Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Paris in 4 hours. Transiting through Charles de Gaulle airport, what can you do in 4 hours? Take the RER B metro line to Chatelet Les Halles. In two hours, walk through the oldest districts. See Les Halles Shopping Mall, Centre Pompidou, Notre-Dame, the river banks and Le Louvre. A first discovery of some of the greatest sights in town. Places to visit in Paris.
You are transiting through Charles de Gaulle Paris Airport. You have only 4 hours to spend. There are two options.
During the day (avoid rush hour), take a taxi to Place du Trocadéro. From the Trocadéro terrace, walk down across the river to the Eiffel Tower. Take a taxi back to the airport.
Alternatively, you can take the RER B metro line to the city at the airport up to Saint-Michel station. You are there right at the center of the old city ready for an easy walk alongside some of the most spectacular sights in the city. Get started. Take the RER B metro at Charles de Gaulle terminal 1 or 2 to Saint-Michel in Paris (marker A on map below). Check RER B timetable from "Aeroport Charles de Gaulle" station to "Saint-Michel Notre-Dame" station. Count one hour.
At Saint-Michel RER B metro station, you are literally 15' walking from Notre-Dame Cathedral, the most visited sight in town and one of the most beautiful churches in the world (1). Spend 30' around Notre-Dame which cannot be visited.
Walk to the Louvre (4) along the romantic quays of the Seine river and through the lovely Passerelle des arts pedestrian bridge (3). This beautiful walk takes 30'.
Spend one hour in Le Louvre. This is not enough time to visit the museum. You can see the Louvre from the outside, a splendid royal palace and the spectacular glass pyramid.
Walking to Centre Pompidou (6) will take you 30'. Spend one hour at Centre Pompidou, both a daring modern monument in an old district and a world class modern art museum.
Walking to Les Halles Shoppoing Mall and RER B Chatelet les Halles metro station beneath it (7) will take you 15'. Count one hour back to the airport.
