Robert

I will be leaving San Francisco mid-day Dec. 22nd arriving mid-day the 23rd in Paris. Will I be able to enjoy the rest of the day in Paris or generally do people arrive too tired to do anything this first day? I was thinking of taking one of the city bus tours this first day. Any thoughts?

elvira

I fight jet lag by sleeping on the plane as much as possible; eating the inflight meal or food I have with me; drinking water, tomato juice during the flight and coffee when I wake up; upon arrival, settling into the hotel and washing my face - maybe changing into a clean top - then doing something outdoors, like a bus or boat tour or a stroll around the neighborhood; eating dinner at Paris dinner time (no earlier than 7:00pm) and after a short walk back to the hotel - or if I eat in the hotel, getting out for about 15mins or so - going to bed (I take a Tylenol PM and/or drink a cup of herb tea) early (no later than 9:00). If I wake up at 4:00am I STAY IN BED - then get up at a reasonable time (6 or 7 or 8). Unless I am ill, I do NOT take a nap.

bob Brown

I would say wait to take anything like a trip until the next day. In my experience, I am a little fuzzed brained even though I am relatively lucid after an overnight flight. (This idea may be knocked down if you are flying first class and can actually sleep on the way over.) <BR>I do try to get into the sunlight because I find it helps me reset my internal clock. <BR>Another reason is that you may be delayed in arriving and find yourself unable to make the connection with your tour. <BR>Also, I find it helpful to something that is not stressful just to get the layout of where I am staying. I wander around and find restaurants, locate bus stops, locate Metro entrances, etc. Then, after sleeping fairly well, I am ready to go the next day. <BR>I think my first visit we took the bus to Hotel Invalides, then walked to the Eiffel Tower, and then caught a bus to Place de la Concorde, and then went back to the hotel. After dinner we walked around a bit, and then went to sleep. <BR>The next day we were up and gone. <BR>

Donna

We use the rest of our arrival day to wander around the neighborhood checking out restaurants for future reference, finding a pharmacy, ATM, etc., so we'll know where they are, and a metro station where we can purchase our museum and metro passes. We do a lot of cafe sitting, watching the passing parade, and strolling around soaking up the scenery and being just thrilled that we are actually in Paris. Then, we have a nice dinner and finalize the next day's itinerary over a nightcap. It is definitely best if you get some sleep on the plane and not go to bed the day you arrive until your normal bedtime Paris time.

Edye

I tend to disagree slightly on the napping issue. After spending the day wandering outside as much as possible, and sitting in a cafe for a while, I argue to take a nap between 5-6pm or a bit longer and then go out for that "later than we usually eat" Paris dinner and a bit more of the nightime scene and then go to bed Paris time at midnight or whatever. You won't wake up at 4am or even 6 am. You'll wake up on their time whenever it suits you and be on Paris time for the rest of your visit. Pass up a night in Paris to go to bed early? Not me! Take that late afternoon nap!

Art

I am lucky that I can sleep even if I'm uncomfortable so I always fly over at night and find that I'm in pretty good shape when I get there. To help you sleep take some blinders (cye shades). VERY IMPORTANT - SET YOUR WATCH TO Paris time as you get on the plane. <BR>Have a great trip. <BR>

Lori

I wouldn't plan on doing anything to taxing on your first day. No matter what anyone says you will be tired and disoriented. Just walk around and try to get your bearings, maybe find a few sights to see and go back to them at a later time. At night, maybe a bus tour which helps get your bearings. I also disagree on the nap thing, I usually have lunch, walk around, and then nap for an hour or two around 4 or 5 pm. Get up, take a shower, and have a nice dinner somewhere. Have a great time.

