Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from San Francisco to Paris. Left side wins both departure and arrival with the most iconic urban geography of the entire flight — San Francisco Bay on the way out and central Paris on the way in. The transatlantic cruise at 35,000 feet over the North Atlantic offers little to distinguish sides, so the bookend views make left the clear choice.

During takeoff from San Francisco International (SFO), sit on the Left side for the best views. SFO typically departs northwest on runways 28L/28R, then turns north over the Bay. The left side gives you San Francisco city, the Bay Bridge, and the downtown skyline as you climb out over the water. Right side faces south toward the peninsula suburbs with far less to see. Notable sights include: San Francisco downtown skyline, Bay Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Marin Headlands.

When landing at Orly (ORY), sit on the Left side for the best views. Orly typically lands on runway 08 or 26. On the common westerly approach (runway 26), aircraft come in from the east over central Paris, putting the left side directly over the Seine, Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the city center. Right side faces south toward the outer suburbs with little of interest. Notable sights include: Eiffel Tower, Seine River bends, Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Invalides dome.

The flight from San Francisco International (SFO) to Orly (ORY) takes Approximately 10.5 to 11.5 hours.

The polar great-circle route tracks north over the Sierra Nevada, then crosses the northern Rockies and Canadian Rockies, passes over Hudson Bay or Labrador depending on routing, crosses the North Atlantic at high latitudes often near Greenland's southern tip or Iceland, then tracks southeast over Ireland and England before descending into France. Greenland's ice sheet and coastal fjords are occasionally visible on clear days at cruise altitude.