10 hours in Paris, what can I reasonably do

[nice2BeNice]

DD(12) and I have a stopover of 10 hrs in Paris (9am-7pm), while waiting for a connecting flight. We will be just travelling with one cabin bag, so expect to get out of the flight quick.

DD has never been to Paris. My recollection of my last Paris visit is so hazy, that it can't be counted. So, we will be as first-time-visiting tourists

Can I expect to do any reasonable sightseeing in 9-10 hours, accounting for time to travel from airport and back to airport? Or is it too ambitious and we should just wait at the airport?

Orly or Charles de Gaulle? Doable from both

Thank you, good to hear that. I haven't booked my tickets yet. It is CDG

This would be a perfect itinerary for my dc at that age:
Charles de Gaulle- Chatelet on the RER. Walk over the bridge to the Isle St Louis, Notre Dame. Stop off at Shakespeare & Co then half hour walk to Musée d’Orsay for lunch.
Avoid restaurants and cafés on main strips/ places as the cost will be eye watering. I’d avoid taxis as they’re the only place I’ve been scammed. Otherwise metro/ rer back. And unfortunately be very pick pocket aware but you’ll have a great day.

I did this. From what I recall (it was a long time ago), I got the bus from CDG to the centre and jumped on the sightseeing bus so I got to see the main sights in a short space of time. I do that in most cities, do the whole loop first to get a feel then get off at the places that interest me most.

I'd get the RER to Châtelet as suggested and then get on one of the hop-on hop-off tourist buses, or the Batobus, which is the sightseeing boat equivalent. Musée d'Orsay for lunch is a fabulous idea, and an hour spent wandering the museum itself was much enjoyed by my kids at a similar age.
I wouldn't bother with Shakespeare & co personally... but à chacun son goût!

Thanks all! Will look at all the info and plan. Just booked the flight tickets! Will report back, after the trip😀

Shakespeare and co is just bookshop. It's quite nice but not worth it if you only have a few hours.

Musée d'Orsay is a good call but book tickets in advance, you don't want to waste any time queuing.

If I was on a stopover I would walk rather than take hop on hop off bus.

I did this 2 days ago. With DH, but easily could have managed a child instead with a slightly different focus. Landed 9.20am. Followed signs to RER. Stopped for an espresso on the way. Bought the train ticket at 10am. There’s banks of self serve machines, touch screen with English option, ticket about 10 euros each, select “Paris” and you can get off at any of the central stops but Chatelet best in my opinion. Ticket has 2 hour validity on the metro too as I understand but we didn’t use it for that. There were super friendly staff at both the ticket machines and on the platforms to help. Maybe practicing their customer service ahead of the Olympics but they were top class! Got to platform 11/12 at 10.05am but there were no trains until 10.35. Supposed to be every 10 mins. Arrived Chatelet at 11.10am. Followed the exit signs towards Pont Neuf.

Easy to get your bearings once out and head toward the river. We were only interested in food and drink! So got to the south-side of the river after a stop-off for a Ricard, put our preferred cuisine in google maps and walked 10 mins to an area with good density of choices and arrived about 12. We stopped for an entree and glass of wine at 3 different restaurants. With bread and the complimentary tasty appetizers at each place we were full after that! All waiting staff were lovely, and although most diners were having a full 3 course menu no one blinked an eye when we ordered small.

Took our time to wander the streets nearby, another espresso and a coffee eclair. Stopped at a few shops but were only browsing not buying. And walked back towards Chatelet again. A final glass of champagne at a bar near the station and got on a train at around 4.45pm. Back at CDG around 5.30 for our 7.30pm departure.

we had planned to take an Uber back to the airport if we had wandered too far from the RER or lost track of time. We’d allowed an hour for that journey and I think it would have been around €60. Train was too easy though.

Enjoy!

I think if I was taking my DD(8) instead of DH I may have changed stations at Chatalet and gone to the Eiffel Tower stop instead so she could see something she’s familiar with. Substituted more patisseries in place of restaurants - she’d happily eat multiple French pastry treats across a day. Browse toy shops instead of clothes. And consider a boat trip. But nothing too strenuous and lots of stops for sitting down as it is quite knackering if you are too ambitious with your step count between flights.

One last thing! My travel was from within the Schengen so I didn’t have to add any allowance for immigration checks. I have no feedback on what the border control queues might be like.

For a picnic lunch, lots of bakeries do wonderful filled baguette sandwiches and takeaway salads - plus fab patisserie, of course. If you prefer to sit in, A Lacroix bakery near the Notre Dame has an indoor seating area and does some interesting cakes, including one that looks just like a granny-smith apple.

As others have said, take the RER B to Chatelet. Walk across the river via Pont Neuf. En route you’ll pass Samaritaine department store. The huge Vuitton statue by the Japanese artist might still be up. Check out LV Dreams expo: just by Pont Neuf and your daughter might like. Can book a timed slot (free) and you can whizz round in 30 mins.

Cross Seine, wander past Notre Dame. Cross via footbridge to Ile St Louis. Go for lunch at Les Sarassines. It’s a creperie but also does a super value 3 course lunch for €15. Get ice cream at Bertillon. Cross back over via Pont Marie and walk back to Chatelet via Hotel de Ville, cutting through the entrance to Louvre so you can check out the pyramid.

Oh, and if time permits for boat trip, then I recommend Les Vedettes de Pont Neuf. Much nicer than Bateaux Mouches or Batobus. Book your timed ticket online while you’re having lunch. Make sure you sit up top.

Take lots & lots of Permethrin spray for all the Bed Bugs!

The Orangerie for the water-lilies. Palais-Royal. A wander around Montmartre which is touristy but good for views.

Thanks all, for your great tips; we had a great time in Paris.

CDG is very well signposted. The place to leave your luggage is very usefully located inbetween the terminal and the RER. And reasonably priced too.

We took the RER B and got to Chatelet and spent a nice few hours wandering the area and soaking in the atmosphere. Did the boat tour, Les Vedettes de Pont Neuf and it was great. We took the train at around 10.30am and got back to the airport around 5.30pm

My two cents worth:
Food can be expensive, depending on the location. Paid 20 and 18 Euros for a crepe, sandwich at a cafe near Chatelet station; not even a proper restaurant as such!! Had to catch the boat and we were starving and this was the closest place!! Just down the road there was another cafe, as we found on our walk back, where a similar crepe was 8 Euros. So, price seems to vary hugely.
M&S food in Paris (incl one at the airport) is amazing and very cost effective, compared to the super expensive eateries.