10 Hours In Paris...

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I'll soon be spending a day in Paris while in London

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Madness. A day in Paris is pure insanity to me. It is a city that needs to be savored and done at a relaxed pace.

You also have to factor in travel time to and from Gare du Nord, which out in the 10th arrondisement, so even though the Metro is pretty fast it'll take a few to get to city center.

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1. Champs Elysses (just walking down it for a bit)

2. Eiffel Tower (just visiting the park where it is)

3. Catacombs

4. Musee Rodin

5. Notre Dame (and possibly checking out a spot with a good view of the city after that?)

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You really cannot do all of this in the time alotted IMO without running through all of them.

I would skip Rodin and the Catacombs and save those for your next trip where you hopefully spend more than 10 hours in Paris.

Personally I think the Champs Elysses is also a waste of time as well.

Do the Eiffel and Notre Dame, walk by the Louvre just to take pictures near the glass pyramid, walk along the Seine to ND. Maybe have some ice cream at Berthillion or some coffee at a famous cafe like Magots.

I honestly don't know the train station well enough to recommend a restaurant, but timeout has a list:

LINK

Many do not agree, but I personally think its worth it to go to the top. It is time consuming but its a wonderful experience.

The area around Eiffel is filled with Somalis and Arabs aggressively trying to sell you shite.

Montmarte is too far to go out to given the time scale.

If you aren't going to the top of Eiffel and insist on doing Champs Elysee, you MAY consider going to the top of the Arc de Triumphe instead, beautiful view of the city.

Scratch the catacombs, and this is possibly do-able. I'll post back in a little bit when I've figured out a potential route. Meanwhile, you can check out what The Man in Seat 61 says about the Gare Du Nord (busiest train station in the world): LINK

Okay, here's one way to approach this (again, ditching the catacombs):
--upon arrival at Gare du Nord, grab a snack & beverage. Get something portable & keep moving.
--take the RER B (buy a ticket from the machine, it's easy and will take your US chip card) in the direction of St Remy or Robinson (either will take you where you want to go).
--get off at St. Michel, exit, and you can take the short walk across the river to Notre Dame. There is often a line; if it's too crazy, consider visiting the underground museum in the plaza in front of the cathedral; full of interesting exhibits about the Roman and medieval foundations of Paris, with some excavations visible.
--if you enjoy walking and haven't been to Paris (or haven't been recently), consider crossing to the Right Bank, walking through the grand court of the Louvre, and continue through the Tuileries. Maybe stop for a drink and a rest and a little people watching at one of the park cafes in the Tuileries. Otherwise, keep walking across the Place de la Concorde (site of the guillotine) until you reach the Champs Elysees.
--stroll on the Champs Elysees (overrated, IMHO, but you asked for it) until you reach FDR circle.
--enter the Metro at FDR circle, take the "J" line in the direction of Pont des Sevres to the Trocadero stop.
--Get out at Trocadero--this is a small park with a lavish fountain on a promontory overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Walk down through the park, cross the river, and marvel up at the tower. Trocadero park gives you great views of the city and the Tower. Ideal tourist photo opp.
--when you're tired of looking at the tower from below, dodge the 1,000,000 other tourists, French military police toting machine guns, and plainclothes police to walk to the Musee Rodin. (you can buy tickets online in advance for the museum, but you can also buy tickets on site for just the outdoor sculpture garden if it's a nice day and you don't feel like going inside the museum part).
--being at the Musee Rodin puts you close to the Varenne metro stop...you can do some research and find a cafe or restaurant near there, have dinner, then take the metro back to Gare du Nord (you'll have to switch trains/lines, or walk to a stop on a different line).

Or do the whole thing in reverse, if you prefer to do the more complicated metro transfers first, and end up easily walking to the St Michel RER stop to go directly back to Gare du Nord.

Honestly, I'd just stay in London....and I love Paris & speak French. As Samuel Johnson said, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. There is an incredible amount to see & do in London. Save the train ticket money for really good theater tickets, or a Michelin starred dinner in London.

