Twelve hour layover in Paris

Thanks, Steve.

Have you thought about a hop-on hop-off bus tour? Paris l'Open Tour has four routes and you can ride them all for €29.

Paris never wakes up too early,, I always find it odd when looking for breakfast at a cafe that many do not even open till 7:30 or 8... so... just a warning.

I would suggest you take the RER into Paris,, it is fast( about 30 minutes) and cheap( about 8 euros one way)

I would get off at St Michel( main stop so you will know) , and visit Notre Dame first,, since it is a church I recall it being open a little earilier then most other sites. I would then ( if you care for a view) either get in line for the Towers( which do open later, and its imperiative to get in line for them as they only let 20 people up at a time so its good to be in first or second group).. You could skip this if you decide to go and do ET,, but I personally really enjoyed doing Notre Dames Towers.

Viatour is not a tour company, they are simply an agency that sells other peoples tours. The two main tour compainies in Paris are ParisVisions and Cityrama ,, check out their websites yourself .. I personally see no advantage to them for city touring, since Paris is easy to do on your own. I think Cityrama has the L'open Tour buses, which are hop on an off,, and those are not a bad idea if the weather is nice. They simply circle four different routes all day and hit all main tourist sites, you just get on and off at will. In nice weather its worth sitting up top,, if not,, why bother.

Make sure you leave enough time to get back to airport,, you should plan on being back by 3 pm .. so you really only have the morning and early afternoon.

I would pick and plan wisely and take your OWN tastes into account, what have you always wanted to see?

You don't need a tour.

While walking through the airport to the RER station, pick up the cheapest map of the city you spot, you'll pay a couple extra bucks, but this will save you time looking for one later.

You'll be doing good if you get into town by 8:00.

Do what Pat said, but before heading across the river, walk upriver a couple of blocks to the Cafe Panis (it opens early, but stop sooner if you see something else) and snag a cup of coffee. Next go to Notre Dame. (I'd skip the tower on a whirlwind visit, but she's right about the view.)

Now do the following, in this order:

Walk away from the cathedral across the square, hang a right on the first street,then the first left and take it until it dead-ends at Blvd Palais. There's a bistro on your left if you decided to skip the coffee earlier and want something a bit more substantial to eat. Regardless, hang another left. Halfway down the block, on your right, is the entrance to St Chapelle. If there's a line, get in it, it will be only one of two the whole day.

By now, it's pushing 10:00. Walk back toward the cathedral and back across the river on the Petit Pont (it's a continum of the Rue Cite on which you're now walking for the second time. Take the steps down onto the quay and buy a ticket on the batobus (hop on/off affair, ticket is good for all day). Ride it for a full loop and a bit more with your map on your lap conducting your own tour (there's no narration). Hop off at the Louvre the second time you come to it. This will be your second line. Snag a guide leaflet, go in, see the Mona Lisa, Venus, and Winged Victory and leave (thirty minutes inside, max).

When you're done, walk northwest toward the Les Halles metro station and wander the pedestrian shopping area. When you're done, walk a little more west to the Pompidou Center. Go in if you want, but the art in there doesn't thrill me. It's time for a break anyway. There's a couple of cafes on the square where

you can sit and watch the street entertainers.

Go to the Hotel de Ville metro station (ten minute walk) and catch the #1 Line in the dirction of La Defense (metro diagrams are all over the place in the stations and easy to understand). Get off at Charles de Gaulle / Etoile. You've essentialy run the Champs Elysses underground. You could walk it, but it's a good hike and it has all the charm of a cheap strip mall -- things really go to pot in twenty years. You'll pop above ground under the Arc de Triomphe. Look at it, go to the top if you want -- if you didn't climb Notre Dame, this will be the highest you get -- the daylight lines at the Eiffel Tower are horrible and night is the best time to go up anyway.

Now walk down the Champs about five minutes and turn right on Ave George V and follow it across the River. After you cross the Pte de Alma bridge and go another fifty yards, you come to the Sewer Museum (sign says 'Egouts de Paris'). Go for it. It beats the catacombs for a glimpse of what's undeneath Paris.

The Eiffel Tower's right in front of you, get as close as you want, maybe right underneath. When you're done, the batbus place is right there at the Pte de Alma bridge. You can ride it to the d'Orsay museum.

Or you can walk ten minutes upstream to the Invalides, see it, and walk ten more minutes to the d'Orsay.

The batobus will take you right back to where you got on. If you have time left over, wander the Latin Quarter or hit the Cluny museum. I'd choose to wander -- probably around Blvd Saint-Germaine.

Regardless, the Saint Michel RER stop is handy when it's time to head back to the airport.

One metro ride and the batobus will have set you back about twenty bucks.

Regretably, I couldn't work in Montmartre or a Loire chateau in the time you have available.

Have fun.

I suspect a combination of hop on off bus and walking a gd idea for your 12 hr layover. have fun . whatever you can see in that time will be fabulous.

There were 2 ladies on our segway tour thru Fat Bike Tours who had an 11 hour layover. They took train into Paris, had lunch at a wonderful cafe, bought art from a street artist and then the Segway tour. They saw much more than they could have on foot. Our guide was very knowledgeable. The segway was fun and easy to ride.