Paris in one day

The train to Nancy leaves from Paris Est.

And don't forget to factor in jet lag for your arrival day.

That sounds about reasonable for one day... actually, by the time you get settled, it will probably be almost lunchtime, so you more likely have a half-day. Did you want to visit the Eiffel Tower and Arch de Triomphe or just walk around them? I ask, because depending on the time of year, this may make your half-day itinerary a little too tight.

You're probably going to want to drop your luggage at your hotel, so factor that in. Maybe stay somewhere near Place de la Republique or the Marais so you're not too far from the train stations (Nord and Est).

I'd suggest walking or Metro to Notre Dame from there, and then catching the Batobus boat to go down the Seine to the Eiffel tower. Then walk to the Arche from there and then down the Champs de Elysees.

The Batobus is 12 E for an all-day pass. The other Seine cruises (Bateaux Mouches, etc. don't stop at Notre Dame.

We'll be taking the train to Nancy the next morning - haven't figured out yet which train station from Paris, cost, etc. Having trouble getting prices and such, think we're not looking at the right website.

Use TGV-Europe.com. It's in English and it's owned by the SNCF (French railway company. You can buy discounted tickets as low as 25€. Leave GREAT BRITAIN as the country for retrieving the tickets. In reality, you can collect them at any French train station or print them out at home.

Purchase discounted tickets right away for the most savings.

Hello,
Thanks so much for all your input. Tom - we were thinking just of walking around the Eiffel Tower, not going up. It looked like the boat tour started or stopped right next to it. We figured too, if we're just too darn tired, we work it from there. Thanks again, each of you have given us something that helps.

Have you thought about taking a bike tour of Paris? I really enjoyed this, especially because I had seen Paris before. It gave me a different perspective of the city. I used the Fat Tire tours. I especially recommend the night tour. I think they meet at the southwest corner of the Eiffel Tower at 7 p.m. and I also think that they have a couple of daytime tours. It's very safe and pretty low impact. It's definitely not the Tour de France.

You could make reservations for dinner at the lower restaurant in the eiffel tower which is midway up, not the top. This enables you to use a different elevator than the throngs in line just going to the top, and when you are done your meal, you can take their elevator to the top! The food was wonderful when I was last there and I think I spent about $25 for my meal. Sorry, I cannot remember the name, but I'm certain you'll find it in Rick's book!

I'll second the thought that you'll want to factor in jet lag. On our last trip, we arrived in Paris in the morning -- we thought we had gotten a fair amount of sleep on the plane, but by late afternoon we were definitely dragging. So I'd suggest not getting overly ambitious with your first day plans, especially in the evening.