A Paris (not Disney) question

[woodys_girl]

Like many people, we are combining our DLP trip with some time in Paris. We are going to DLP first for 4 nights and we'll head to Paris sometime after checkout on our 5th day. Since we'll have already had 3.5 days, I don't think we'll stay until park close, but we will probably hit the parks for a bit. All that to say I don't know when we'll be getting into Paris so I'm looking for some ideas of flexible things to do for that afternoon/evening. Nothing I need to commit to in advance, nothing we'd be devastated to miss, but something worth doing. We're staying kind of near the Eiffel Tower so bonus points if it is near there.
Thanks.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Well there is you answer right there. Book Eiffel Tower tickets in advance and go up at night. The view of from the top at night is breathtaking. Failing that, take a bateau mouche tour and see the city by night. If finances allow, a river cruise with dinner is a great way to spend an evening.

 

[wabbott]

Go to the Ile des Cygnes (Isle of the Swans) in the Seine River, to the point where it goes under the Pont de Bir-Hakeim (Bridge of Bir-Hakim). You will see a sculpture of a man on a winged horse (La France Renaissante). This platform is an excellent view of the Eiffel Tower and overlooks the part of the river where all the tour boats stop for pics.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/La+France+Renaissante/@48.860035,2.2699927,3688m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x47e67002ceb560ff:0x48b31ce4487e05d4!8m2!3d48.8557823!4d2.2878157!16s/g/12203vw5!5m2!1e1!1e4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDQyMi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==

Go at dusk, so as to see the tower lights twinkle every hour on the hour after dark. Tourists are everywhere - its a safe place after dark.

This is what you will see:



I concur with the suggestion that you also go up on the tower after dark to see the view. Stunning!

If finances allow, there is a restaurant in the tower that is quite an experience.

https://www.restaurants-toureiffel.com/en/jules-verne-restaurant/the-restaurant.html

 

[woodys_girl]

Thank you. We are going up the tower the following night just before sunset, so I love the idea of getting a different view of it the night before.
The kids are quite excited about the Eiffel Tower. They are gonna be so surprised it's not curved at the top like on Soarin'

 

[LKing]

If that's the case, you might plan on an evening river cruise. It will be relaxing after walking in the parks earlier in the day and will orient/educate you about the different sites in Paris. Note that sunset and evening cruises sell out earlier than daytime cruises. You might want to book this in advance which means that you should figure out when you are leaving DLP, how long it will take to get to Paris and check into your hotel, then get back out to explore. The nice thing about staying near the Eiffel Tower is that there is likely a cruise stop near your hotel.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I have family that we visit every year who live a few minutes outside of Paris, so I’m extremely familiar with the area. It’s absolutely beautiful at night, obviously, it’s the “city of lights”! But I agree with taking a Seine River cruise to see everything lit up (the Eiffel Tower sparkles a few minutes every hour and it’s really pretty). You could also take in a dinner and show at Moulin Rouge (tho not really kid friendly) or a similar place, they eat very late in France so dinner times around 8:00. You could just walk around (a well lit touristy area-be careful obviously). Monmartre is a beautiful area with great views and you can climb the basilica there for evening views. There’s a funicular the kids should enjoy to take you to the top of the hill. Le Marais and Champs-Elysees are beautiful and safe areas to walk at night too. Have a great time! Btw, locals are much more likely to be friendly if you make some sort of attempt at least to speak French to them, lots of Americans go there expecting everyone to speak English to them and even if they’re able to, they’ll pretend they can’t just because it irritates them. Just an fyi.

 

[LKing]

There’s a funicular the kids should enjoy to take you to the top of the hill.

You might check on the status of the funicular before you go. When we were there earlier this month, it was closed for maintenance.

Btw, locals are much more likely to be friendly if you make some sort of attempt at least to speak French to them, lots of Americans go there expecting everyone to speak English to them and even if they’re able to, they’ll pretend they can’t just because it irritates them. Just an fyi.

I was impressed with how many people spoke three, four, or five languages. The elevator operator in the Eiffel Tower made announcements in French, English, German Spanish, and Italian! In Paris, the vast majority of people we encountered were at least bilingual.

