Le Havre/Paris Excursion suggestions? Crown Princess

[Luke506]

Does anyone have suggestions for the best way to see Paris in a time crunch? This will be our first time in Paris, so we'd like the most inclusive overview of the City. It appears that with the 6+ hours traveling from Le Havre....we will only have 6-8 hours in Paris. Would you suggest on our own? A guided tour? Thank you for any help you can offer.

[Gainesville cruiser]

I highly recommend this company. We did a full day trip with Eric in April on our Princess TA from FLL to London. This tour was a highlight of the trip. www.ddaylandingtours.com or email: info@ddaylandingtours.com.

The owners name is Eric LeDoux and he was our driver. His wife is Michelle and she will do most of the corresponding. He met us at our ship the Grand Princess and did a wonderful full day of the different American beaches and the American cemetery and got us back to the ship with no problems.....

[moyaroo]

With such a short time a well designed bucket list will be as helpful as a guide. Your guide is wasted if you do not have time to soak up the commnetary-to hit the majors I might suggest Seine Boat tour (you will get your commmentary) Eiffel tower walk up to second level to avoid the long line for the elevator-Arc du Triomphe - Champs Elysee - Concorde- Tuilleries -skip the Louvre you really don't have time- Notre Dame with lunch this will do you for an overview. If you are an art lover the Musee d'Orsay is great for Impressionists and relatedbut you will need 3 hours to see it well so like the Louvre I am inclined to tell you to skip it.

[Luke506]

Many thanks for your reply! Great advice and much appreciated!

[Suzila]

We took a day tour with http://www.paris-trip.com Excellent company, and they were always early picking us up. We saw all the highlights, including the Louvre one day, and then the next night we went to a restaurant (we were supposed to dine at the Eiffel Tower but the strike was on and it was closed, so they took us elsewhere), and a cruise on the Seine at night. Can't say enough good things about this company. I highly recommend them.

[cruisnfool]

Can anyone answer some questions about two tours offered by RCI

 

LH05..picks up at ship and tours all the main places (not Eiffel Tower) and drop us off at City Center for 3-1/2 hrs on our own......

?....is the ET in walking distance to the city center

?...how far is the Louve from this same spot......could people walk to these two places comfortably within the 3 hrs

 

LH03 does incluse lunch on Seine and a stop at the ET but doesn't say if there is any time on your own or do they stop the bus for pictures.

[Hlitner]

Can anyone answer some questions about two tours offered by RCI

 

LH05..picks up at ship and tours all the main places (not Eiffel Tower) and drop us off at City Center for 3-1/2 hrs on our own......

?....is the ET in walking distance to the city center

?...how far is the Louve from this same spot......could people walk to these two places comfortably within the 3 hrs

 

LH03 does incluse lunch on Seine and a stop at the ET but doesn't say if there is any time on your own or do they stop the bus for pictures.

 

We are not sure what "city center" means but most cruise line excursions drop their passengers off either near the Eiffel Tower or very close to the Place de la Concorde. Walking between the Eiffel Tower area and the Louvre is quite a hike and not an efficient use of 3 hours time. Most would probably use the wonderful Paris Metro to get around the city when you want to go any distance. That being said, keep in mind that you could easily spend a week inside the Louvre and the line to get up the Eiffel Tower can often exceed an hour waiting time. You should probably download a city and Metro map (available free online) or pick up a compact Paris tour book at any bookstore.

 

Hank

[rsquare]

Getting from the Eiffel Tower to the city center is quite easy by Metro, maybe a matter of 15 minutes. If your bus drops you off at the ET, walk under the Tower toward the River and cross the bridge (Pont d'Iena) to the art deco Trocadero Palace. You'll go through a park and up some steps to a terrace from which you have IMHO the best view of the Tower in Paris. Walk out to the street in front, turn right and you'll see a subway (Metro) station. Only the Line 6 trains use this station and the third stop northbound, in fact the end of the line, is the Arc de Triomphe. Look for signs marked "Direction Charles de Gaulle - Etoile" to make sure that you are going north. The Etoile is the big traffic circle which holds the Arch, and is also the western end of the Champs Elysees.

 

If you want to get to the Louvre, change trains (look for a sign "Correspondance," which means transfer) to Line 1, Direction Chateau de Vincennes (=eastbound) and go six stops to Palais Royal - Louvre station.

 

If your bus drops you at Place de Concorde, it's about ten blocks walk along the rue de Rivoli to the Louvre, or two stops on the eastbound Line 1.

 

To get to Notre Dame, stay on the eastbound Line 1 three more stops to Hotel de Ville, and you can cross one of several bridges over the Seine to get to the Cathedral. If you can spare a half-hour, walk around behind Notre Dame, and take the footbridge over to the next island, Ile St. Louis and just walk around a bit - very wealthy residential area, but will give you a flavor of old Paris.

 

Enjoy your day, but allow for the time that you need to get back to your bus, especially if it is parked by the Eiffel Tower.

[cruisnfool]

Thanks so much.

[Nanatravel]

The ship tour we took from LeHavre to Paris included: transport (2 hrs. each way), lunch on the Beau Marche on the River Seine (views from the river were amazing), stops for Photo op at the Eiffel Tower (it was at a distance, no time for touring), a stop at Notre Dame Cathedral with enough time to tour and shop nearby, drive by the major streets of Paris and tourist sites like the Arc de Triump, Louvre etc.

 

If you can find a private tour and folks to share it with you, I'de go for it.

[cruisnfool]

What didn't you like about the ship tour?

The private tours that I found were very costly.