Paris | The Layover

“Señora, hay una huelga.” 

My heart sank as I eavesdropped on the conversation between the woman in front of me and the Air France agent.  This was like a recurring bad dream.  I’d become all too familiar with the word "huelga" due to my time spent in Barcelona.  Unfortunately, it was back to haunt me. 

Huelga is Spanish for strike.  As luck would have it, The French Air Traffic Control was in the midst of an industrial dispute.  In a nutshell, my flight departing Madrid Barajas Airport would not be arriving in Paris at noon as originally scheduled.  It was delayed two hours.  In any other circumstance, two hours would be considered minor.  Except for one thing…I was only in Paris for 23 hours. 

A strike meant that every hour spent in Madrid was an hour less to be spent in Paris.  I mentally did the calculations.  By the time I claim my baggage, take the train into the city, check into my hotel, and grab a bite to eat, I would have three daylight hours left.  This is how the day unfolded…

I checked into Hotel Excelsior, a fabulous boutique hotel located in the 5^th Arrondissement.  I didn't know it at the time, but the bed would be Heaven sent at the end of the night.  I dropped my bags off and refueled at a café along the way. 

The hotel was in a prime location in The Latin Quarter, less than a block away from Luxembourg Garden.  

A few blocks away from Luxembourg was The Pantheón.  I wasn’t pressed to go inside, so I settled for a photo of the outside and continued to wander. 

It was time to head to the Eiffel Tower.  I took the wrong train.  Twice.  Having just mastered the Madrid metro system, this was a blow to my traveler ego.  Not only that, I’d lost valuable daylight hours.  It was now dark.  I would have to break my solo travel rule of never wandering alone at night.   Forty-five minutes later, I arrived at Tour Eiffel.  She was everything I expected her to be and more.

From there, I crossed the River Seine, headed north on Avenue George V and turned left onto Champs Élyseés in search of the main reason I came to Paris.  

As a lover of monuments and triumphal arches, seeing the Arc de Triomphe definitely made all the agitation, irritation, and frustration worth it.  

Would I do it again?  Absolutely!  I wouldn't change my decision for the world. But, would I recommend short layovers for first time visitors to Paris?  Nope! Learn from my adventure. Give yourself at least two days in Paris on your first visit.  That way, when you encounter things like strikes, out of date maps, and metro stations that close early, you'll always have tomorrow.  

Have you experienced Paris in a day?  If so, I'd love to hear from you!