What to do on arrival day in Paris?
 

We would be arriving at 9am from CVG. Not sure where we are staying yet. I have a few ideas, but not sure how much we would be up for or how close to each other the places are. Ideas: cruise on river Seine, Eiffel Tower, Rodin Museum?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time.

OK, I give up.
What is CVG?
Is that the CDG airport by any chance?
If so, you won't be at your hotel before 10:30 or 11am, and unless it's a large hotel, your room may very well not be ready to check into. Drop off your bags, do something that keeps you moving without requiring museum-type concentration, such as visiting the Eiffel Tower or Notre Dame. A boat ride the first day would put me to sleep.

I do hope you have invested in a Paris map and guidebook, so you know where things are. (?)

We went to Notre Dame, Ste. Chapelle, and walked around some to get in the sun light.

If you arrive at CDG at 9 am, I think it will be nearly noon before you are at your hotel.

Have a good lunch. Then go somewhere that you can find!

We went where we did because a bus near the hotel went right past Ste. Chapelle.
From there to Notre Dame is a short walk.

I think the Rodin Museum would be a good choice. It is outside and inside. Be sure to go to the rear of the gardens and, as I recall, look along the left side relative to the entrance gate as you come in.
Hopefully you will find the case which has some of the marble sculptures that Rodin completed.

If you know any French history, you will get a large charge out of Rodin's bust of Clemanceau. The old Jacobin hated it, mainly because Rodin made him resemble a Mongol warrior. I thought Rodin captured the inner character of the man quite well. Perhaps Clemanceau did not like seeing himself as others saw him.

I would agree, definitely do something that keeps you moving. Not too much, just maybe get yourself familiar with your neighborhood. Depending on where you decide to stay you may briefly see some of the sights in that arrondissement. Our last trip, we were in the 5th, we arrived early as well and got to our place around noon. We dropped our bags, changed and headed out to walk. We found the nearest cyber café, emailed family to let them know all was well and just walked around a bit. We walked to Notre dame and sat in the little park there and people watched. Left after a little while, found a market, picked up picnic supplies and sat near the Seine to enjoy the sights. We were able to stay out until around 8:30pm. We returned to our room and turned in. Even though it was still daylight we slept very well. We had no problem getting adjusted to the time difference doing this.

I think markets are a good first day activity that doesn't require lucidity. I can remember two times when we just ambled down market streets--stopping for caffeine and other forms of sustenance on the way--once when we stayed in the 14th, where we explored the market on rue Daguerre, and the second when we stayed in the 5th, where we wandered up and down rue Mouffetard until our room was ready.

CVG is the Covington airport also known as the Cincinnati airport so that means EmilySD lives near ME!

I always liked the idea of my plane route going from CVG to CDG & vice versa!

Emily, it's funny you mention the Rodin because on arrival day as soon as I get the bags dropped off at the hotel I'm heading out to the 7th to stroll the Musée Rodin jardins and having lunch at the café there. Then I was going to walk around rue Cler (I haven't been back there since my 2nd trip), check out one of the places that James Joyce lived at 2 Square de Robiac, shop for chocolates at Puyricard, check out the Bon Marché then enjoy the sunset from the Eiffel Tower. It's all very close to each other (relatively) and very do-able that first day. If possible, I'd also like to squeeze in a visit to the Chapelle Nôtre-Dame-de-la-Médaille Miraculeuse to see the dead nun's body (creepy - 140 rue du Bac)! :) Then there will be the Bateaux Mouche in the evening ending with a glass of champagne from Le Dokhan's champagne bar. Nice!

Thank you. I guess I am just curious as to what others have done when they arrive, not exactly what we should do, specifically.

elaine, CVG is the Cincinnati airport we will be flying non-stop from. 7pm-9am.

Thank you again for your time.

I grew up in Cincinnati, and lived in No KY with my husband before moving to San Diego 8 years ago. We will be in Cincinnati to drop off our two boys with my mother before we leave for Paris. Ahhh!

This summer (in two weeks) we are leaving the boys in Cincinnati and going to Turks and Caicos for 6 days. Next year is our 10th anniversary and our first European trip.

Emily, that is really convenient having your parents at a HUB CENTER so that you can drop the boys off on the way to an overseas destination!

The strategy that seems to work best for me is to avoid napping on arrival, but rather to get out and do some walking. The theory has to do with exposure to sunshine resetting the pineal gland's body clock.
By the time you get into town and checked into your hotel it will be close to lunchtime. Stroll to a bistro for a light lunch, maybe sit outdoors. Walking the markets as suggested is a great idea - you are outside and moving. I'd save ascending the Eiffel tower for another day; you will spend some time just standing in line. But you could walk around the Trocadero area for some great views and photo ops. A light dinnner, and perhaps to bed a bit earlier than usual. And be sure to keep hydrated - a lot of the symptoms of jet lag are attributable to dehydration moreso than time zone change.

Hi Em,

We spend our first day just walking around, getting oriented, people watching and staying awake.

We then go to bed at regular time on the new clock and awake without jet lag.

((I))