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Reporting back on my week in Paris March 2022

TL;DR: Paris is open. There are crowds in many places but not like June/July crowds. No one checks your vaccine status after the flight. Masks are only required on the metro and on pharmacies. But plenty of people wearing them elsewhere. Book ahead for restaurants.

Just finished up a week in Paris. If you’re vaccinated you do not need a test to enter France. The indoor mask mandate (with a few exceptions) and pass sanitaire requirements have both been lifted. We were never once asked for our vaccine cards in France at any restaurant, tourist site, etc.. We Flew direct Boston to CDG on Airfrance. We uploaded our vaccine cards and passports ahead of time and got a “ready to fly” on our boarding pass so we bypassed the ticket desk at boston (no checked bags). We have pre check but there was almost no security line for anyone (it was about 230pm on a Friday). We only arrived so early for our 620pm flight because our ride had to bring us that early otherwise we wouldn’t have needed really any time. The flight was 98% full. There was a full dinner and breakfast service. CDG arriving was ok. We waited about 30 minutes for passport control. They did not check our vaccine cards. Restaurants are open and thriving and outdoor seating was as usual in all weather with heaters. Some staff wore masks and some didnt. More places seemed to be reservation-centric perhaps as a result of covid. We had no trouble with walking in to most places but if there is a special place you want to go to, Id look into booking a week in advance, most had online booking options. As to the metro, that is the one of only place masks are required. 90% of people comply but there is no enforcement. You can still get paper tickets but we opted for the Navigo easy card. We bought the card for €2 each and used our phone to reload tickets. you dont need the picture like you do for the other Navigo cards. We DID experience a ticket check one day so if you do opt for the other Navigo cards that require the photo make sure to get that photo or bring one for it because you will be fined on the spot. One downfall of the Navigo easy is you cannot load RER rides on it. We went to Versailles and had to buy a ticket. Versailles was moderately busy but we bought tickets the night before and all time slots were open. We did the gardens as well and rented a golf cart as it was raining, pricey (€35 an hour) but worth it. We took the Thalys to Brussels for a day trip. We brought our vax cards as the tickets said a EU vaccine passport OR equivalent is required. But it was never checked. Musee D’Orsay was busy. We booked the tickets the night before and there were plenty of time slots. The walk up line was very long. We waited less than five minutes with our tickets. You still need a neg covid test to get back into the states. It can be pcr or antigen (must be a supervised antigen test or performed by medical person). You need to wear a mask in the pharmacy. We saw a covid testing sign at probably every pharmacy. We used our phones to scan a barcode on the window of the pharmacy which gave us a form to fill out. The pharmacy received it electronically. Idk how it would work if you did not have working internet on your phone. We got the results on our phone in 20 min.
Departing: we uploaded our tests ahead of time . Our flight was at 130pm and we arrived at 11ish to CDG. It was BUSY. We did not plan to check bags but Air France stopped everyone at passport control and weighed your carry on items together. So if you had a roller bag and a backpack both were weighed together. The limit is 12kg. We had to go check our roller bags. With this diversion it took us about an hour and a half to drop bags, get through passport control, take train to terminal, and do security. With kids or bad luck it could take a long time. The ticketing desk had a crazy line so if you need a boarding pass or other needs where you need to see an agent leave lots of time. Bag drop was automated.

Posted by
755 posts

Thank you so much for taking the time to share all the details with us. This is so helpful! Hope you had an enjoyable return flight. Which class of service did you book?

Posted by
14738 posts

Thanks for posting! Did you leave before it ❄️snowed❄️,lol??

Good to know about the ticketing at the Orsay as well.

Sounds like you had fun.

Posted by
54 posts

Thanks for all the practical information, including the inbound (to US) testing process (my hope that that will be eliminated by our April 30 return is fading). We booked through Delta so have all our outbound docs uploaded to FlyReady, and I suspect we'll do the same for return.

A YouTuber called Art Vision does daily live videos (then later posts edited versions) and I watch a few a week. Paris is indeed bustling. Very few masks on the streets, though we will wear ours in crowds. We'll stick to outdoor dining (even though the heaters are going away).

We are also flying AF direct from Boston, departing 5:30 pm on a Saturday and arriving Easter morning. A 98% full flight is surprising; we're splurging for Premium Economy (dividend from two years sans travel) and the cabin so far is les than 50% full. We're familiar with the CDG bustle and will get there four home before our return flight.

Posted by
53 posts

My niece and I just returned from Paris this weekend. Spent 9 nights there and never left the city. 4 nights in a hotel in Rue Cler and 5 nights in an apartment in the Marais. Enjoyed both experiences. The city was bustling, especially with the wonderful weather we had for the first 5 days. Cafes were overflowing but we were always able to get a spot whenever and wherever we went. We did not make any restaurant reservations. Arrived at CDG and breezed through customs. I believe I had to show my CDC card in Tampa and Atlanta even though I had loaded it on the Delta app. Flights were all full. Stopped at the tourist information area and bought a 6 day museum pass which we thought was well worth the money (we used it at the Louvre, Sainte Chappelle, Conciergie, Orsay, Orangerie, Pompideau, Arch de Triumph and maybe somewhere else I am forgetting). We took the train/metro into the city, but lots of stairs and we opted to take a taxi on our return to the airport. We had reservations at the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Saint Chappelle. At the Orsay we did not need a reserved spot because we had the museum pass (that is info from the web site) and we breezed right in. Loved that museum and spent almost 6 hours there. Yes it was busy; there were several tour groups when we were there. My niece is interested in fashion so it was interesting the see the tributes to Yves St Laurent at the Louvre, Orsay and Pompideau. Also there was a new Dior exhibit that I found absolutely fabulous and magical and I am not into fashion! That is going on near the original Dior studio right off the Champs. We took two walking tours with Paris Walks; one in Montmartre and one in the Marais. Highly recommend. Took a 3 hour chou baking class which was also a lot of fun with La Cuisine Paris. We enjoyed every minute of our time even when the rain, wind, hail and snow arrived! Glad we had the appropriate clothes. Every day we had leisure time to have a glass of wine, or pastry and tea, and just enjoy the scene. Yes most everyone was compliant with mask wearing on the metro. We also wore ours in any store or museum but not in restaurants. Although we mainly ate outside. Our Covid test was 30 Euros and we filled out paper on the spot as neither of us had internet while out walking. Results were within minutes. We arrived at CDG 4 hours ahead of time and really only needed not even 2 of those hours. Although I think that's highly unusual from what I hear. We were asked for proof of negative Covid test at our first stop in the airport. Lovely trip. We enjoyed every minute.