I took high school French many years ago. I can read some and I can understand a bit but I have a difficult time when someone speaks quickly or uses casual French. My spouse's extent of French is ordering "une carafe d'eau" at restaurants. I had my Meta glasses ready to translate waiters and menus. What we noticed was that as soon as the restaurant realized we spoke English, they swapped out waiters to someone who could speak to us. They were incredibly kind and respectful. At DLP, if I greeted a CM in French they continued to talk to me in French. If I greeted them in English, they responded in English.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Thank you. We are going up the tower the following night just before sunset, so I love the idea of getting a different view of it the night before.
The kids are quite excited about the Eiffel Tower. They are gonna be so surprised it's not curved at the top like on Soarin'

The first time we saw it close up was amazing, I never imagined it would be so big! I mean I know it's big but as we rounded a corner it was just there and it blew my mind

 

[Teamubr]

You might check on the status of the funicular before you go. When we were there earlier this month, it was closed for maintenance.

Thanks for this. We were going to take the Metro to Montmartre and were planning on the funicular to Sacre Coeur. The steps aren't a definite no, but the funicular would definitely be faster for us.

At DLP, if I greeted a CM in French they continued to talk to me in French. If I greeted them in English, they responded in English.

Your French must be better than mine. My "Bonjour" and "Merci" must be so bad, they almost always respond in English. I do still start conversations in French (also took 2 years of French in high school, but that was 50 years ago). If they speak in French, I'll ask Parles vous anglais? I've never had a local seem annoyed when I try talking to them.

j

 

[LKing]

Thanks for this. We were going to take the Metro to Montmartre and were planning on the funicular to Sacre Coeur. The steps aren't a definite no, but the funicular would definitely be faster for us.

I should have taken a picture of the maintenance signs. It was written only in French but I thought it said something about May.

The Abbesses station has a couple hundred stairs to get up to the street. You might want to look for the elevator if you are getting off at that stop.

 

[woodys_girl]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful ideas. I will look all of these over and chat with the kids about what looks best!

 

[zanzibar138]

You've already got some great suggestions, but just thought I'd add as we are doing something similar - 4 days in the parks and then we leave on the 5th day. We won't have park access at all that day, but will plan to have a nice leisurely breakfast/brunch at Disney Village and do any last minute shopping, so still not sure what time we might get to Paris. We're planning to book a sunset sightseeing cruise and a late entry time for the Eiffel Tower so we'll have time for dinner in between. DH also really wants to do Arc d'Triomphe, so we'll plan to arrive in time to do that before the sunset cruise, but won't bother to book that in advance. If we arrive early enough, we'll probably do that and then wander down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre, just to see it from the outside. And if we arrive really early, I'd be interested in seeing Sainte Chapelle. Won't bother me if we don't get to any of the 'extra' stuff though.

 

[Teamubr]

@zanzibar138 Your plans look very similar to ours. My wife and I are also doing the touristy Citroen 2CV tour one morning. My son and friend will be seeing the catacombs. They are pretty excited they just reopened.

One question, if I can jump onto the post.

We have transport from CDG to DLP (Prestige) and DLP back to the city (RER). We plan on using Navigo Day passes to get around Paris on the Metro. I haven't booked anything to get back to CDG from Paris. We are staying near the Eiffel Tower (at the Bir Hakeim bridge). I was considering the RER or Bolt/Uber/G7. The flight isn't until 1115, so we don't need to leave super early.

Any suggestions? There are 4 of us.

j

 

[zanzibar138]

@zanzibar138 Your plans look very similar to ours. My wife and I are also doing the touristy Citroen 2CV tour one morning. My son and friend will be seeing the catacombs. They are pretty excited they just reopened.

We only have the one night in Paris, taking a train out at about 7am the next morning! Would have been nice to allow time for a nice leisurely breakfast at a local boulangerie, but that was our only option to get to Salzburg with only one transfer. Hubby was interested in the catacombs, but we're travelling with his elderly grandmother who uses a walking frame, so was never going to be something we could manage on this trip.

I haven't booked anything to get back to CDG from Paris. We are staying near the Eiffel Tower (at the Bir Hakeim bridge). I was considering the RER or Bolt/Uber/G7.

I took the RER from DLP to the airport way back in 2013 (embarrassingly, I didn't realise there was a direct TGV!), so not sure how relevant my experience is. Had no issues with the trains or navigating stations with one medium-sized suitcase. The only real issue was that I hadn't realised the airport trains didn't run from Paris on the weekend so ended up having to catch a different local train and then a bus. Made it eventually, but I was glad I'd left HEAPS of time! And learned my lesson on researching transport

I'd have no issues with the idea of catching the train to/from the city to the airport again under the right circumstances.