Paris from Le Havre

[tntinftw]

Carnival has a 10 1/2 hour excursion from Le Havre to Paris.  I'm hedging on the conservative side and thinking 3 hours of drive time each way, which would leave 4 1/2 hours in Paris.  I know it's not nearly enough time to see everything, but we were thinking of the train from Invalides to Champ des Mars to view the Eiffel Tower up close (not go up), then walk to the Arc de Triomphe via Av Kleber then walk the Champs Elysees back to the meeting point.  

 

Is this doable?

[marazul]

1 hour ago, tntinftw said:

Carnival has a 10 1/2 hour excursion from Le Havre to Paris.  I'm hedging on the conservative side and thinking 3 hours of drive time each way, which would leave 4 1/2 hours in Paris.  I know it's not nearly enough time to see everything, but we were thinking of the train from Invalides to Champ des Mars to view the Eiffel Tower up close (not go up), then walk to the Arc de Triomphe via Av Kleber then walk the Champs Elysees back to the meeting point.  

 

Is this doable?

 

It is quite a bit of walking, but yes, it is doable.  In fact, you can walk as far as the Louvre pyramid before you cross back over the Seine to Les Invalides in two hours.  Given that you have 4 hours, you can stop at a cafe for a fairly quick lunch (ask for the plat du jour) and take your time taking pictures.  Here, I hope, is a map of the route.  

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.8579114,2.3131169/48.8608838,2.3365978/''/''/''/@48.8647641,2.3064279,15z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x47e66fd1ce997a89:0xf5601734132c64fb!4m22!4m21!1m0!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fec70fb1d8f:0xd9b5676e112e643d!2m2!1d2.2950682!2d48.873848!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e2964e34e2d:0x8ddca9ee380ef7e0!2m2!1d2.2944813!2d48.8583701!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fd7b98f3053:0x455a14459c80c16a!2m2!1d2.3127059!2d48.856529!3e2?hl=en

 

You can also walk as far as the Pont Neuf after the Louvre and cross back there.  That adds about 10-15 minutes to the route, but you will love the selfies. And you will have 3 hours to rest your feet on the bus.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.8579114,2.3131169/Pont+Neuf,+Paris,+France/48.8608838,2.3365978/''/''/''/@48.8647772,2.3009234,14z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x47e66fd1ce997a89:0xf5601734132c64fb!4m28!4m27!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e208ddb058b:0xd469600dcb63f51b!2m2!1d2.3413252!2d48.85705!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fec70fb1d8f:0xd9b5676e112e643d!2m2!1d2.2950682!2d48.873848!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e2964e34e2d:0x8ddca9ee380ef7e0!2m2!1d2.2944813!2d48.8583701!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fd7b98f3053:0x455a14459c80c16a!2m2!1d2.3127059!2d48.856529!3e2?hl=en

Edited February 3, 2022 by marazul

[dolls123]

On 2/3/2022 at 7:37 AM, marazul said:

 

It is quite a bit of walking, but yes, it is doable.  In fact, you can walk as far as the Louvre pyramid before you cross back over the Seine to Les Invalides in two hours.  Given that you have 4 hours, you can stop at a cafe for a fairly quick lunch (ask for the plat du jour) and take your time taking pictures.  Here, I hope, is a map of the route.  

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.8579114,2.3131169/48.8608838,2.3365978/''/''/''/@48.8647641,2.3064279,15z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x47e66fd1ce997a89:0xf5601734132c64fb!4m22!4m21!1m0!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fec70fb1d8f:0xd9b5676e112e643d!2m2!1d2.2950682!2d48.873848!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e2964e34e2d:0x8ddca9ee380ef7e0!2m2!1d2.2944813!2d48.8583701!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fd7b98f3053:0x455a14459c80c16a!2m2!1d2.3127059!2d48.856529!3e2?hl=en

 

You can also walk as far as the Pont Neuf after the Louvre and cross back there.  That adds about 10-15 minutes to the route, but you will love the selfies. And you will have 3 hours to rest your feet on the bus.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/48.8579114,2.3131169/Pont+Neuf,+Paris,+France/48.8608838,2.3365978/''/''/''/@48.8647772,2.3009234,14z/data=!3m2!4b1!5s0x47e66fd1ce997a89:0xf5601734132c64fb!4m28!4m27!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e208ddb058b:0xd469600dcb63f51b!2m2!1d2.3413252!2d48.85705!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fec70fb1d8f:0xd9b5676e112e643d!2m2!1d2.2950682!2d48.873848!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66e2964e34e2d:0x8ddca9ee380ef7e0!2m2!1d2.2944813!2d48.8583701!1m5!1m1!1s0x47e66fd7b98f3053:0x455a14459c80c16a!2m2!1d2.3127059!2d48.856529!3e2?hl=en

Thanks for the map!

[Hlitner]

On 2/3/2022 at 9:03 AM, tntinftw said:

Carnival has a 10 1/2 hour excursion from Le Havre to Paris.  I'm hedging on the conservative side and thinking 3 hours of drive time each way, which would leave 4 1/2 hours in Paris.  I know it's not nearly enough time to see everything, but we were thinking of the train from Invalides to Champ des Mars to view the Eiffel Tower up close (not go up), then walk to the Arc de Triomphe via Av Kleber then walk the Champs Elysees back to the meeting point.  

