Paris on Your Own - Place de la Concorde

[LVCRUZN]

We are considering taking the Paris on Your Own tour from Grand Princess. The excursion info says the bus drops you at the Place de la Concorde. What is nearby to walk to and see? How far is it to major attractions such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Arc de Triomphe (can any of them be walked to or do we need to taxi)? Is there a Hoho bus near the Place de la Concorde we can catch? I know, lots of questions, but we just want to make the best of our one short day in Paris.

[RHefley228]

The Place de la Concorde is in the middle of everything you want to see, and is a fascinating site in itself. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_de_la_Concorde for information. You can certainly walk to the places you mention if you have enough time.

[rsquare]

Well, it would be a pretty healthy walk to the Eiffel Tower, but it is close to the other places, and not too far from the Pont D'Alma, where you can catch one of the several Seine cruise lines, for when your feet are tired after walking.

 

One HO-HO line, L'Open Tour (yellow and green bus) does stop at the top of the Place de Concorde, in front of the Hotel Crillon; details at http://www.pariscityrama.com.

[sea-explorer]

I think Paris has a brilliant HOHO system with 4 interconnecting routes which takes you all over Paris which is a good bet if you have a couple of days to spare.

 

http://www.ratp.info/picts/v_sor/s_pdf/Brochure_OpenTour.pdf

 

However, given the limited time, if it were me I would take the number 42 bus..you can pay the driver for a single fare, not sure of present cost, 1-2 euros maximum, from the Place de la Concorde, (I suspect the bus leaves just round the corner from Hotel Crillon, near Maxim's, (Rue Royale) to the Eiffel Tower. (The bus turns into Ave de la Bourdonnais, as you near the Eiffel Tower and there is a stop right there on the corner). This will get you to the Eiffel Tower in minutes.

 

( More about routes and an interactive bus map here: http://goparis.about.com/od/transportation/ss/Metro_and_Buses_7.htm )

 

Edit: Just found a better bus map here: http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/bus.pdf

 

 

After this, I would cross over from the Tower to the Seine and buy a ticket for the hop on hop off batobus which has stops along the Seine, Louvre, Notre Dame & Latin Quarter, Musee d'Orsay etc. You can get off near the Place de la Concorde when you return.

 

http://www.batobus.com/english/index.htm

 

The other alternative is to take the 69 bus from the Eiffel Tower which runs past Les Invalides, Musee d'Orasay, Louvre & Notre Dame. You would probably be better buying an all day ticket for this option if you were to hop on hop off, otherwise you would be paying a fare each time.

 

(Lol! I wouldn't walk from the Place de la Concorde to the Eiffel Tower, I'm obviously not healthy enough!;))

[margord]

How far is it from Place de la Concorde to Notre Dame? Is it walkable?

[Flick]

Yes it is "walkable" but the HOHO bus is a much better option since you will be in Paris for only one day. In other words you would lose a lot of time walking to Notre Dame and the other sites.

[margord]

Yes it is "walkable" but the HOHO bus is a much better option since you will be in Paris for only one day. In other words you would lose a lot of time walking to Notre Dame and the other sites.

 

We were in Paris last year and saw most of the other sites. I wanted to get back to Notre Dame to see the things in that area I missed. About how far is the walk?

[LVCRUZN]

Wow ! Thanks for all the info -- this is very helpful in our planning. Sounds like we can see a lot either walking or taking the Hoho bus. I really didn't want to take the "Paris Highlights" tour since it sounded like you spent more time on he bus and just drove by a lot of stuff, so I think the Paris on Your Own will work for us.

 

One quick question ... when you say a "healthy" walk to the Eiffel Tower, how far in either miles (is it 2-3 miles or further) or time-wise (a half hour walk, or a two hour walk)? We are pretty healthy and walk a lot, so a couple of miles wouldn't bother us (plus we would work off some of that cruise food and drink :)

[Flick]

Although you can see the Eiffel Tower from the Place D' Concorde it still is quite a walk...my guess at least a mile and probably more. Can't be more concise since it's been about three years since we've been there......

[dfwguy62]

I used Google Maps to look up both the Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde. Then asked it to give me directions between the two. It calcuated 3.1 kilometers or 1.9 miles as the driving distance. But the route takes a couple turns due to one way streets that you might not have to do if walking. It looks to be about 1.5 miles. I've walked it. It's a very nice walk if you have the time and energy. Check it out on Google Maps. You can see the route as well as a lot of the other sites in the area from the "Satellite" view.

[agabbymama]

I don't think that looks like a bad walk at all, and I'm a 62 year old lady. We plan to walk down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triumph then back to the Eiffel Tower, then back on the Batobus.

 

On this map, at the top right is the Place de la Concorde. Then if you move the box over to the left at the bend of the river, you will see the Eiffel Tower. I have no idea what the exact milage for walking it may be, but it doesn't look that far if you do much walking at all.

