How to spend the arrival day in Paris?
 

My husband and I are travelling to Paris for the first time this April. We arrive on a Sunday late morning. Just wondering how all of you suggest we spend our first afternoon/evening in Paris? We are staying at a hotel in the 6th near the Luxembourg Garden. I don't want to pile on too much the first day but want to make it a good use of our limited time (will be there only 7 days)
Thanks

Have you traveled overseas before?
If not, you might want to gauge first how you feel on your first day. Some people like to nap, some people try to stay awake, but there's no one right answer.
If you think you will be up and around in the afternoon, think about booking a walking tour, Paris Walks is one good organization and they have a website. It will keep you moving, but not force you to try to concentrate in a crowded museum.

Just out of curiosity, I love the Luxembourg Gardens area, which hotel did you book?

We also arrived on a Sunday (and stayed in the 6th). Some museums are less expensive on Sunday; we had planned to "take it easy" with a visit to the Rodin Museum (which is still a fine idea, and was recommended by others), but we only managed to relax and go out for a leisurely walk and dinner in the 'hood.

Be sure to get outdoors and walk around, it really helps to fight off jet lag. I don't mean walking marathons :-) but being out in the air rather then inside a museum seems to make jetlag less of an issue for us when we travel to Europe. Don't take a nap, try and stay up till a reasonable bedtime and you should be good to go for the rest of your time in Paris.

Paris is one of those cities where your room is not likely to be available until the official check-in time. We usually leave our luggage at the hotel and go for a walk -- once took a boat ride on the Seine -- then have a bite to eat. Then we return to the hotel, nap, shower and head out for another walk, ending with dinner and an early bed time.

This works for us though others swear by the full first day approach.

Given your location, a boat ride and a visit to Notre Dame should absorb a few hours. Have a great trip.

I agree with Pausanias. Definitely walk to Notre Dame & get a crepe from a street vednor. The nutella ones are the best!
Don't forget it takes quite a while to get your luggage, clear customs & get to your hotel. Our flight landed at 9:45 & we didn't get to the hotel until noon. Where are you staying in the 6th?

Obviously that's street VENDOR.

We do the same thing as Pausanias. Drop our luggage at the hotel and then take a walk, grab a snack, get the lay of the land. Then, we return to the hotel at check in time, take a 2hr nap, shower, and head out for dinner. After a good night's sleep, we're right up to speed for our trip. We've tried several times to go straight through and not take a nap, but we can't do it.

This April it will be my husband's and my second visit to Paris, and my 9yo's and 5yo's first visit to the city. We'll check into the hotel by about 1:00 p.m.

I'm usually a zombie after a trans-Atlantic flight, so I thought we'd kick off our vacation with something high-impact for the kids but low-effort and mindless for the adults: go up the Eiffel Tower (which my husband and I have done before). Then we'll walk across the Pont de l'Alma and have dinner at a restaurant just off the avenue des Champs-Elysées (where my husband and I ate our last dinner in Paris). Then early to bed.

Don't know about you, but that's my idea of taking it easy the first day.

I think the idea of a boat ride on the Seine would be just about perfect--relaxing, out in the fresh air and light, and an introduction to the sights of that beautiful city.

My husband and I usually take a short nap when we can get into our room, but I know others prefer to get out an about. I think the boat trip would be the perfect compromise: out in the fresh air and light, but nothing strenuous.

Spend the first day on non-critical sights. Boat rides are a good idea. So are visits to parks or strolling along the streets, with light meals. Don't hit any museums or cathedrals or anything, as you won't be in very good shape on the first day and you don't want to see those things until you're in top form. Make sure you don't go to sleep before 9 PM, and once you're in bed, try to sleep through the night (if you wake up too early, get back to bed). Thereafter you should be okay and you can do what you want.

Having a nice dinner can help reset your biological clock and is low-stress and pleasant. Don't go to any three-star places on the first evening, but find a decent sit-down restaurant and enjoy that.

All of this assumes you're coming over on a long flight. If you're just hopping over on the Eurostar, there's no reason to observe any particular restrictions the first day.

IF possible stay awake. The boat ride would put me to sleep so I suggest:
walk towards bvd st michel (stopping at a little metro station to buy your carte orange), look at the river and any book/poster sellers there, then go to the notre dame, have a snack, take a bus or metro to the louvre (free on sunday) and see the one or two 'top' works ie mona lisa (browse the gift shop). metro or bus back to left bank; early dinner (7.30pm)then back to hotel and pass out.

