On our way home from a few weeks in Europe, we are spending ONE night only in Paris, and will be leaving from CDG the following morning at 1030am.
It is a Thursday night and we arrive in the CDG airport around 3-5PM I believe.
We were thinking of staying in the St. Germaine area.
Any suggestions on how to spend the evening, or places to stay? Thanks!
Also- it will be the end of October. Couple in our 30s. No kids. Only 1 carry on bag each- so no issue with waiting on luggage.
Probably will get a lot of flak for this, but I would recommend checking into an airport hotel then taking the RER into Paris for dinner and a cruise on the Seine to see the illuminated landmarks. (EDIT -- two separate items, not an expensive dinner-cruise.) Walk around. Take a late train back to the airport, get up the next morning with no panicky rush to your plane.
It is the blue Line B on the RER train to CDG. To make things easy on Friday morning I would find a hotel somewhere very close to the St Michel | Notre Dame stop. Choice of good 3 stars ...
http://www.hotelnotredameparis.com/
http://www.hoteldulevant.com/en/
http://www.hotelalbestmichel.com/
http://www.hoteleurope.net/
Late afternoon walk ... Invalides - Pont Alexandre III - Grand/Petit Palais - Pl Clemenceau - Pl de la Concorde - Tuileries - Pyramide du Louvre.
Dinner at a bistro in St Germain.
Late evening Seine cruise from Pont Neuf. http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/cruises/
Laura, no flack from me.....I was going to make the same suggestion, but I'll just say ditto to yours. except I would vote for staying at a small hotel with lots of charm away from the airport....but the airport location would be much easier the morning of your flight with the advance check-in reqirements.
I'd probably suggest the river journey without the dinner included (sort of an open-air barge type thing that are very common and easy to jump on right at the moment), and either pre-cruise or post-cruise have dinner at a lovely little sidewalk cafe.....then you would have also had a really French experience of dining, too.
The buildings, Eiffel, the bridges, the mini Statue of Liberty (you probably know the one in NY was a gift from France), etc. are so lovely in the evening........and you will see all the local young people who meet up along the river banks.
Better to have just one night in Paris than to have never had a night in Paris :)
Have fun, and safe travels!
I'm with Laura on this one. You should be at the airport 3 hours before your flight, i.e. by 7:30. Much easier to stay at the airport. We liked the Ibis, there are other good hotels there, but you'll save time with a hotel right in the airport, not so much in the nearby town of Roissy. Check carefully before reserving.
When you've landed and checked in, by all means take the RER B into Paris, I'd say get off at the St-Michel stop and enjoy the river, Notre Dame lit up, a nice dinner (many good places nearby), and a Seine cruise. The Vedettes du Pont Neuf leave from the west end of the Ile de la Cite, a few blocks from Place St-Michel, as late as 10:30. Then RER back to the airport and get a good night's sleep before flying home. Much easier than hauling bags into the city and back, and rushing in the morning.
If my flight leaves before noon, I always spend the last night at the airport. You get a good night's sleep, no worries about getting to the airport in the morning, no getting up at 4am to get a cab or train. I too like the Ibis -- basic, cheap, clean, very comfortable beds. If you reserve well in advance you can get a rate of about 100euros.
Check to see the timing of the last RER train to the airport at night. If you are out late you may need to get a cab.
"If you are out late you may need to get a cab."
And cabs can be difficult to get late at night in Paris, especially if you're an English speaker--you'll want to plan for that if you think you're going to need a cab late at night.
Thanks Everyone!
We had no idea about the Seine cruises... definitely will have to do that (without the dinner).
Still torn on where to sleep- would looove to stay in the city for the night, but would also make sense staying near/in the airport. However, will have to look into the ease of getting back to the airport either late at night or in the AM ;)
I'm with Laura too. Not worth schlepping you bags into Paris and back out to the airport. You'll save time being free of the bags. And it will be easier to start checking in in the a.m. You have to be three hours early for a flight from CDG--that means 7:30, ugh.
I'm going to be the contrarian. I'd stay in Paris, but I'd choose a hotel near an RER B station so that you have an easy connection in the morning to CDG.
I'm with Laura VA rather than Laura CA on this one.
Journey time on RER from St Michel to CDG is approx 40mins.
1030am is not such an early flight. Wakeup at 6am. Leave your hotel at 7am. You'll be fine.
If your flight was 930am I would probably stay out at the airport.
Guess it's a function of acceptable anxiety levels -- our last trip out of Paris the RER had a breakdown and it took us three hours to reach the airport (luckily we were staying near the airport for the final night, so it was merely annoying.) 95%-plus of the time there should be no problem, but if you're a worrier, that small percentage of bad outcomes (with associated extreme cost) can overshadow the positive.
Hi,
On my last night in Paris I've stayed at a hotel at CDG. That hotel is called Campanille, nothing fancy, basically a 2 star with a nice restaurant attached to it. I take the RER B from Paris Nord, get checked in and have dinner at the hotel. Of course, after the checking in, you can take the RER back to Paris for dinner, just be mindful of the time in getting back. The hotel also has a "free" shuttle to the airport. I agree with Laura B.
We have done this man times, although we have arrived in Paris by train. We stay in a hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens RER stop. We like to maximize our time in Paris in the evening when it is magical. We normally just walk around the city and enjoy the atmosphere. We eat take out crepes, again to maximize our exploring time. It is not that big a deal to get up at 6:00 and catch the RER by 7:00. We figure we'll have hours on the plane to relax or sleep. That said, I don't think staying near the airport is a bad idea either.
We have done this a few times and we always get a hotel AT not near the airport for that last night and take the train into Paris for a leisurely dinner, a stroll along and Seine and around Notre Dame and an after dinner drink and then grab the RER back to the airport (note not all Bs go to the airport, so pay attention to the sign above the track and take one that is going there). WE stayed in a Novotel that sat literally atop the RER station at the airport. The next morning we just had to hop on the inter terminal travel system and head for our terminal. You need to be there 3 hours ahead so if you stay in town then you are talking about getting a cab or train at 6:30 and getting up at? 5:30 or so. Staying at the airport gives you an extra hour of sleep when you could really use it.
Not much help, I know, but
if I only had one night in Paris - I'd cry.