 

I walked 25 kilometers in Canberra Australia. I slept good that night, but we can walk a lot farther than we may think we can. Just pace yourself and look for places to rest if you need to.

 

http://www.hot-maps.de/europe/france/paris/homeen.html

 

Have a great trip!

[LVCRUZN]

Tha batobus looks great - thanks Sparky! I think we will probably end up finding our way to the Eiffel Tower and make our way back using the batobus. If its only a couple miles to the Eiffel Tower, we could walk it easily for us, although it could end up like us in Vegas on the Strip, where we could "see" the Stratosphere, so how far could it possibly be to walk? A lot further than it looked. So, even though we can "see" the Eiffel Tower and it doesn't look far .... We may end up just taking the bus to save time.

 

In re-reading the excursion info, it looks like the bus to go back to LaHarve picks us up at the Tuileries (instead of Place de la Concorde). Which of the batobus stops would be closest to get off at and how far a walk to the Tuileries?

 

Thanks - you guys have all been very helpful ! I'm so excited !!!!

[sea-explorer]

The problem with walking is just the time it takes when time is such a precious commodity on shore excursions...plus any distractions you may find on the way. :) Okay, I'll admit, I'm slower than most!

 

Also, if you are planning to go up the Eiffel Tower, there will be time lost in waiting in line. However, there is also an entrance where you can walk up, rather than queue for the elevator entrance. Lines for this are much shorter and may be worth a shot.

 

The 'Jardin Des Tuileries' is the park that links the Place de la Concorde with the Louvre. You have a few options here.

 

Perhaps the nearest batobus stop to the Place de La Concorde end will be the Champs Elysees...or you could get off at the Louvre & walk through the park...or you could get off at the Musee D'Orsay stop and cross the bridge, Pont Solferino, into the park and walk through from there. I suspect the Musee D'Orsay stop will be the nearest to your bus pick up point.

 

A lot will depend on the order you wish to do things. I think perhaps from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre..onto Notre Dame & back to the Musee D'Orsay, Don't miss a stroll through the back streets on the Latin Quarter side near Notre Dame. A tip..if you fancy a meal or just a drink stop here, do not go to the cafes/bars along the river side. Cross over the bridge in front of Notre Dame, head straight on, & then turn into any of the back streets. There are plenty of cafes here offering set meals for 10E ...at least there were when we were there a couple of months ago.

 

Actually, rather than catch the batobus from here, you may prefer to walk along the river bank..a few run of the mill souvenir stalls/paintings here, & then cross a bridge & walk through the Tulieries.

 

I've also re-read your first post & realized that the Arc de Triomphe is missing. You could of course walk straight down the Champs Elysees here from where your bus drops you. Again, it is just the time factor. There is a number 73 bus from Place de la Concorde to Arc de Triomphe. You could then walk from here, perhaps via the Trocadero or use the 92 bus to cross the river near the Tower. If you want to see the Arc de Triomphe, it is perhaps best to see it first.

 

Good luck whatever you decide.

[pcur]

We took the "on your own" bus when we were on the Millie a year ago.

 

I HIGHLY recommend you go to Barnes and Noble and buy one of their $8 laminated fold-up pocket maps of Paris. All your questions above are easily answered with this map, and it fits in your pocket. We have them for London, Paris, and Amsterdam.

 

I would not want you upset if they changed your drop-off place to the street behind the Eiffel Tower, which is another common place for the tour buses to do this. Having the map, you can easily figure out your route.

 

We also took the hoho bus, and it was fabulous!! There is also a stop at the Eiffel Tower, right in front.

[margord]

I used Google Maps to look up both the Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde. Then asked it to give me directions between the two. It calcuated 3.1 kilometers or 1.9 miles as the driving distance. But the route takes a couple turns due to one way streets that you might not have to do if walking. It looks to be about 1.5 miles. I've walked it. It's a very nice walk if you have the time and energy. Check it out on Google Maps. You can see the route as well as a lot of the other sites in the area from the "Satellite" view.

 

Thank you

[nonnie&dgd]

Thanks for tip about getting the map. I can get lost very easily.

[SuburbanMom]

This lurker is thankful for your info.:)

[Jane110]

Thanks for tip about getting the map. I can get lost very easily.

 

The plastic coated fold-up maps that US bookstores sell is a very useful tool. They have them for every city. And they're easy to read and since they're plastic coated won't get ruined in the rain or fall apart from use like a paper one. They sell for under $10. each.

[stuff7]

We will be on the Grand Princess departing on July 25th and were also thinking of doing Paris on your own shore excusion. I believe the Louve is closed the day we are there (Tuesday) so we too were hoping to go to Notre Dame and Eifel Tower. Do you happen to be on the same cruise?

[magnoliamom]

Another lurker thanking everyone for the terrific information. You've answered all of my questions in one thread. :)