted by
Sydney, Australia
455 posts
I think it's good that you are budgeting so much time for the Netherlands. The Netherlands outside Amsterdam usually gets short shrift and there is a lot to see. If you really want to understand the country, look beyond Amsterdam. Two nights in Bruges is just fine although leaves no time for any of the other cities in Belgium, but of course that is a lovely excuse to come back.
Your one night in Paris at the end could be at the airport. We once stayed at the Novotel at CDG and caught the RER in to see the last things on the last day, then returned to the hotel ready for the next morning, which was also a morning start. It worked very well, and the Novotel was quite nice and not overly expensive. Unless of course you have your heart set on a night in the city at the end, in which case I will let someone else advise you.
Lavandula
Posted by
Oregon
396 posts
Many years ago I started a trip this way- and it was great! Using Disney as jet lag burn off time worked wonderfully and we had a ball adjusting. Just be ready for some (famously) embarrassingly bad food there.
As for the end, I’d either add a second night or just relax at a hotel near or at cdg the night before you’re headed home. We did this after a lengthy trip and fast paced touring the few days prior to heading home. I think either way will work depending on your interests and stamina for touring.
Posted by
Chicagoland
2705 posts
On the assumption that Disney and 8 nts in Utretcht are musts, consider:
- 2 nts Disney
- 2 nts Bruges
- 8 nts Utretcht
- 4/5 nts Paris
There are trains from Disneyland to Brussels. Why break up your Paris stay?
Have you been to Bruges before? Consider taking 1 nt from Utretcht and adding to Bruges. This would allow you to do a day trip to Ghent.
With a 1 pm departure, I would not spend the last night at the airport.