After reading tons of blog posts about what to do in Paris on a long layover, we happened to discover the perfect metro route with most exchanges at major tourist spots. Follow this and you’ll be able to see Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre, Arc De Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in one convenient route from Charles De Gaulle airport. We left our bags at Baggage Du Monde at the airport for 7€ per bag. I also recommend that you buy the Paris Visite tickets from the information counter at the terminal because there were long lines at the ticket vending machines for the metro.
Step 1: CDG to Sacre Coeur
Take the RER B from CDG to Paris. Get off at Gare Du Nord. Take M4 from Gare Du Nord towards Porte de Clignancourt. Get off at Chateau Rouge. When we went Chateau Rouge was temporarily closed so we went one stop later at Marcadet – Poissoniers and switched to M6 upto Abbesses. This is also the stop for the Funiculaire de Montmartre. There were lots of signs to Sacre Coeur on the streets.
Step 2. Sacre Coeur to Eiffel Tower via Arc De Triomphe
Walk from Sacre Coeur to Anvers metro and take the M2 to Charles De Gaulle Etoile (metro stop for Arc De Triomphe)
From Charles De Gaulle Etoile take M6 to Trocadero. Thanks to this very helpful blog post, we discovered that Trocadero is the ideal location to click pictures with the Eiffel Tower.
Step 3: Eiffel Tower to CDG via Notre Dame
From Eiffel Tower, either walk to Bir-Hakeim metro or from Trocadero take M6 to Bir Hakiem. From Bir-Hakeim, take RER C to St. Michel-Notre Dame.
From Notre Dame, take RER B back to the airport. Done! We left the airport around 10:00 and were back at around 3:30PM. So if you have more time, you might just be able to squeeze in going into one of the places. We did not feel rushed at all and had enough time for lunch and a portrait at Montmartre.
Happy traveling, hope you enjoyed this blog post about something other than my solar power production or yogurt :).
Glad the post was helpful. What a beautiful city it is!