One afternoon in Paris—am I nuts or can this work?

Personally, I'm not sure I would do it. Assuming your flight lands on time, it could take half an hour to deplane and exit the airport. Add another 30 min if you have checked luggage. Then you have to buy a metro ticket and get to the closest HOHO stop. Figure an hour. It's now 2:30-3:00. You could wait up to 30 min or so for the next bus, then ride for 2.5 hours. By then it would be 5:30-6:00. Rush hour. And you'd want to be at the train station no later than 6:30. And what would you do with your luggage? AFAIK, there's no place to store it on the bus.

Thanks. No checked bag, and I’m okay with not finishing the 2.5 hour loop. Even so, maybe I will be better off just taking the metro to the Eiffel Tower or something and walking around a little bit before I head to the train. Totally forgot about rush hour! Thanks!!

I agree - seems like cutting it too close for my comfort. As mentioned, if things get delayed much (and you have multiple opportunities for that), things could get sticky and stressful quickly. On the other hand, at best - if everything goes perfectly - you get a very, very short glimpse at a little of Paris, probably just enough to make you sad that you can't really see or do anything.

If it were me, I would try and find some time to actually spend a couple days there appreciating the city, instead of just teasing yourself with a drive-by that never satisfies you. Take a few days out of your overall plan, or find a way to stretch your trip. Once you are back home you will not regret the extra time you dedicated to Paris.

I would go to Gare Montparnasse, leave my luggage at the baggage check, and see how much time you have. Assuming a couple of hours, it seems to me that your time is best spent by focusing on one area of Paris, say the Seine/Notre Dame area, where you can get an example of the Paris "experience" while walking around and rubbernecking, and maybe grabbing a bite to eat and a glass (or several) of wine. A taxi back to the train station, and you are home free.

A thought. If you are arriving from the US, you are going to be crippled by jet lag, notwithstanding your Icelandic layover. I know that if had a choice, it wouldn't be to ride around on a HOHO bus fighting fatigue. I'd be outdoors checking out people and one or two sights. The Eiffel Tower is visible from most of town; you will definitely see it.

How good are you at planning? Here's a possibility:

Download the Paris Metro app. Arrange transportation from Orly. I don't see you being able to get to Gare Montparnasse before 2:30. As suggested, store your luggage. You might buy your train ticket as well then. Use the Metro app to catch the Metro from there to the Pont Marie station. Walk over to Ile St. Louis, then up to Notre Dame on Ile de la Cite. Continue walking from Notre Dame to Saint Chappelle, then up to Pont Neuf. Cross over there and catch the Metro at the Pont Neuf station and return to Gare Montparnasse.

Check to see when you need to be at the station to catch the 6:50 train. I'm thinking this will give you about 2 hours at your destination. What you'll see is a gorgeous part of Paris. I would try this only if you are brave-hearted and used to navigating cities, especially on subways.

PS I just checked Paris Metro and the ride would take ~22-26 minutes each way.

Orly airport is quite near the Parc de Sceaux. You could take a taxi there. Even if the museum building(s) are closed by the time you get there, there's all kinds of space to walk around, mingle with locals, probably get a snack at an outdoor cafe.

Edited -- my bad -- I neglected to read that you're catching a train from Gare Montparnasse. [[I would think you could hold onto the business card of the taxi company and call them when it's time for your ride back to Orly.]]

http://domaine-de-sceaux.hauts-de-seine.fr/english-section/practical-information/

when it's time for your ride back to Orly.

The OP is catching the train to Agen from Gare Montparnasse.

The last train, as far as I can tell, from Gare Montparnasse to Agen is at about 6:50pm.

Not a good idea. If your company is sending you to a remote place like Agen, you will have many more opportunities in your life to visit Paris. I know you may not have the flexibility (or budget), but couldn't you take one day of vacation, and fly in (on their dime) a day early? Your profile doesn't give your age, but my wife used to tell her (huge Fortune 500) Company that if she was giving up Saturday and Sunday to hit the office on all cylinders on Monday (instead of drooping and sleepy), they should gladly pay her extra (Sunday) hotel night. After all, they're putting you on a train for I don't know how looooong.

Are they paying for a car in Agen, or is the meeting at the hotel? You have better chances to dedicate to "provincial France." Or better yet, since you're a Spanish teacher, how about mountain-Spain on a day off? I'd love to see Carcassonne, and I hear that Perpignan is becoming a destination.

my wife used to tell her (huge Fortune 500) Company that if she was giving up Saturday and Sunday to hit the office on all cylinders on Monday (instead of drooping and sleepy), they should gladly pay her extra (Sunday) hotel night

I get an extra acclimation day if I travel outside the continental US (OCONUS). My wife had to go to London and Paris on business (gee darn) and I went with her. We arrived London Saturday morning and her first meeting was Monday afternoon. Her employer paid for the extra nights.

In that situation I would take a walk in Paris!

You could take the train from Orly to Gare Montparnasse and be there by 3:00, customs is just walk through the green door labeled “Nothing to declare” and then a direct connection in 23 minutes.

Check your bag, or not if it’s maneuverable, and walk to nearby sites.

You could walk, for example, via Luxembourg Gardens to Notre Dame (go in if the line is short) and loop back via the tip of the Isle de la Cite and across Pont Neuf in less than 2 hours - play with google maps for options [and directions.] With 3 hours you can stop at a cafe for coffee or wine.

