edkchicago

Hello, <BR> <BR>We will be flying into Paris on a Sunday morning, arriving around 7:30am. We figure on 1.5 to 2.0 hours to get out of the airport and to the hotel to drop our bags. <BR> <BR>Questions: What should we do on our first day? Is anything open Sunday Morning? Are restaurants open for dinner? <BR> <BR>Any suggestions/comments appriciated. <BR> <BR>Thanks <BR>edk

love2trvl

Hi! <BR>First Visit? Plan on 2 to 2.5 to get through customs, bags and trip to hotel. My first order of business in no particular order is a shower and breakfast. You might find that the hotel may not have you room ready when you arrive so go eat breakfast. Then a wonderful shower. Then step outside and take a walk in the area of your hotel. Get a feel for one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. By now you will be ready for a nap. Take a short one. If you are so inclined A night cruise on the Seine might cap off a 1st day. Enjoy your stay!!

Bob Brown

Major museums like the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay open at 9 AM. You can find a place to eat; no worry. Paris has at least two good restaurants!! <BR>But your question is hard to answer without knowing how long you will be there, what your interests are, and what the weather will be doing. Why not take a boat ride on the Seine? Good orientation to the heart of the city. <BR>I arrived about 7:30 last year. <BR>We got to our hotel and learned that it would be several hours before we could occupy our room. So we ate something and took a bus to Hotel Invalides and walked down the street toward the Eifel Tower, across the bridge to the Trocadero, and then took a bus as far as Place de la Concorde. Then we walked along the right bank of the Seine all the way to Notre Dame. Then we had a late lunch, and then ended up at the hotel where we freshened up a little before a relatively early dinner. This little foray served to get in some walking exercise and get our bearings for the sights and sounds of Paris. The next day we headed for a church tour: Ste. Chapelle, Notre Dame and some others. <BR>If you plan on visiting the Louvre, it is closed on Tuesdays. Other major museums are closed on Mondays. But the Louvre is so vast, I strongly recommend that you not go there without a "battle plan". I have seen many tourists wandering around wondering what the heck all of that stuff was.

elaine

Hi <BR>A good guidebook will list the many tourist attractions that are open on Sundays. Here are just a few. <BR>Louvre opens at 9 but the line even at that hour can be very very long, so I'd have purchased my museum pass in advance to avoid that line; <BR>Eiffel Tower, 9am, but anytime later than that will usually mean a line to go up and and an even slower line to take the elevator down, unless you want to walk; <BR> <BR>Paristoric, a multi-media introduction to Paris, 11 bis rue Scribe, starts at 9am. <BR>Picasso Museum, 9:30 am <BR>Conciergerie, 9:30 <BR>Ste Chapelle, 9:30 or 10am, depending on season <BR>Arc de Triomphe, 9:30 or 10, depending on season <BR>Musee d'Orsay (see above re museum pass) <BR>Sightseeing boats on the Seine <BR> <BR>Then there are the open spaces just for walking: <BR>If you don't care about going inside the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de T., you can just walk from one to the other, or from the Arc down the Champs Elysees to the Place de la Concorde to the Tuileries Gardens. <BR>Or walk in the Marais section and sit for a while in the Place des Vosges and watch the children playing. Ditto the Jardin du Luxembourg on the left bank, w which could be included in a stroll around the Latin Quarter <BR>A lot of family-owned restaurants are closed on Sundays (and quite a few on Saturdays as well) but of course some are open. I don't know what your budget or tastes are,but just a few of the popular places that are open on Sundays for dinner are <BR>les Bookinistes, Brasserie Balzar, La Coupole, Le Petit Zinc, etc, not to mention the little neighborhood places that one finds by accident. <BR>I think you should consult a restaurant guide (Zagat puts out a wonderful one for Paris) or do a Search on this forum for Paris restaurants, or, elsewhere on this website you can design a miniguide for Paris that includes restaurants. <BR>

anne

Among all the many suggestions of places that are open, I highly recommend to stay outside on the first day there as much as possible, walking, seeing the outdoor sights. Much as I love museums, I know that I start fading fast when I'm not outdoors after an overnight flight. <BR>Enjoy!

maggiz

We arrived in Paris early on Sunday and took about 1 1/2 hours at the airport and by shuttle to our hotel. The hotel was not available but gave us access to freshen up. The lines for the Eiffel Tower at 10:00 were not long and we were up to the top in a matter of minutes. This was in July. I'm sure it will be even less now. <BR> <BR>A suggestion that we found worked perfectly is to enter the museum through the entrance in the Metro. I believe the line is 1. With the museum pass we did not wait at all. This eliminates the wait at the pyramid. <BR> <BR>We bought the museum pass at the Arc after we had been to the Eiffel Tower. The pass is such a bargain because it includes most if not all of the museums you'll want to see. <BR> <BR>Enjoy everything you can. We did.

sally

i cannot tell you exactly how long it took us to get out of the airport in paris but it was the worst i've ever experienced in europe. it definately took in excess of an hour, maybe it took two. in any case, that was the only bad experience i had in paris. you may or may not be able to get in your room but they will let you leave your luggage there and typically they will give you a room to freshen up in. <BR> <BR>i was there over a sunday and i don't remember things being closed as a problem. as someone else said, some of the museums are closed on monday's. <BR> <BR>i second the suggestion to stay outside however on that first day after an overnight flight. i know people who take a short nap but i don't think that would work for me. i'd rather tough it out and make it an early night. and usually if i stay active it's not too big of a problem. <BR> <BR>as far as restaurants our hotel staff always had good recommendations in the neighborhood. so you might ask them. <BR> <BR>the only other comment i have is---i wish i were going too!!!

curious

Sally, What happened at CDG to make it the worst experience in Europe? I have always zipped in and out of there. Please tell us, so we will know what to avoid.

xxx

I understand that Sundays at Versailles is very nice. They turn on all the fountains and play classical music in the gardens. Supposed to be a very nice experience. If you are planning to go to Versailles during your stay, you may want to try that (if you aren't too tired).

love2trvl

I'm curious too. The airports in Europe have all over the ones here. What happened to make so terrible?