Early Morning Arrival in Paris

While you won't be able to check in for sure until early afternoon, your hotel will store your bags. In addition, if a room is ready earlier, you can get into it. If you want to be guaranteed access to the room when you arrive, you can book it for the night before, and make sure the hotel understands that you are not a "no show" when you do not arrive until the next morning.

Yes, your first day is most likely to be a jet-lagged haze. Walking around in the light is the best way around this. Rick's Heart of Paris walk is a great introduction to the city; if you do it on your first day, don't try to go into anything (I find that even a short time indoors makes me very tired on my arrival day, but of course everyone is different). The walk is in his books, on his app, or you can see it and download it here: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/audio/audio-tours/paris

If your staying in the Rue Cler area Napoleon’s tomb is close by and could be seen in an hour, later on there are great cafes on Rue Cler street to enjoy for supper.

After exploring your immediate neighborhood and getting your fill of the Eiffel Tower, you might consider heading to the Ile de la Cite. Notre Dame, the bouquinistes, and plenty of cafes and benches to sit along the Seine make you feel you are partaking of the city with as much or as little energy you can muster. After a nap when you get in your room, off the Montmartre for the early evening scene, crash when you are done and get your well deserved 12 hours of sleep. Then tackle your to-do list the next day. It worked well for us, near retirement age. Have a great time!

After exploring your immediate neighborhood and getting your fill of the Eiffel Tower, you might consider heading to the Ile de la Cite. Notre Dame, the bouquinistes, and plenty of cafes and benches to sit along the Seine make you feel you are partaking of the city with as much or as little energy you can muster. After a nap when you get in your room, off to Montmartre for the early evening scene, crash when you are done and get your well deserved 12 hours of sleep. Then tackle your to-do list the next day. It worked well for us, near retirement age. Have a great time!

We have just retired so I can relate. We arrived early in Paris and were staying at the Hotel Empereur near the Eiffel Tower. We had a driver that picked us up at CDG and were dropped off early that morning at our hotel. You will be glad you are getting a driver....after that flight we could not bear a new train experience and get lost!! We could not check in our hotel either but they allowed us to leave our baggage there as we waited for our room. We were EXHAUSTED.....but pushed ourselves to walk across Paris and get our museum passes so we would be ready the next day to get touring. We have found that when you do get in to Paris on these early early flights the best thing for us is to physically push through the day until we collapse after a good meal around 6.....and then sleep like crazy. It always works for us......had to do it again 2 years ago when we flew into CDG, got in our rental car and drove into Giverny to see Monet’s home.....we were dying when we finally turned the light off at 9......but the rest of the trip was fine.......no jet lag problem.
Hope this helps!!

David's idea is good -- getting a hotel room for the night prior. You 'll be able to unload your luggage, brush teeth, change clothes, and head out "fresh" for the day.

You will be jetlagged...all day. Staying busy and walking, as others noted, is good.

We've done both techniques: stay up all day/night as close to our new Paris timezone bedtime as possible. But we've also spent mornings walking around, seeing our neighborhood, sightseeing easy-don't-have-to-think-stuff, etc and then.... catch a quick catnap in the hotel (and I do mean cat nap) and then head out again for walking, dinner, walking, etc. Then settle in at our new bedtime.

One of the reasons I love Le Citizen Hotel is that they let us check in really early - around 0930, on the day we arrived. IMHO, it's worth looking for a hotel that will let you check in early.

http://lecitizenhotel.com/en/

Jane's advice above is good. Don't crash in your hotel that morning or spend money for the night before, try to stay awake outside as long as you can. Besides other suggested sights, the Rodin Museum is nearby and its sculpture garden would be a nice place to spend some time, with a nice café if you want lunch or coffee.

We find that an early dinner and bedtime gets us off to a good start the following day.

I have paid for an extra night (the night before) for an early arrival in a major city before. It was such a smart idea and worth every penny. I arrived around 7:30 am and was shown to my room. I felt like I was treated with special courtesy throughout my stay because I had not insisted on "something (early check in) for nothing." I took a shower, unpacked, and then headed out for a short neighborhood survey. I passed the lobby where several people were sitting around tired with their luggage just hoping for a room to open up.

I did my neighborhood walk and came back and rested (not nap) a bit and went out to explore some more. The same people, plus some new arrivals were still sitting in the lobby or had left their luggage against the wall in the lobby until later. Having that base to explore from and return to right from the start increased my comfort level quite a bit and my enjoyment of that first day.

If you truly want to be able to check in, shower, take a rest for a bit, renting the room the night before works.

I do love to walk the Eiffel Tower area on my first day. I start at the end nearest the Ecole Miitaire Metro stop and walk toward the Tower to watch it get bigger.

I also purchase my Metro tickets and Museum Pass that first day altho you might not be getting that for your 3 day stay.

The downside of walking in the Eiffel Tower area is avoiding the gypsy petition girls in a jet lagged state (you not them, lol). Keep on walking, no eye contact, no response to queries of “Do you speak English”. Be pickpocket proof by having money and cards in your money belt under your clothes.

