We were traveling to Italy for 2 weeks and it was time to go home. We knew that the Rome had direct flight to Los Angeles, but our last destination from Italy was from Venice. Venice has no direct flight to LAX. Since we have to stop by at one of the airports in either Europe or U.S., we decided to stop by at Paris because I love PARIS! Let's see how we did it.
Venice to Paris:
We purchased the tickets 6 month before our trip. Flight tickets are cheaper when you purchase them at least 6 month before. Once the dates are closing in, price will skyrocket and you may have to cancel your trip. And yes that happened to me too. Some people use points, we did too, but not much points were left on our account, so we just purchased the ticket through Chase Travel. We use Chase and AMEX, and we tend to use Chase more often, since they offer much cheaper flight options. When I spoke with AMEX customer service, they told me to check out Amex.point.me, but results were not as good as Chase Travel. It feel like AMEX points are for rich people.
Itinerary from Venice to Paris to Los Angeles
After two amazing weeks traveling through Italy, it was finally time to head home. But instead of flying straight from Venice to Los Angeles, we had one more stop planned: Paris.
Our flight from Venice Marco Polo Airport departed at 9:50 a.m. We flew with Air France, operated under Delta flight DL8567, and after about two hours in the air, we landed at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at 11:45 a.m.
But this wasn't just a quick airport connection. We had a 22-hour layover in Paris. That gave us enough time to leave the airport, spend the afternoon and evening in the city, enjoy a good dinner, see the Eiffel Tower, and experience a little more of Paris before heading home the next morning.
After traveling around Italy for two weeks, the Paris layover turned out to be the perfect way to end our trip. Instead of spending an entire day waiting at the airport, we got one more memorable night in one of the world's most beautiful cities.
The next morning, we returned to Charles de Gaulle for our 10:20 a.m. flight to Los Angeles. The long-haul flight took nearly 12 hours, and we finally arrived at LAX at 1:10 p.m.
It was a long journey home, but that well planned one night in Paris made the trip feel like we had squeezed one more destination into our European adventure.
Sometimes, a long layover isn't something to avoid—it can be an extra vacation.
You can find your delta flights here!
Layover in Paris:
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| Eiffel Tower |
7:00 AM: We took Uber to the airport. It cost us about 34 Euro, and it was a quick ride due to no traffic in the morning. Probably 20~30 Minutes.
8:30 AM: Quickly checked in and get some bites at the lounge. Compared to JFK lounge, it was small and food selection was not as good. I was just happy with the morning drinks. They have Peroni, and of course Spritz, and yes it is my morning drinks! I really like the red label Peroni, but they didn't have it at the lounge.
9:50 AM: Flight was on time. Here we go Paris!
11:40 AM: We arrived on time at CDG airport and it was time to go around the City! (Uber €32).
12:50 PM: Our one night airbnb place was right next to Eiffel Tower. We didn't have a view, so we had to come out to see it, but it was okay. It was foggy, so we couldn't see the tip of the Eiffel Tower, but it was okay. We dropped our stuff and came out to see the Paris. No time to waste. (Uber €15).
01:40 PM: To Louvre Museum: We never expected our 7 year old son to love the art so much. He wanted to spend several minutes admiring every single piece. "Hey, son, I get it, but we only have a few hours here!" We still had to explore the rest of the museum, see the Mona Lisa, and talk about the famous art heist that took place over a century ago and not too long ago. As we wrapped up our tour of the Louvre Museum at the iconic Inverted Pyramid, we couldn't help but to purchase Laduree macarons to raise our lowered blood sugar level.
06:00 PM: We never, actually we worried about it, expected our 5 year old son hate to be inside the art museum. Not easy to persuade 5 year old to stay longer, but it really took all my energy. I need my dinner drinks, but no where to find. We were wondering around outside the Louvre Museum for a little bit, and went back to Eiffel Tower area for dinner. (Bolt €20)
Check out Bolt Ride: I found it little cheaper in price in Paris!
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| Outside of Louvre Museum |
07:00 PM: We found a dinner place where we can treat our boys with escargot and surprisingly they like the taste of it. They didn't like the look of it, but who could resist the a rich savory garlic and her butter for escargot. We were glad that they loved it.
09:00 PM: We got to enjoy a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower at night. Every hour, the tower came alive with thousands of sparkling lights. We waited a few minutes for the show, and it was absolutely worth it. Of course, we took plenty of pictures while enjoying the moment.
We originally wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower, but even at this late hour, there was still a long wait. With our limited time in Paris, we decided to skip going to the top and enjoy the view from below instead.
The only thing that bothered me was the security gate and fence surrounding the Eiffel Tower. I’m not sure when they were installed, but it felt strange to see such a large barrier around one of the world's most famous landmarks. To get right underneath the tower, we had to go through the entrance gate and security area.
The bargaining for the keychains was ridiculous, in the best possible way.
At first, the vendors were trying to sell us four keychains for €5. We weren't interested at that price, so we kept walking and mostly ignored them. As we got closer to the entrance to the Eiffel Tower, they kept talking to us and trying to make a deal.
We eventually started bargaining, and somehow we ended up with 10 keychains plus a miniature light-up Eiffel Tower for just €8!
I honestly couldn't believe how much the price came down. So, if you’re planning to buy one of those little Eiffel Tower souvenirs, don't be afraid to bargain. Start low, walk away if you have to, and keep negotiating. You may be surprised at how low they’re willing to go!
It wasn't quite the Eiffel Tower experience I remembered from pictures, but standing underneath the sparkling tower at night was still one of the highlights of our short Paris visit.
It would be best to reserve your time and ticket before you visit.
We came back to our Airbnb and spend the night. And next morning, we took off to the airport at 7:00 AM to enjoy the lounge morning drinks!
I only wanted to give them a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and a small taste of the Louvre Museum, and it turned out to be the perfect introduction to Paris. Even though we spent two weeks traveling across Italy, my kids kept talking about that one day and night in Paris. Somehow, that short stop became one of the highlights of our entire trip.
If I ever have the chance to schedule a layover in Paris again, I wouldn't hesitate to spend a day and night there. It's enough time to experience the city's magic without committing several days, and it can even help save money compared to adding extra flights or a longer stay.