Mary

Hi Robert: <BR>Change your watch leaving SF. <BR>Check into your hotel. Take a much anticipated shower. Put on fresh clothes. Take a Walk around the neighborhood. Stop in a cafe and soak up Paris. Have a lovely dinner. Stroll some more. Go to bed reasonably early. Get up the next morning raring to go. Enjoy your trip!

elaine

In life as in elections, there are at least two schools of thought. <BR>One is to take a nap at some point in the afternoon get up, shower, and head out, staying up until whatever your bedtime would be at home. The other is what I try to do, shower and then keep moving, go right back out, do some activity or long stroll, and have an early, casual dinner that I don't have to change clothes again for. Go to bed early (9-10 pm), take an otc sleep aid, and I wake up in the morning feeling pretty rested and "normal". Going to Europe from the US seems more a matter of sleep deprivation on the plane, to me, than it <BR>is some mysterious jet lag. I find jet lag affects me more after I arrive back home (east to west). <BR>One of the keys to the schedule on your first day is how soon you actually can get into your hotel room--in most cases it will be mid day to mid afternoon.

Carol

I was browsing in Fodor's Airline forum the other day, and in its "advice from airline employees/experts" area, they recommended a short nap after arriving at your hotel.

Lori

I have to go along with the non-nappers upon arrival! We never do, we just unpack, wash up, change clothes and walk around awhile, eating early and going to bed about 9 p.m. We never have jet lag doing it this way and we travel from the west coast too (LA) - we take a 5:30 p.m. flt that gets into Heathrow at 12 noon (we usually stay in England first before going to France, but the same system works if you are flying straight to Paris I think). If I were you I'd plan on doing some walking around, staying outdoors is the key to getting over jet lag quickly. Do things that are no-brainers, walking around the neighborhood scouting out the ATM's, Metro stop, etc. is great. We've found that taking a nap just prolongs the jet lag feeling so bite the bullet and stay awake!

Janice

I'm on the fence on the nap issue - if the trip was horrible and the weather is not good when I arrive, I'll take a nap, but if it's a nice day and I'm still feeling perky I'll go out and about. A shower, and the excitement of being in a new place can often get you over the hump of being tired. I am in the minority though and I DO get up at 4 a.m. if I'm not sleepy any more - and I head out to watch the sunrise in the most beautiful spot I can find - last New Year's Eve, my friend and I were the only 2 people in the Piazza St. Marco when the sun rose - it was freezing cold, but I'd do that again in a heartbeat - a memory for a lifetime! Just be sensitive to your needs and kind to yourself and remember that you're on vacation and supposed to be having fun.

jwagner

One other thing I do in addition to the fine advice included above: I try to stay up as late as possible the night before a trip and get up at my usual time. I always take morning flights and have never had trouble sleeping on the plane. When I get to the destination city, I dive right in, busying myself with a variety of activities and then settle in for bed at a decent hour. The next day I am good to go.

Diane

Boy, would I love to be able to take naps. My husband can. I remember TRYING to nap while he snored away, so I just got up and looked down on street life passing by from our window. Re-read the guide books we'd been reading for 3 months. Took a shower and changed clothes. Decided after 90 minutes he'd slept enough, sweetly awoke him then turned on the television to catch some French TV while he showered and shaved. We went out and walked -- found an ATM to see if it really worked with our debit card -- it did! Wandered across the bridge (from the Right Bank) and walked around Notre Dame. We took some lovely pictures along the way, noted the location of a restaurant that had be recommended (but they wouldn't be open for dinner for some time.) About 6PM we were STARVING. Back across the bridge we found a nice little sidewalk cafe where we had the special. It was fabulous. It was Paris. Went back to the hotel and to bed early (physically as well as psychic-ly tired.) Yeah, I was jet-lagged, but it wasn't fatal.

tcc

When I was in Paris I had taken an evening flight so I arrived in the airport at about 8 or 8:30 in the morning and it was hard to not go out and enjoy the day. So after checking in, we found a place for lunch and learned how to take the Metro and walked around. Went back to the hotel to unpack and I think we fell asleep by accident (we had heard from others that we shouldn't sleep but I guess we just couldn't help ourselves!) and woke up and went to dinner and came home very late...no jet lag. I guess it all depends on the person and the time of arrival.

Rachel

Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE THE BUS TOUR the day you arrive. You are already tired and the recorded bus tours, plus the piped in soft music, will put you right to sleep and you won't be getting your money's worth. The same thing happened to my husband and me. He lasted about 15 minutes of the tour, I think I made it for 30 minutes, then we both just nodded off. Save the bus tour for another time. I've heard it's very good, although I really wouldn't know for sure