Things To Do in Paris & Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Layover Ideas

Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is a modern airport designed to cater to the traveller's every need and, as such, is equipped with a number of diversions to keep both children and adults occupied for a good length of time on a layover in Paris.

Travelling with small children is often an ordeal and this can be made worse by hours of hanging around airports waiting for flights. CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport offers four different areas catering to the needs of children of all ages. The Gulli Area is filled with edutainment games aimed at young children and they can unwind and burn off some energy at the distorting mirror, hopscotch, brainteaser, giant abacus, interactive planisphere to explore the world, TV corners showing programmes straight from the children’s channel to keep them well-behaved while waiting. The floor covering and furniture are specially designed so that the little ones can play in total safety.

The CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport is linked to Playstation so that you can indulge yourselves in the games on offer or, if you prefer, there are arcade game areas to to challenge your skill and kill some time! There are also traditional play areas which offer a little something for every child and where the little ones can slide while the big kids play pool or boules.

This airport offers business workstations where you can plug in your portable computer and there are cyber cafes and wifi hotspots if you need to connect to the internet. If you need to meet in person you can arrange to use the Paris Orly Business Centre which is equipped with audio-visual and sound equipment as well as catering service. There is also a wide variety of bars and restaurants to choose from to relax and enjoy a meal or drinks while you await your connecting flight.

In Paris there is no better place to go, especially on a clear day, to see all the sights that the city has to offer, than the Eiffel Tower. This world famous 324m high tower epitomises Paris and, if you have the time on your layover, is a must see. If you really want to stretch out that stiffness that comes from sitting on a plane for too long, you can challenge yourself to the stairs, otherwise the lift is available to take you to the top. There you can indulge in views of the city whilst enjoying French food at its finest in the 58 Tour Eiffel or the intimacy and real Parisian elegance of the Jules Verne.

Sacré-Cœur (La Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre), is the wedding cake-white church rises visibly above the northern parts of Paris. The striking building, with its towers and white onion dome (83 m high), was built in the years between 1875 and 1914 on the birthplace of La Commune. The view over Paris from the dome and from the square before it (200 m above sea level) is unsurpassed, apart from that enjoyed at the Eiffel Tower (50 km on a clear day). For the athletic traveller there are stairs from several directions to the top of the hill; otherwise there is also a funicular which runs every few minutes during the daytime from Place St. Pierre. Follow the signs that say "Funiculaire De Montmartre". Beware that the guards don't like it if they catch you taking pictures inside and will even yell "No photo!" and chase you down if they see you with a camera. Also, beware of this scam: along the lower steps leading up to church, groups of mostly young men gather and reach toward you with a small string, offering to loop it round your finger. Attempts to brush them off will often be met by claims of "No, this is for the church." They will then demand money for the bracelet they make for you, offering it "at a discount".

Probably the most visited graveyard in any Western city, the vast Père-Lachaise features literally thousands of often elaborately-decorated graves separated by narrow lanes and avenues. The roll-call of famous burials includes: Chopin, Champollion, Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Delacroix, Bizet, Proust, Balzac, Colette, Molière and Jim Morrison of The Doors. Free.

The Musée d'Orsay is housed in a former Beaux-Arts railway station (completed in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle, later saved from demolition and converted to its present use). This rambling, open-plan museum is home to the works of the great artists of the 19th century (1848-1914) - Impressionists, post-Impressionists, and the rest - that were formerly displayed in the Louvre. This is perhaps the most spectacular collection of European impressionism in the world-- breath-taking rooms full of Manet, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, and many others. Impressionist represent the biggest draw, but there is much more to explore.

The headquarters of glitterati shopping, Paris holds a certain something for most shop-a-holics that will mean overflowing excitement at the thought of a layover long enough to indulge your passion. With all manner of shopping districts and malls to choose from, try heading to the Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement for your choice of colossal department stores with all the shopping you can handle.