Maybe you will like to walk around your block to get a glimpse of the neighbourhood. There are free city plans available at every hotel desk for free, these are issued by the department stores Galeries Lafayette and Le Printemps, these plans are very useful for your Paris visit.

If you want to do a little more, why not to walk around Jardin du Luxembourg, as your hotel is in its surrounding? It is very Parisian, to be there.

If you feel ready for more, what about a walk over Champs Elysees? The Wirgin and FNAC stores there are opened on sundays, so you can get your ticket for Le Louvre in advance at FNAC´s biletterie (ticket shop) in the basement. Oh, Le Louvre. Check out its homepage for the openening and the opening of the sections you want to see, as these are opened to a schedule. Btw, check out the other big museums´homepages, as Musee d´Orsay and Centre Beaubourg (or Centre Pompidou) before you leave. If you feel tired on Champs Elysees - restaurants are expensive there, especially at la terasse, the little tables outside for seeing and to be seen - they also have some cinemas there. yes, the movies are in French, but you might get a movie to be understood just by its action and images.

If you do decide to see a movie as suggested by the previous poster, which I'm not sure I'd want to do on my arrival day, you don't necessarily have to see one in French. The movies which are shown in their original language, such as American movies in English, will be advertised as VO, for version original. The ones that are dubbed into French will say VF, for version francais. French movies will be shown in French though.

I always need to walk as much as possible, just taking in the city. I also do not plan much and get to bed at a reasonable hour. I never nap.

We do as many have said. Drop our luggage and then walk around the neighborhood a bit. Go to the Metro and do "housekeeping" stuff--buy our Carte Orange, if we are going to do that, buy our Museum Pass, if we are going to do that. Then find a place to have some soup and salad for lunch. Maybe go to one "big place"--Notre Dame or the eiffel Tower (not up in it) or a boat ride. We have an early dinner (nothing too special that first night) and are home in bed by probably 9PM. The next day we seem to be pretty much on "time" and rested.

agree with everyone else here. Get as much sunlight as possible. Either walking or a boat ride along the Seine.

The Batobus is great and very inexpensive.

http://www.batobus.com/english/boat-...ris-seine.html

This post is particularly relevant to me - we're going to Paris for a week in September and are arriving very early on a Saturday morning. (I've been to Paris before, but not since 1978, so I figure I'm almost a first time visitor. Husband has never been.) II know what the original poster is saying - with only a week, time is limited, but we also need some time to recover from the flight. like the idea of a boat ride along the Seine - something I will definitely look into.

To deal with the jet lag and reset my internal clock, after a transatlantic flight I always have a Turkish bath and massage. Paris has several very nice day spas and the steam bath with massage usually takes about 2 hours. Then back to the hotel for a one hour nap, a walk, an 8pm dinner and bed by 10:30. The next morning I'm good as new.

Naps are essential, and the Seine boat trip is really nice if the weather is good. Paris is open late...the lights are lovely at night. Take your nap then go out for a late dinner.

Incase you decided to take a Seine cruise, here's the site for Vedettes du Pont Neuf. Be sure to click on the Internet Discount for their coupon:

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/va/tarif.htm#

I like the idea of walking in the Luxembourg Gardens (which to me is a quintessential Parisian Sunday) and then heading over to see Notre Dame (be sure to go back later in the week for a proper visit).

If you'd like to squeeze in a museum too, I think a visit to the Cluny would be manageable and worthwhile:

http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/

Our typical first day would be to arrive, check in, find some lunch where we can relax & get into our proper 'Paris mode', enjoy some wine w/lunch of course. Wander back to our abode for a short nap. After, wander the neighborhood to locate the grocery, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, etc. & try to find a good place for dinner. But, basically, become familiar w/our immediate surroundings.

I will be staying in the same area as you and plan to take this walk by Degas:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34737366

Mvor, many thanks for the tip on the Internet coupon for the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf! I'm printing it out now for use this April.

Personally, I never nap when I arrive in Europe because I find I sleep better at night when I don't. However, you and your body may have different needs.

For me, the danger of napping is that sometimes one ends up sleeping all afternoon, longer than expected, so that when one tries to go to bed in the evening, sleep just doesn't come. If you do nap, my advice is to make it as short as possible, using an alarm or a wake-up all.

Before you commit to Vedettes du Pont-Neuf, check out the Batobus [www.batobus.com], better left until you have an entire day. Later in the year the last run is at 10pm.

Naps are not only non-essential, they are a very bad idea. If you nap during the day, you stay on your original time zone, and you'll be jet-lagged for days. You must stay awake until evening, at least until 9 PM or so, or you will spend much of the night awake and you'll be practically right back where you started on the second day … and perhaps on the third, fourth, and so on.