1https://goo.gl/maps/xNXULvwNTW62

Thank you all, these are lovely ideas and confirmed what I wanted to not be true but suspected about trying to do it all.

I had to laugh about my company sending me. Of course that is the logical assumption, but I’m a teacher and doing this all on my own $. I’m presenting at the conference and have my local expenses en Agen covered but the rest of the travel is all me. I will try to finagle a day or two at the end of the conference before I head to Spain. For now it seems like a nice walk and a coffee or wine would be the best way to spend my time. I could, of course, catch an earlier train out of Paris which might save my sanity a bit also.

You can see the Eiffel Tower and stroll a little around the Trocadero, just 8 metro stops from Montparnasse. It’s line 6, direction Etoile. In fact, you can take the Orlybus to Denfert Rochereau, or the Orlyval shuttle to the RER B and hop on the 6 there. Both means of transportation goes to Denfert. You’ll see the line for the Catacombs, but that’s for another trip. Anyway, line 6 is underground for a few stations, including Montparnasse, but then goes above ground, crossing the Seine, and gives you a great view of the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars. If you want to be really economical, you can ride back to Montparnasse on the same ticket. Or, you can splurge on a second ticket, come out of the metro to walk around a little before going back for your train. Pourquoi pas?

I think you should arrive a day sooner.

But in any case, do you really want to arrive in Agen at 10 at night? You will be wiped out the next day.

I would LOVE to arrive earlier. I'm actually on the earliest flight I am able to make. I probably COULD spend the night in Paris and take the train Sunday, as my conference doesn't start until Monday. I was trying to arrange this without having an additional hotel night to pay for.

I would caution you about what kind of shape you are going to be in as you wander Paris for a couple hours. Do you sleep easily and restfully on planes (in coach)? Many people arrive in Europe exhausted after a long redeye with no sleep for a couple days, not to mention all the pre-trip stress that accumulates before you even start. If you're going to do this, be smart. A glass or two of wine during your brief stop in Paris? As much as I love a nice glass of wine, I'd skip that, knowing that it would knock me out - with all the onward travel you are looking at, the last thing you need is to add some alcohol to your very vulnerable condition as you struggle to stay away, keep it together, and travel onward. Just my 2 cents. Bon chance!

am I nuts or can this work?

yes; maybe( but long odds)

I sympathize with your budget constraints as a teacher, but with the airfare being the biggest cost, I would go straight to Agen on arrival because you might be too jet-lagged to really enjoy Paris. Then plan on staying in Paris a couple of nights before going to Spain. If necessary, cut the two nights off the Spain part of your itinerary, although I'm thinking maybe the Spain part is tax deductible?

I would check/store my bag at the station and explore the neighborhood nearby, hit a cafe or a patisserie, check out the neighborhood. Or you could go up Mountparnasse Tower and look at the Eiffel Tower in the distance. You don't need to go to the center to enjoy Paris, in fact, you might get more of a sense of Paris by not heading out to the major tourist sites for this short stay.

Thanks. My superpower is being able to sleep anywhere so I shouldn’t be SO wrecked that I can’t function in my mediocre French. But I think I will head to the station, take a walk and stretch my legs for a bit, have an espresso or six (lol), and jump on an earlier train to the south. I will remember all the places you folks suggested I walk.

And thanks Joe...I can handle the truth!

And to whoever mentioned it, since even the France part is teaching-related, pretty much the whole thing will be tax-deductible. Which makes the splurge a little less splurgey. (Totally a real word...)

This forum is so much my new favorite thing.

Actually, Kelferg, I meant to mention the tax deduction. But the new tax law (eliminating many itemized deductions in 2018) may make it superfluous. While I am not licensed to give legal or tax advice, I would remind you that the rules for international conferences are stricter than those for domestic professional meetings. But in a vague way, I remember that non-business days on either side of actual meeting days can sometimes qualify - especially weekend days. Read the rules carefully.

Kelferg-- I am glad you took my comment in the good humor way I intended..... I forgot to add the smiley face.

After a transatlantic flight I am able to meander at an ambling pace, but to have purpose and a deadline to be somewhere, is a recipe for disaster. You may be better doing that than me.

Hi,

Keep in mind that unless you know for sure about yourself, not everyone gets jet lag upon arrival. I don't since I sleep on the 11 hr flight over, and it seems that you don't have a problem with that on the plane. Between the choice of a HOHO bus or walking around, I would suggest doing the latter, not necessarily because of jet lag possibility but that you can control the time factor better.

An easy way to get from Orly to Gare Montparnasse would be Le Bus Direct line 1, which will take your bags below and you in a comfortable seat through southern Paris to the station. Here's a lot of info about Gare Montparnasse. They have a luggage storage facility.

Someone mentioned the Tour Montparnasse for some of your short time in Paris. It's right there by the station, the biggest thing in miles, easy to get to the top for a bird's-eye view of the city you won't have time to explore. And the view includes the beautiful Eiffel Tower, and excludes the not-beautiful Tour Montparnasse.

Also near the station are Montparnasse Cemetery and the Rue Daguerre street market. Plenty of Paris to sample within a few blocks, with the help of your six espressos. You'll miss the blockbusters like Notre Dame and Tour Eiffel and the Seine but you'll have a nice Paris experience with very little stress or effort, and almost no chance of missing your train.