Hello everyone...
We are traveling to Paris at the end of June, arriving early in the morning (7am), and thought of a heavy sightseeing day after the 7 hour flight is mind boggling!
So what did you do your first day in Paris?
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I spent a good part of the day at the D%26#39;Orsay Museum.
Started on the top floor with the Impressionists and worked
my way down. Then went to the Rodin Museum and
relaxed in the Sculpture Garden.
I think I will do it again this September !
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I would fight the urge to nap right when you get to the hotel. Depending on your locale- I would try to stick close to that area and explore. I stayed on the Ile de la Cite and I explored that and the Isle St Louis after my flight arrived at 10am. I stayed up the whole day and went to bed at about 11pm that night- It definately helps with the jet lag and gets me on the right time schedule! I personally would fall asleep if I went to a museum for the day- so I recommend alot of outdoor exploring- maybe a boat ride or walk on the quai%26#39;s of the Siene.
Have a great trip!
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When I arrive I%26#39;m so excited there%26#39;s no way I want to take a nap. For my trip, I had an exhausting 11 hour flight from LA where I got no sleep. (Plus it took me 2 hours to even get to the LA airport, which would normally take about 1/2 an hour, due to a horrible shuttle experience. So it was a looong day)
I actually flew into London, not Paris, and hit the ground running.. all day. I was so excited I didn%26#39;t even stop to eat til about 8pm that night.
And when I arrived in Paris (by train from Amsterdam). I got off the train about 1pm, went to my hotel, freshened up, left my hotel (which was on Ile de la Cite) and went for an 11 mile walk! Walked past the Louvre, thru Tuileries Garden, all the way down Champs Elysees and checked out the Arc. Then made my way over to the Eiffel Tower. Stayed there awhile waiting for sunset. Then walked the same way back. But this time I stopped off in the shops on Champs Elysees. Got back to my hotel about 10pm and collasped!
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Hello,
I visited France for 2 weeks at the end of May. I landed in CDG around 9:30am. After taking the RER to my hotel by Jardin du Luxenbourg I ended up spending most of the afternoon on l%26#39;Open Tour bus. It%26#39;s allowed me to get a quick overall look of Paris (and take some notes along the way)....so when I made my way back to Paris a week later after visiting the south of France I already had an idea of where some things were.
Here is some info:
…parisinfo.com/paris_sightseeing/…6324
Have fun on your trip!
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I agree with RPL67 on this one.
The most important thing to do as far as I am concerned is to get out and walk fairly briskly for at least an hour, whatever the weather, as soon as possible. If I don%26#39;t it takes me three or four days to get rid of the stiffness and aches from the flight.
Second really important thing is a really good but light lunch, preferably in a plce we know to make the decision-making process easier.
And third is to have a little more down time than usual before dinner - perhaps even a SHORT nap - but absolutely to get out for a good (and again not too heavy) dinner somewhere fairly close so we are back to the hotel by 11-11:30-ish.
If it were my first time, I%26#39;d try and have a couple of plans dependent on the weather, for the first day, but with nothing too ambitious. The first day is not a time for spending six hours in the Louvre, IMO.
And the three things I mentioned would be the inflexible parts. Everything else would have to fit around them...
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Once we check into our hotel, we will usually quickly unpack the most pressing items, take quick showers, change and get out on the street as quickly as possible. Unless we have some specific destination for our first day, we%26#39;ll run %26#39;housekeeping%26#39; errrands--get additional cash from a nearby ATM, stop at a Metro station to pick up transportation passes and museum passes, free RATP %26#39;..#2 --PARIS--Grand Plan--lignes et rues..%26#39; Metro/RER/Bus maps, buy post cards and postage stamps, stop at the rooftop terrace/observation deck of the La Samaritaine store, have a light lunch, stroll around getting re-acclimated to the neighborhood We%26#39;ll usually go back to the hotel a bit earlier than normal, finish un-packing and take a short nap (with the travel alarm set and duct taped to our heads so we don%26#39;t oversleep), then dress and go out for an earlier than usual light supper, take a short stroill and make it an earlier than normal night. The following morning we may sleep in a bit later than usual, have a light breakfast and then we%26#39;re good to go as usual. Works for us.
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Here is an alternative: I was a confirmed %26quot;No sleep on the first day%26quot; person, but traveling to North America twice or more per month has led me to a routine where, going east, I get as much sleep as possible on the plane, arrive Paris CDG around 9 am, go home and sleep for no more than 90 minutes (one or two REM cycles), rise as if I have just slept late, shower, and (not recommended:) stop by the office for a reasonable afternoon%26#39;s work. It%26#39;s different for everyone, but I find those 90 minutes give me a lot of energy the first day and really minimize the adjustment.
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You should consider doing something active. Hopefully something rather brainless. A nap is a personal choice. However, I find them DEADLY. I feel awful after a nap. Eat on a schedule whether you are hungry or not, and eat something that feels appropriate for that meal. It seems to help your body adjust.
All flights from the states seem to arrive in Europe in the morning. Some first days I remember....
In London... dozing on a tour bus. Obviously not active enough for me.
Last time in Paris, I had a shopping errand I had to do that day. I had to find an elusive Luthier on the Rue du Rome. It was a nice excuse to spend a couple hours. Its odd how hard it is to find a door to a shop sometimes. I watch the entrance for 15 minutes before I saw someone come out. The door looked like a window and there was a little %26quot;secret%26quot; buzzer to gain entrace. Luckily I grabbed the door when someone came out.
I will not take a nap... I will not take a nap.... I will not take a nap...
Even still I will be up at 4:00 AM ready to start my day.
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I think m.giroux may be on to something. I think that would work for me. BUT, very few of us have a place to sleep that early in the day and by mid-afternoon its probably better to tough it out.
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Hey Portland, I believe that I bought a violin from that luthier!
I am with Giroux, we get in and force ourselves to nap and then we are on Paris time for the rest of the trip, however, I do understand that it is very hard to sleep with that first excitement of having Paris just out your door.
If I am not with my kids, I just sleep the entire flight and arrive more or less good to go.
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