My family is arriving in March at 6:30 am at CDG. We will take the RER train into town. Do I assume the thing to do is to drop our bags off at our hotel, hit the sights of the city, then go back and check in late in the afternoon? I see that most flights from the US arrive in Europe in the early AM. What is the usual gameplan for what to do on Day #1?Thanks

Hi D,

>the thing to do is to drop our bags off at our hotel, hit the sights of the city, then go back and check in late in the afternoon?<

You got it.

While most people advise against it, we usually take a nap of a couple of hours, providing that we can then have a good 8 hours up after that before going to bed.

hey i'd take a nap too, but the problem is you usually can't get into your hotel room that early, but yes you certainly can drop your luggage at the hotel and go back out until check-in time rolls around.

I hired a personal tour guide to drag my son and I around all day after arrival at CDG at 6:30 am and it worked out perfectly. We dropped our bags at the hotel at 8:30am (our room was ready) and were touring the city by 9:30am.

He helped us get our carte orange and we felt very comfortable with the metro by the end of the day. He gave us tips on what to do with the rest of our week as well as giving us the highlights tour of the Louvre (so we could later go back and spend more time on our own).

We said goodbye to him at 6pm, took a shower, unpacked, ate a late dinner, and didn't go to bed until 11pm so we skipped right over the time difference problems.

Actually, I can't think of a single time that we couldn't get into our room upon arrival (since 1996). We've stayed in some large/business-style hotels booked with tours two times, but otherwise, have booked our own rooms. We tend to avoid the popular hotels and central locations, for the most part, so that helped, I imagine. Oh, it also helps if you arrive in March/April/Sept/Oct instead of June/July/Aug/Christmas/New Years/Bastille Day etc..

I would contact the hotel in advance and let them know your arrival time; often you can get into the room early. If not, just leave your bags there and take a walk or have a snack. You can probably use the bathroom near the lobby as well.

docdan: i asked a similar question about what to do on arrival day and got lots of wonderful answers. here is a link to that thread.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34743645

Always check to see if the hotel has rooms available they're willing to give you free or for a small fee. I find it much more pleasant to tour a new city after at least a shower and a change of clothes - and preferably a nap or an hour or two to get the plane seat kinks out of my back.

If nothing else - they may offer you a free breakfast.

Agree with NYT - amzing how much better I feel (and smell) after a shower on arrival - if you have access to an airport lounge you might be able to shower on arrival before going into the city

It's best <i>not</i> to take a nap after you arrive; it will only mess up your biological clock and you'll feel odd and tired for days. Drop off the bags (most hotels allow this), then tour for the day. Don't go to sleep before 9 PM. In your sightseeing, pick things that are not super-important, and things that you don't mind being a bit fuzzy about later. Lots of walking is a good idea, as it resets your body timer and it gives you a feel for the city, and yet it doesn't involve any &quot;must-see&quot; items that you'll want to save for later, when you are fully rested.

We always arrive in Paris right before Bastille Day and our room is always ready. Just lucky I guess. The last time we arrived at 7 a.m. (by train) and took a taxi to the hotel.

Yes, there have been times when we have arrived in Europe after a long flight where the room was not ready (not very often, fortunately), and we drop off the bags, and go have breakfast somewhere, and walk about. The fact that you're in a new place is always (at least to us) energizing. When the room is ready, we definitely jump in the bath!