Up all night in Paris

I think Paris at night is lovely! While many monuments and significant sites are lit up at night, most of them do turn off at a certain point. I'm not sure if they all do, and exactly when, but I had plenty of late nights while I studied abroad and on the way home some monuments would be dark. I'm pretty sure the Eiffel Tower is one that does go dark (MAYBE around 2 or 3?). Many bars and clubs stay open until 4-5am so you can pop in to those. And they have a limited late night bus schedule that will help you get around. And really, I completely question my sanity now, but I always felt safe as a young woman by myself in Paris during the middle of the night. Just be aware of your surroundings as you should always be.

It's a wonderful idea. You just need to be sure you can get transportation to the airport, arriving around 4am for a 7 am flight. The RER to CDG doesn't begin until 4:56 am, getting you there late. However, you should be able to find a taxi at Gare St. Lazare, though they are rarer in the wee hours. The price will be higher for night hours, but still less than an expensive hotel. Gare St. Lazare should have lockers available for your luggage. Be careful when retrieving your bags inside the station at that hour. You can google for the locker info. In general Paris is safe, particularly on the west side where so many well-lit famous buildings are located. Just visit any place you would duringbthe day. People will be out and around. Lots of people congregate on the river banks for all night picnics near The two islands. Don't forget to walk over the bridges.

Luggage may be your biggest problem. There is left luggage for up to 72 hours at Gare du Nord, but it closes at around 11:00 and doesn't open up again until 6:15am and there will be a line. So I don't think that will help with a 7 am flight. Other train stations have similar hours or don't store luggage. The CDG airport itself no longer has left luggage. But there is a private company that will hold luggage overnight at CDG called Bagages du monde: http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-GB/Passagers/services/practical_services/baggages/service-pratique-Bagages-Monde.htm. The charge is 15 euros per bag for 12 to 24 hours. The problem with that is that it's expensive to get to and from CDG and you are arriving by train so you have to first make a trip to and from the airport and then set about sight seeing. You might try calling a travel agent and seeing if they can arrange for a hotel to hold your things, though the early morning departure may pose similar problems at hotels. If I were you, I'd just get a cheap hotel. But if you insist, in addition to the Eiffel Tower and walking, I would consider taking a scenic bus ride to see the city lit up at night. #38 will give you views of Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter. Rick Steve's Paris guide has a number of suggestions. He also has a taxi itinerary to catch all the lights, with French translations. But if the idea is to save money, be warned it will cost you as much as a hotel room. The Lovere is open until 10 a couple evenings a week. With Notre Dame and the Arc d'Triumph can both be climbed fairly late. Be aware that the metro closes at 1:15am during the week and 2:15am on Friday and Saturday. You need to board 30 minutes before closing. The bus services switch to night routes and schedules about the same time.

Actually, Blue Marble Travel appears to be better than I thought for luggage. They will pick up luggage at train stations and transfer it to another location, like the airport for a fee. It's not cheap though, 72 euros plus storage fees at the airport.

On top of the Blue Marble fees already mentioned, tack on an extra 50 Euro for a special off hours pick up time.

There is an e-book available at amazon called 24-hour Paris or something like that, with some interesting and bizarre suggestions for late night/early morning activities. I would try to fill up the hours where things are open as much as possible - seeing the Lourve if it's open late (or find another museum that is open late that night), then a late night (check restaurant hours and make a reservation). Have a leisurely dinner. THEN start wandering. Paris is a great city best enjoyed by foot. The RS walking tour of Paris would be just as enjoyable at night as it is during the day, I think. The Eiffel Tower does go dark at 2am I think. I remember being kinda pissed at my hotel room with a view last time. If you're there in the summer, there will be at least some cafes open til 2am no matter what. Bars and clubs will be open later but that doesn't sound like your thing. But you'll need to be heading towards CDG by 4-5 so at most you will only need to fill a couple hours. Montmarte with it's views over the city might be a great place. Pay attention to Metro times though, it does stop running for a few hours. I don't really think there's any area in Paris encompassed by the ring road that would be seedy or dangerous at any hour, at least not by Budapest standards. Especially as a couple.

Nancy, you don't mention where you are traveling FROM. Is there a chance that you could ticket you train arrival into TGV CDG, use the private luggage company mentioned above, then RER B into Paris? Then return to CDG in the morning. RER closes down at 0:15 in the morning, too early for your purposes and opens too late. Taxis have been mentioned. But, no one has mentioned any shuttle services. I think I have seen mention on threads related to CDG-Paris transportation, but have no idea as to their hours of operation. I did check the Air France and Roissy bus and all seem to run from shortly before 0600 until around 2300, again hours that do not meet you needs. Perhaps a taxi is the only answer afterall.

Just this morning, I got to the chapter in David Downie's Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light about walking at night in Paris. Facinating. Here's a link to the book on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Journey-into-City-Light/dp/0307886085/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344009302&sr=1-1&keywords=paris+paris

Thanks everyone, you're very helpful!
Plan A will be trying to get a later flight out of Paris.