24 Hours in Paris

Written by DIWYY co-founder, Kristina Wegscheider. Email her at [email protected].

I logged into Delta.com one day and noticed that my flight from Salt Lake City to San Jose was taking off at 4:00pm; unfortunately, my Paris-Salt Lake City flight landed at like 4:30pm. A flight change by a computer suddenly had me questioning how I was going to get home. I called Delta and spoke to an agent:

Me: I noticed that I won’t be able to make the last leg of my trip home.

Delta Agent: We can have you overnight in Paris and get home the next day.

Me: There are worse things in the world.

So, by a sudden change of fate, I found myself with nearly 24 hours to explore the City of Lights. With a goal of maximizing my time, I created a plan and executed upon it. Here’s how I managed this short but sweet adventure:

Getting to the City Center: I arrived by plane at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and wanted to opt for the train to save money. Prior to my trip, I had found this awesome website that takes you step-by-step from the terminal to the city center. Armed with a print-out, I was fully prepared for the ticket buying process as well as finding the right train. I also had printed out a train timetable.

Hotel: I needed a hotel for one night and opted for the Hotel Europe Saint Severin Paris located in the Latin Quarter near Plaza Saint-Michel. It had a great location with a plethora of restaurants at its doorstep. After 10 days of eating couscous in Tunisia, I literally inhaled a falafel pita at Le Gyros down the street. Under 5 Euro and delicious.

Sightseeing: Time was limited and my French is practically non-existent so I was elated when a friend from a previous tour I went on recommended New Europe Tours. They offer free walking tours in English of several European hotspots. The Paris tour is 3 ½ hours covering all the major sites like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées. Unfortunately, the 4pm tour was cancelled the day I was there due to insufficient turnout (Note: New Europe Paris says the 11am and 1pm tours are the most popular and almost always run). So now, I found myself without plans. Luckily, I befriended another girl who had shown up for the tour and, armed with a map and a Metro pass, we saw all the sights ourselves. Paris is super easy to get around and you can see all the major sites, even if you have limited time.

Tips:

-If you can get your hands on some Euros prior to your trip, it will make buying your train ticket much easier (the machines don’t accept US credit cards). If you have notes, there is a change machine adjacent to the ticket machines as the ticket machines only accept Euro coins.

-Budget 10 Euro each way for the train and another 5 Euro for Metro passes (the single use ones are valid for 2 hours at a time). If you eat on a budget, you shouldn’t need more than 20-30 Euro for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

-If the Louvre/Mona Lisa are at the top of your list, consider pre-buying your ticket online ahead of time.

-French people are very friendly and helpful. I needed directions a few times and almost everyone knew enough English to point me in the right direction.

-Bring a French-English dictionary for menu translations.

-Arm yourself with a good pair of walking shoes and comfy yet stylish clothes. A messenger style bag will complete your look.

-If you go in January (or any winter month like I did), bring warm clothes! I learned that my “California pea coat” is not meant for Paris in winter. As a result, my strategy shifted to the wear-as-many-clothing-items-at-one-time-method which somewhat worked. Gloves, a warm hat, tights, wool socks and scarf are also necessities for a winter trip to Paris.

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