 

Is this doable?

We agree with Marazul that it is doable if you are good walkers :).  Your comment about seeing everything did make me smile.  DW and I have literally spent weeks walking in Paris and we still have not "seen everything."  In fact, one could spend weeks inside the Louvre and still not see everything in that one museum.  IMHO doing only a port day in Paris should be a crime.  The city is worthy of many days, weeks, or even months.

 

Hank

[cruisemom42]

48 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

IMHO doing only a port day in Paris should be a crime.  The city is worthy of many days, weeks, or even months.

 

Good question -- why don't more ships overnight in Le Havre, if they're going to stop there?  Still not as much time as needed, but better than a single day and provides an option for folks to overnight in Paris.

[Hlitner]

26 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Good question -- why don't more ships overnight in Le Havre, if they're going to stop there?  Still not as much time as needed, but better than a single day and provides an option for folks to overnight in Paris.

Perhaps the answer is that it is a great idea...which is why it is rarely done:)  But the "insider" story is that mass market lines "maximize onboard revenue" as an important part of their business plan.  An overnight generally means the casino is closed, passengers spend more money ashore and less onboard, etc.  There is also the issue of docking space.  Many ships used to overnight in Venice (when they were allowed to dock at the Maritima) because they port had lots of pier space.  Le Havre does not have a lot of pier space at their cruise facility although I guess they could put some ships at nearby commercial piers.

 

Hank

[John Bull]

My take on iconic places that are worth several days but a long way from the port-of-call (eg Paris from Le Havre, Berlin from Warnemunde, London from Southampton, Hanoi from Halong Bay, and a dozen others) is that there are plenty of other places much much closer to the ship that you can explore on a port-of-call day, and you should put those iconic places on the back-burner for some future vacation of several days when you can make a proper fist of it. Or, if your ship's embarkation / disembarkation port is suitable, you could build in some pre-cruise or post-cruise time.

 

But do go for it, even in a trunkated port-of-call visit, if you don't expect to ever be able to return in the future

 

BTW, if Paris is your last port-of-call on a cruise which ends in Southampton or Dover you can ask in advance for the cruise line's permission to jump-ship in Le Havre, so that you can spend post-cruise time in Paris & fly home from there. Most cruise lines will allow this, some won't.  

The only part of your cruise that you'll miss is the overnite. back to Southampton or Dover and the haul up to a London airport next day.

Your air fare out to London & back from Paris will be about the same as the simple return fare if you book  "multi-city" (aka open-jaw) return tickets.

 

JB 🙂

[raynvic]

My DH and I did this Carnival excursion a few years ago.  We knew we would likely never get to Paris again, just not high on the bucket list.  It was worth the long bus trip there and back.  We actually arrived back at the ship late, but it was a Carnival excursion.  We had an amazing experience at a small cafe across from the Notre Dame, we opted to view from outside versus standing in a long line to enter.  At this small cafe we met an America couple on vacation and staying in Paris and a family from Peru whom we were able to converse with in Spanish.  We did get to see the highlights and walk under the Eiffel Tower.  My vote is do it!

[wcook]

Just my opinion, but Paris is special. If you’ve never been, it’s worth jumping through hoops and long bus rides, even for just four hours. 
 

Though if it were me, I’d take the metro from the Eiffel Tower to Norte Dame and walk back along the Sine. That may be pushing it time wise depending on how leisurely you walk. You can always cab the last bit if necessary. 

[kidstwo2]

On 6/17/2022 at 3:49 PM, raynvic said:

My DH and I did this Carnival excursion a few years ago.  We knew we would likely never get to Paris again, just not high on the bucket list.  It was worth the long bus trip there and back.  We actually arrived back at the ship late, but it was a Carnival excursion.  We had an amazing experience at a small cafe across from the Notre Dame, we opted to view from outside versus standing in a long line to enter.  At this small cafe we met an America couple on vacation and staying in Paris and a family from Peru whom we were able to converse with in Spanish.  We did get to see the highlights and walk under the Eiffel Tower.  My vote is do it!

Did you do the Carnival excursion where they provided the transportation only and you were on your own or the one they tour you around?  Thank you.

[raynvic]

3 hours ago, kidstwo2 said:

Did you do the Carnival excursion where they provided the transportation only and you were on your own or the one they tour you around?  Thank you.

We did the Carnival excursion.  They did tour us around and then at the end they dropped us near Notre Dame and we had free time.  I will tell you it was a good thing we did the Carnival excursion as most all of the Carnival buses we late returning to the ship.

[kidstwo2]

1 hour ago, raynvic said:

We did the Carnival excursion.  They did tour us around and then at the end they dropped us near Notre Dame and we had free time.  I will tell you it was a good thing we did the Carnival excursion as most all of the Carnival buses we late returning to the ship.

Thank you so much-this is very helpful.  Do you happen to remember approx. how much time free time you had?  I have been fortunate to have been to Paris multiple times but this is first time for our friends-in particular they would like to at least see the Pyramid at the Louvre-I am wondering if we would have time to grab Metro and run see it during our free time?  Did they do a photo stop anywhere besides the Eiffel tower?  That is the only photo stop mentioned in their description.  I appreciate your help!