What to do on first morning in Paris
 

We will be flying in from the States over night and will be taking it easy the first day in Paris. However, with the time difference I would expect that we would be up bright and early the next day. What are your suggestions for what to do early in the morning? Merci

I'm sure you will hear many different opinions on this one! On our first day, we had breakfast in our hotel, then started off for the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't crowded at all at 9:30. From there we headed to the Arc de Triomphe, then down Champs Elysess, through Place de la Concorde and on to the Louvre. I think we made it to the Louvre around 2:30 in the afternoon. There are so many places to stop along the way, obviously you will set your own pace. Enjoy!

For starters, find a cafe with an outdoor patio facing toward the east so you can sit in the sun. Have your coffee and croissants as you watch the Parisians scamper about their morning business.

Hi VC,

Won't you be arriving in Paris in the morning on your first day?

If you stay up until about 10:00 PM, you will be more or less attuned to the time change.

Allison's right - you'll get tons of different ideas here! Instead of telling you what you should do, I'll just tell you what we did. We got up, left the hotel and took a walk in our 'new neighborhood' the Marais. We stopped at a cafe, sat down (yes I know everyone will say it is cheaper to stand at the counter but that wasn't the objective). We had our first of many cafe-creams and croissants and watched the locals go to work either driving, walking or riding their bicycles, and the children walking to school. We watched the florist open his shop and bring our all the beautiful bouquets. It was a great relaxing way to get a feel for being in Paris, in fact we enjoyed it so much that we started many of our days in this manner!

I think Ira is right. If you try to stay up til a reasonable hour on day 1, you should get up at a regular time on day 2. That said, if you do wake early, it depends on what day of the week it is. If it's a weekend & you get up early, how about heading to one of the flea markets? During the week, if it's a nice day you could take a walk along the quay along the Seine.

Hi ira,

We arrive around 10am but with getting to the apartment and settling in we are much closer to afternoon on the first day. With this being our first time in Paris and our first full day in Paris (and not exhausted from the flight) I am sure that we will wake up early and get ready to explore!

You've pretty much answered your own question!

Hi VC,

If you get to your apt at noon, I suggest you not take a nap. To your internal clock it is only 5 AM.

This is the time to walk around your neighborhood, sit at a cafe and people watch, go to dinner. Don't do anything that requires thought.

You will then be up bright and early and attuned to Paris time.

On our first (arrival) day we take it easy, do things like buy our Carte Orange and museum pass, have lunch late, walk around, dinner early and to bed fairly early. The next day we are pretty much on Paris time but maybe up byand out by 7ish. We do have breakfast (coffee and roll) in a cafe and read the newspaper leisurely. Go back to the hotel, freshen and head out for whatever our plans are.

One time when I was in Paris with a friend, we woke early on our second day, finally decided that we couldn't sleep anymore, so dressed and left our hotel by 5:30 am. We were staying in the 7th and walked around the neighborhood, across the Seine and finally ended up having some coffee at a cafe across from the Tuilleries. We then walked a marketplace and watch as deliveries of flowers, fruits and vegetables occurred. It was fascinating to watch Paris "wake up" and to see people out sweeping the streets and getting ready for the day. It is one of my most treasured memories of Paris and I hope to do it this summer with my daughter and son-in-law who have never been to Paris.

My flight arrived about 7a - after going thru customs and getting into the city, we went to the hotel and checked in, dropped out bags off, and freshened up before heading out. We headed out 1st to the Eiffel Tower....walked all around it, sat down on the benches nearby to take in the view. We had a leisurely lunch, and walked around some more. Nothing taxing at all for our 1st day.

I agree with the cafe & pastry plan! We made the mistake of taking the boat tour when we first arrived & I think we slept through part of it! It was too relaxing for our tired bodies. Just a get acquainted stroll with frequent stops would be good.

Benj, that is too funny. We just returned from Paris and everyone (esp. the kids) was just dragging, so I thought it would be a good time for the Seine Cruise...I was the only one of the 5 of us who stayed awake. I have a geat picture of my huband and 2 of the kids snoozing away on the boat!

After now having had the experience of taking kids to Paris, I still don't know what the first day activity should have been. We stocked the apartment with food, bought our Museum Pass, saw St. Chapelle, took the cruise and went to bed a bit early, but everyone was miserable - the kids were begging to go to bed.

Our "ritual" is to drop luggage off at hotel, where they invariably tell us that our room isn't ready, so we then head over to Deux Magots for a croissant and cafe creme. We try to sit outdoors, hoping that the sunshine will help our bodies adjust to different time, or at least sit in the glassed in section and just enjoy people watching for a while. I always experience being so happy that I am once in again in Paris and feel very lucky that that is so!

What we do when we arrive in Paris is head for Les Deux Magots for an early lunch. Then, if the hotel doesn't have our room ready, we head out on our errands... picking up transportation passes, museum passes, and telephone cards. When we're done with that, we take it easy and walk around the neighborhood. After checking into our hotel, we walk around the 6th, where we stay, stopping often in cafés. Dinner is nearby, and we make it an early evening, so we can be up early the next day.

Best,
Sandy

One of the things that helps to re-set our inner clock is exposure to sunshine (we'll skip the discourse on the pineal gland). How well one does on the second day is affected by what one does on arrival. Best bet when taking an overnight flight is to NOT nap on arrival, rather do some outdoor things, drink lots of water and go to bed at a reasonable time that evening.

Other than Seamus" excellent advice all I could suggest is hire someone to look after you..kinda like a caretaker...

I don't have a suggestion for your first morning in Paris, but I do when you first arrive.

If you arrive at 10am...assuming the flight is on-time, it will be early afternoon by the time you collect your bags, transport yourselves to your hotel, check-in, etc...

More than likely, it will be closer to late afternoon...and this is a good time to visit the Eiffel Tower. The crowds will be gone, and you'll get a great view of the city in the late afternoon light. If you linger long enough into dusk, the city starts to light up.

They make some decent crepes at the restaurant near the top of the tower. But I like to start off my dining in Paris with one of those great hot dogs stuffed into the center of a baggette. They sell some good ones at the base of the tower.

First morning. Get up early. Don't eat a good balanced breakfast but instead get a big cup of coffee, orange juice and stop at the nearest (there are a gazillion of them) boulangerie and get you some fresh hot sweet junk cause nowhere in the civilized world has bakeries to compare with those in Paris. Take your stuff down to the Seine to eat and then take a river cruise to get the feel of the city.

You might want to repeat part 1 of this schedule on the morning of day 2.

Larry J