Chez Michel is very close to Gare du Nord. It is a fantastic restaurant showcasing the cuisine of Normandy. I'd go there (Assuming timing works out)

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Scratch the catacombs, and this is possibly do-able. I'll post back in a little bit when I've figured out a potential route. Meanwhile, you can check out what The Man in Seat 61 says about the Gare Du Nord (busiest train station in the world): LINK Okay, here's one way to approach this (again, ditching the catacombs): --upon arrival at Gare du Nord, grab a snack & beverage. Get something portable & keep moving. --take the RER B (buy a ticket from the machine, it's easy and will take your US chip card) in the direction of St Remy or Robinson (either will take you where you want to go). --get off at St. Michel, exit, and you can take the short walk across the river to Notre Dame. There is often a line; if it's too crazy, consider visiting the underground museum in the plaza in front of the cathedral; full of interesting exhibits about the Roman and medieval foundations of Paris, with some excavations visible. --if you enjoy walking and haven't been to Paris (or haven't been recently), consider crossing to the Right Bank, walking through the grand court of the Louvre, and continue through the Tuileries. Maybe stop for a drink and a rest and a little people watching at one of the park cafes in the Tuileries. Otherwise, keep walking across the Place de la Concorde (site of the guillotine) until you reach the Champs Elysees. --stroll on the Champs Elysees (overrated, IMHO, but you asked for it) until you reach FDR circle. --enter the Metro at FDR circle, take the "J" line in the direction of Pont des Sevres to the Trocadero stop. --Get out at Trocadero--this is a small park with a lavish fountain on a promontory overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Walk down through the park, cross the river, and marvel up at the tower. Trocadero park gives you great views of the city and the Tower. Ideal tourist photo opp. --when you're tired of looking at the tower from below, dodge the 1,000,000 other tourists, French military police toting machine guns, and plainclothes police to walk to the Musee Rodin. (you can buy tickets online in advance for the museum, but you can also buy tickets on site for just the outdoor sculpture garden if it's a nice day and you don't feel like going inside the museum part). --being at the Musee Rodin puts you close to the Varenne metro stop...you can do some research and find a cafe or restaurant near there, have dinner, then take the metro back to Gare du Nord (you'll have to switch trains/lines, or walk to a stop on a different line). Or do the whole thing in reverse, if you prefer to do the more complicated metro transfers first, and end up easily walking to the St Michel RER stop to go directly back to Gare du Nord. Honestly, I'd just stay in London....and I love Paris & speak French. As Samuel Johnson said, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life. There is an incredible amount to see & do in London. Save the train ticket money for really good theater tickets, or a Michelin starred dinner in London.

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Tell ya what - if I were able to convince the other person to ditch the Champs Elysees, could you possibly devise a route with the Catacombs in the mix? I appreciate whatever you can do!

Catacombs takes a lot of time that's why people say scratch it. I was there for 7 days and didn't even make it there.

Champs Elyssee could take you twenty minutes. "Oh there's the street. Neat." And get on your way to more interesting things. Walking along the Seine is 1 trillion times more enjoyable than the Champs.

Skip the catacombs. The rest of those places are within easy walking distance of each other. I would start at N.D., then go to the Rodin. I would suggest trying to have dinner on rue St. Dominique which is in the shadow of the Eiffel Towed. That is one of my favorite restaurant rows in Paris. There are many excellent restaurants on or a couple of blocks off that street. Some of my favorites are Le Fontaine de Mars, Chez L'Ami Jean, Café Constant, Violon de Ingre, and La Fables de Fontaine. Then go back to the train station.

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Champs Elysses (just walking down it for a bit)

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It's like walking down a typical city in the US, lot's of homeless, beggars, thieves, and cookie cutter stores. Unless you're more looking to cross it off a bucket list.

Check out the 6th arrondissement for great shopping streets, also nice and picturesque. Great to stroll down. It's also home to the best bakeries, chocolate shops, and pastry shops.

Sacre-Couer has a great view, and y'all can walk the Montmartre neighborhood around it and it's really cool. Veer off too far near Barbes - Rochechouart station and you'll be in the arab ghetto.

Everything near Gare du Nord is really bad. If you know how Decatur is in Nola or Times Square in NYC, it's all tourist traps.

However, there is a meat lovers gem near by called Chez Papa. It is Southwestern French/Basque food and really tasty. Not a facny place, just crazy tasty and close to Gare du Nord. Tous, or Vivant are near and fancy/good. L'Oseille is a little further but one of my favorites.

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Champs Elysses is a complete waste of time. It was the only time in Paris I felt unsafe.

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I never felt unsafe there, it's just sort of boring.

As someone else alluded to, it's basically Paris' version of 'Big City Anywhere'. Sure, take a glance down the classic view toward the Arc de Triomphe and move on.