Paris on Wheels in a Day

My teenage daughter and I were staying near Disneyland Paris for a few days holiday and after experiencing the excitement of the theme park including Space Mountain and the amazing car stunts at Walt Disney Studios she asked if we could visit Paris as she had never been.

We only had one full day available and what follows is our whistle-stop tour of Paris, this involved a lot of walking, or wheeling in my case and therefore not everyone is going to want or be able to achieve all of this.

The morning started early as we caught the 7:20am RER A Train at Marne La Vallée–Chessy train station, only 100m from the entrance to Disneyland Paris, for the 50 minute journey to Charles de Gaulle Etoile (at Arc de Triomphe) which is one of only a few in central Paris which has a lift from the platform to the outside - this becomes very relevant at the end of the article.

We emerged only steps away from Arc de Triomphe in glorious sunshine with the morning traffic racing around the large roundabout, taking one of a dozen exits, we eventually found a subway which allowed my daughter to cross safely but which is not accessible to wheelchairs. Wheelchair users need to be dropped off by a taxi in the centre of the roundabout and then there is a lift which takes you to the second level but not the top as there are about 45 steps to the viewing area. The Arc de Triomphe, built to commemorate the dead of many French Wars and Victories is an impressive structure and from the top there are dramatic views of Paris.

Once we were back together we headed off to walk/wheel down Avenue des Champs-Élysées, past the designer shops, the upmarket car showrooms, elegant pavement cafes and the red-carpeted entrances to luxury hotels such as the Champs Elysees Plaza Hotel.
For some people watching, stop for a short while at one of the many Cafés, Laduree at 75 Avenue des Champs-Élysées for pastries and coffee is a good but not inexpensive choice.

Parisian Cafés are indeed the social and culinary life of the French, observe the animated conversations, as luscious butter-rich croissants are consumed or later in the day indulge in delicious meals.

Feeling restored, early starts are not my favourite, we continued to weave down Champs-Élysées passing the Grand Palais and Petit Palais on our right and arriving at Place de la Concorde an impressive 20 acre square, albeit again set within a large traffic roundabout. At the peak of the French Revolution, Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette along with more than a 1,000 followers were executed here. In 1795 in the spirit of reconciliation it was given its current name and in 1833 the central obelisk, 75 ft. high was erected, covered in hieroglyphics it is from a 3,500 year-old Luxor temple. There are also two fountains and eight statues, the Place de la Concorde looks most impressive at night when the whole area is lit up.