I know people swear by pushing thru and staying awake the first day but I have to take about a 1.5 hour nap when I can get into my room. Just can’t function otherwise and by day 2 I’m pretty good.

On a holiday which typically costs us several thousand dollars, the money spent to have a room ready for your arrival is money well spent I feel. Being able to unpackk and freshen up will add to the enjoyment of your day. Avoid the urge to sleep though, gett8ng some sun will help m8nimize any potential jetlag. Aside from exploring the area around your hotel, a boat cruise down the Seine could be relaxing and interesting...enjoy!

What good advice from all of you. Many thanks. Merci! I had not even considered avoiding the darkness of indoors. The idea of spending time in cafes on le Rue Cler is such a good idea. We will also consider booking the room early--it's a once in a lifetime trip, being our first, so an extra hotel night is not a major concern. I think we'll have to play it by ear a bit and listen to our bodies for nap or no nap in the afternoon.

All this advice has been very eye-opening and we so appreciate it. Thank you to all of you who were willing to share your experience and insights!

I don't agree with the idea of renting a room for the night before you arrive. Save the money for the fun stuff. Most likely your hotel will hold your bags even if the room isn't ready - they know that tourists from the US and Canada arrive early in the morning. Like one of the posters above we recently stayed at Hotel Empereur (awesome hotel by the way) and they were very accommodating. Although many posters on this forum seem to dislike the various HOHO tour buses I think they are a great way to start off the first day in a liesurely fashion. Getting off to chill out at a cafe and just soak in the atmosphere can be very relaxing.

I have been fortunate to travel to Europe quite a few times. I take the night flight. Never able to sleep on the plane. I stay awake that day and go to bed early that night. By doing it this way... I didn't get jet lag. I always scoffed at the hop on hop off bus until my last two trips and found it extremely helpful in orientating myself to the city.

Book the room for the night before and advise that you'll actually
arrive early am and expect access to the room upon arrival

Brilliant idea. I did this once and will do it again any time I have an early morning arrival. It's more than about the bag drop-off. After a long flight I can't wait to take a shower!

This is just an FYI...someone above this, suggested a nice boat ride down the Seine. We did this the last time we were in Paris on the day that we arrived and it is a beautiful ride and something I would have loved any other day. We picked the wrong time of day to do the ride. I believe we started the ride about 4:30pm. It was so relaxing, it was miserable. I was constantly trying to keep myself awake which is not fun, and my husband fell asleep. It you want to take a boat along the Seine, I highly recommend it, but do it earlier in the day or the next day, but not late afternoon! Have fun!

Learning so much from all of you in the RS community! Thank you all.

Jackie--we are taking a Seine cruise the next evening to enjoy the lights at night.

Agree with Jackie. You want to be out walking, not sitting down. It is a struggle to stay awake if you are jetlagged. Also it is a good idea the first day or two to walk outdoor without sunglasses, the daylight helps reset your body clock (you can find more on this online)

Before you run off and book the hotel for a full night's fee so you can get access to your room upon arrival, first just ask the hotel what are your options if you are arriving there early in the morning. Last time I flew to Paris I also arrived about 6AM - the lines for people waiting to get their passports stamped was ridiculously long - looked like at least a 60-90 minute wait. I had lucked out and actually flown business class so I was able to bypass that line. Let's assume the line isn't quite as long, but guessing by the time you get your bags and have your driver get you to the hotel in Paris, it'll be closer to 7:30. Some hotels might issue you a room (at no charge) immediately if something is open and has been cleaned by housekeeping. And some (like a hotel I recently stayed at in Rotterdam) offered to let me check into my room when I showed up at 8AM for a fee of 25 Euro. Of course, I could have easily stored my suitcase with them and gone off for the morning until my room was ready, but it was raining, cold and I wanted to take a shower and a nap - so to me, the 25 Euro was money well spent. Point being, that 25 Euro was a whole lot less than a full night charge for the hotel room - so do check with the hotel first as to what they are willing to do for you since it's looking like you will definitely be arriving before the normal check-in time.

I really appreciate this advice. We do plan to play things by ear. A lot will depend on weather, whether we are able to sleep on the flight over, if the hotel staff can provide us with early check in. Thank you, Ceidleh.

I would suggest a regular taxi. Because the hotel might be kickbacking the driver and you will have to pay more. You will be in Paris before you know it.
Flat fees are in effect, now. Left Bank fees are 55 EU, and no luggage fees.

Take the Metro to Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre and take my Paris Right Bank Walk.

•Begin your walk in the garden of Palais Royal
•Pyramid du Louvre
•Arc du Carousel
•Tuileries Gardens
•Place Vendome
•Opera Palais Garnier
•Madeleine
•Place de la Concorde
•Place Clemenceau
•Grand & Petit Palais
•Pont Alexandre III
•Invalides
•Ecole Militaire
•Champ de Mars
•Finish your walk at the Eiffel Tower