Paris to Venice overnight train - Recommendation wanted for Day Room in hotel before trip
 

Hi,

I will be arriving into Paris CDG in the morning, with a fairly early arrival time. I will depart for Venice via overnight train that same night at 8:00 p.m. from Paris Bercy station. I am interested in reserving a hotel room that will be available from the morning until about 6 or 7 p.m. that night. Ideally, I would like to arrive at CDG, go into downtown Paris, check into a hotel room, freshen up, and leave the luggage in the room while we wander around for the afternoon/early evening. Having the room for the day allows us the luxury of another shower before the overnight train. Does anyone have a recommendation for a CLEAN, conveniently located Paris hotel that has day use rooms? (The airport hotels have day use rooms, which in theory are perfect, but they are incovenient due to the distance from Paris proper. Moreover, taking a room for the night and checking out early does not guarantee that we will be able to check-in upon our early morning arrival.)

Thanks in advance,
Chels

P.S. - Please, no suggestions re flying to Venice! The overnight train works out to much more economical due to the amount of travel we will be doing and the use of our Eurorail pass. :-)

topping

I agree that the train is more economical. Just a heads up though - we used our railpass and payed for an upgrade to a couchette. In my opinion, the upgrade was definitely NOT worth it. The compartment was really hot. We had to share it with 2 older men who snored the entire trip. To top it off, the beds were way too short for my 6' frame. It's a good laugh now, but at the time I was miserable. We were better off on subsequent overnights in the regular seat compartments because we could usually get the whole thing to ourselves and spread out a bit more.

As for the lodging, you may want to check with the hostels in Paris. They may allow you to store your luggage and shower for a very nominal fee.

Speaking as a person who likes trains, even sleepers, this looks like a bad idea. Any chance you could take a day train shortly after your arrival, or spend one night in Paris, THEN take a night train to Venice? Two nights of marginal sleep in a row is really going to impact your trip.

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.

We have gone this route before (i.e. - train the first night after arrival.) I will be traveling with my husband and 2 children (10 and 11). We really do not want to spend additional time in Paris on this end of the trip due to the fact that we will be meeting friends in Italy. Based on our prior experiences, the jet lag of the first day is what will ensure that we will sleep on train that night. We have not had problems with sleeping on the trains before. We have first class rail passes, and we have reserved T4 sleeper cabins in first class as well. They are fairly comfortable.

With that said, I think our comfort would be enhanced if we were able to take a shower and freshen up right before boarding the train.

So, back to square one. Any other suggestions?! (I'm not sure the hostels will suit our needs.)

Thanks in advance,
Chels