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[mhochman]

Hello everyone

We have never been to DLP and have decided to add some days to a family trip to Germany/Austria.  We are planning on five nights in DLP, arrival day, departure day, two days for parks, plus one day to tour Paris since we have never been there.  Are there any tour companies that pick up at DLP, take you through the city, then bring you back to the hotel?  Or would we take the train into the city and pick up a tour there?  Are there any companies affiliated with Disney?

Looking for recommendations/advice.
Thank you.

[DC]

DLP does Paris tours:
http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk/tours/#/paris-tours/

[mhochman]

I had no idea.  That's so convenient.  Now, any recommendations from anyone on which tour would be best to get the highlights of Paris?  Maybe the essentials one?

I fully realize that Paris can't properly be seen in one day.  We will return one day for a proper vacation, but we figure since we will be so close, we have to see some basics for a day.

[pontyslapper]

We practice 'drive by' tourism normally for stuff like a day in Paris.

This year though, a pair of Mobilis travel passes for me and the wife and a Visite Paris pass each for the kids will see us RER/Metro it into Paris for a day in August. That'll be about €60 but gives unlimited travel on RER/Metro/Bus/Trams in Paris and out to DLP.

Another €60 for Batobus tickets gives you hop on/hop off travel up and down the Seine with 9 stops at or near major touristy bits.

We are only going to look/photo the outside of stuff like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe as the queues are horrendous and they add extra cost while sapping time due to queues.

One attraction we are doing is the Tour Montparnasse - its got fab views around Paris with out the legwork of the Arc de Triomphe (284 steps up, the same down!) and the queues of the Eiffel Tower (hours sometimes). It has a lift that whizzes you to the top enclosed viewing area in 38 seconds, then its a couple of flights of stairs to the outside viewing area. Its about €17 for one trip up, or €23 for 2 trips up - we are doing 2 - one in the day and one later in the evening for the lights.

Its a bit of organisation but I've worked out that RER A from DLP into Paris (Nation) takes about 40 minutes, then you jump onto Metro 6 from Nation round to CdG Etoile for the Arc de Triomphe or a few stops earlier (Bir Hakeim) for the Eiffel Tower.

Obviously these have a bit of walking to and from the stations to the attractions but they might save you a bit of time and money if you fancied a full day in Paris doing the touristy stuff you want to do rather than the tighter schedules of the Disney offered trips that are more specific.

[lawleypop2011]

Hi Pontyslapper

You seem to know what you are talking about!  We are also visiting DLP in August and would like to have a day in Paris so your tip on where to change from RER to Metro for the Eiffel Tower was fab .  I just wondered why you wouldn't buy your child a Mobilis day ticket - are children not allowed to use these?  Also do you have to wait until the day and buy these at the train station or can you buy them in advance?  The Visite tickets seem really expensive for what it is considering we need zone 1-5 coming from DLP.  We are thinking we will just get the train in and do a bus tour so we can see everything easily and probably wont actually go up the Eiffel Tower.  Feel free to give me any more tips that would help with our trip, we are a group of 3 adults and 2 children (10 & 11).

[pontyslapper]

Mobilis tickets are 'only' for adults, so its a few quid cheaper to put the kids on Visite Paris tickets. €17.80 for a mobilis versus €12.60 for a kids Visite Paris - ok its only €10 difference but thats a handful of croissants or pain au chocolat!!

I think you can buy them in advance from a firm over here, but there's a postage charge of about £8 on the firm I found doing them. I'm going to wait - part of the fun if you like.

The change on the RER A is actually 'compulsory' at the moment as they are ripping the guts out of it in August - literally right in the middle of Paris. You can actually go further in, but Nation is the best end-to-end stop option for the Eiffel and Triomphe - its in my view, easy and 'safer' dragging kids through the switch tunnels than crossing roads and getting lost in a maze of streets.

We are going to use the metro and buy the batobus as the bus tours can get stuck in the traffic. Ok you don't see a lot using the metro, but some of the stations (arts et metiers) are worth a look if you're going through them as they are as a general rule done up in a style.

Its our first time and I'm planning it via the usual 'rough guide' type books and watching some expat youngsters who vlog on youtube. Jay Swanson was my first hit - he did a guide on using the metro, then a friend of his does reviews of macarons/croissants etc so we have some ideas for side trips. Another good one was a bloke from the north of England who did the Tour Montparnasse visit and vlogged it - hes TheAdventurousVlogger.

One of our side trips is the Paris sewers tour - you go down into the main sewer and its a museum with the sewer running under your feet - our 6 year old lad wants to go as he can watch poo on on its journey!! He has just done a tour of the local sewage works with school so him and his mates have a bit of a poo fascination going on at the moment.

I know thats a lot to take in - and I'm still planning.

[lawleypop2011]

Wow thanks!!  Think I will wait and get the tickets from the station at Disney.  What are they doing to the RER A? If it's best to change at Nation then we will do that ☺️. Love the sewer trip 😂

[mhochman]

We like to have things organized so that, while touristy, and least we know we are hitting the big spots.  We will likely stick with one of the Disney sponsored tours.

[pontyslapper]

Wow thanks!!  Think I will wait and get the tickets from the station at Disney.  What are they doing to the RER A? If it's best to change at Nation then we will do that ☺️. Love the sewer trip 😂

Full track and ballast replacement - its scheduled from 2015 until 2020+ - the main bulk of work happening during the 'closed' season in France being August each year - a full 4 week shutdown.

They (RATP - train peeps) worked out that with ballast settling time, doing it adhoc over night would take about 20 years as the trains could only run at 30kph over the repaired sections. Doing it this way is painful for tourists but only takes about 5 or 20 years, and means they can do other repairs at the same time when the tunnels are fully closed down.

There are other options to change but Nation is the best option to skirt right round to the other side for Eiffel and Triomphe/Champs Elysee quickest. Plus its one change not lots of short train daps then a bit of tunnel walks to get to connections.

[lawleypop2011]

Fab thanks