Hi lh,

We keep awake until bedtime in order to get on Paris time.

>We are staying at a hotel in the 6th near the Luxembourg Garden.<

Go through the Luxembourg.

Walk down Rue Bonaparte.

Stop off at St. Sulpice. There is a Cafe facing the fountain. there are a number of restaurants off rue Guisard, make a reservation for the evening.

Alternatively, make reservations at La Mediteranee. They are open Sunday evening. www.la-mediterranee.com

Continue walking North to the St. Germaine-des-Pres.

Les Deux Magots is across the street.

Continue on to the Seine.

Go East to the Pont Neuf. Walk back toward your restaurant or hotel.

Go to dinner.

Go to bed.

In the morning you will be on Paris time.

Have a lovely visit.

((I))

When I flew from D.C. to Vienna for the Danube cruise last December I didn't take even a short nap on the day we arrived. The result was severe jet lag and trouble sleeping for the first four days or so, which I've never experienced before when I had a nap.

wow...less than 24 hours with my cable modem down and look at this! So many responses I don't know where to start.
We have travelled overseas before but its been a few years and I just can't recall how the jetlag was for us. I actually recall it being worse for my husband than for me...he really wanted to nap.

We're staying at the Jardin de L'Odeon (hopefully that will get some good marks from the regulars here).

I like the idea of walking around, seeing the neighborhood and taking care of the business aspect of the trip...metro card, museum pass.

Thanks to everyone for their great ideas.

While taking ira’s suggested walk (which is very similar to the one I took on my arrival day in Paris last November, when I also stayed in the 6th), you might want to stop in the Village Voice bookshop on the rue Princesse (assuming it’s open on Sunday, which I’m not sure about). I like to go there whenever I’m in Paris, to buy new books that have been published in the U.K. but not yet in the U.S., and the arrival day is a good time to do it because bookstore browsing is guaranteed to keep me awake.

It's become my ritual to head to Deux Magots (outside, if possible) for a croissant and cafe creme while the hotel room is being made available and just marvel at the fact that I am, indeed, back in Paris again watching the world walk by that famous corner.

To nap or not seems to be a highly individual decision, and I do better with a short sleep when I get into my room.

Take a casual look around some of the sights in the neighborhood and if you can get in the room early enough have a lie down (make sure youy get a wake up before you get into a deep sleep). If your energy keeps you up and around havew a light lunch to get you into the time frame. And dinner should be as early as the restaurant lets you in and then to bed.
a good nights sleep will let you wake up hopefully with jet lag behind you.

The Bateau Mouches ride on the Seine will give you a good first view of the famous sites of pris and the breezes will keep you awake.

Hi lhs624! Thanks for posting this question. I will be travelling to Paris for the first time in March and was also wondering how to function on arrival day. I will be staying at Jardin de L'Odeon from the 1st-10th. If you'd like, I'd be happy to email you my thoughts on the hotel and area upon my return. Happy planning!

You will be located in a very nice area! When you arrive, take a walk-the Jardin du Luxembourg is beautiful-and get familiar with your surroundings. Perhaps go to a cafe and get something to eat and head back to your hotel and rest a bit before going out to dinner. Make it an early dinner so you can come back to sleep early.

It is very funny that so many people have suggested a boat ride on the Sienne. We traveled to Paris when our kids were 13, 11 and 8. I, too, thought that the boat ride would be a nice activity. Everyone but me totally slept through the entire boat ride. I have great pictures of the other four people in the family, sleeping away in a variety of funny positions.

I will tell you that I do fine until about 6 pm on the day of arrival. I avoid alcohol on the flight, which really helps. However, the rest of my family was totally wiped out.

I would advise you to have dinner "close to home." Walking back to our flat, I got pretty disoriented and we walked out of the way quite a few blocks.

I too will be staying at the Jardin de L'Odeon. Our trip is right around the corner - we are arriving Feb. 9. It's our first trip to Paris - we can't wait! I will post my thoughts on the hotel/trip when we return.

MAS16 and thatgirldina....please post your experiences at Jardin de L'Odeon. I hope that you have a wonderful time.

Thanks for the additional suggestions to everyone else. Not sure how I am going to wait until April!!

The 'nap' works for us, w/two small children we seldom get much rest on the plane. If you are tired, you should sleep, albeit for a very short period of time (more than an hour & I feel worse than before the nap). Ira's walk is a good one. There is also a book by Gilles Desmons "Walking Paris, 30 Walks..." which is very good.