Hello,
What's a good first day in Paris activity? Our flight from Seattle lands early in the morning on a Monday, so we're expecting to be sight-seeing ready around noon. We are going in late Fall. We want to be outside as much as possible to fight jet lag. Was thinking a nice leisurely stroll down the Champs-Elysees might be perfect, but would love to hear ideas from the forum. Thanks!
I would recommend a boat tour down the seine. Vedettes du Pont Neuf leaves every 1/2 hour in the afternoon and is a reasonable price. Get to cruise by Notre Dame, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, magnificent bridges, and more while relaxing.
Champs-Elysees doesn't have quite the right ambience for your first walk in Paris, IMO.
Something like Rick's Historic Paris Walk, narrated in his audio track or his book, would be more like it.
Maybe the Paris Fat Tire bike tour, 11:00 a.m., 3 1/2 hours. Fresh air, exercise, as long as its not raining out. https://paris.fattirebiketours.com
The Champs-Elysees is mostly a traffic-clogged and pollution-filled road full of international chain stores. If you want a leisurely stroll in an attractive area, the Marais would be good.
I agree that there are better things to do than to stroll along the Champs-Elysee. I took an electric bike tour with Paris Charms & Secrets. One of the things I liked about the tour was that we often locked the bikes and went into the sights we visited where our guide provided a lot of interesting information. The other great thing was the electric motor assist that made pedaling a pleasure.
If you don't care for cycling, consider hopping a Metro to the Trocadero and then walking across the Seine to the Eiffel tower. Rue Cler and its markets and restaurants are just 5 minutes from the tower. Enjoy a light dinner at the Cafe du Marche - the duck is delicious!
Where's your hotel? We did the hop-on, hop-off bus tour. It kept us moving w/o tiring us out. Gave us a ride on the Champs-Elysees and saw no need to walk it. Did the Tour Montparnasse as that was close to our hotel.
Rather than the Champs Elysees, I try and do this walk every time I am in Paris. I find it lifts the senses ...
Tuileries Gardens - Orangerie - Place de la Concorde - Madeleine - Opera - Place Vendome - Rue St Honore - Palais Royal – Pyramid du Louvre
Luxembourg Gardens and Montmartre/Sacre Coeur are also good outdoor locations.
I second the comment about the hop on hop off bus tour and the suggestion to avoid the Champs-Elysees for which you will want all your energy. You're going to be suffering from jet lag along with brain drain getting from the CDG, which is well out of Paris, and probably won't remember a lot of what you see on your first day. Because they circle through the city and stop at all the more popular sites we used the HOHO buses to give you some perspective of the city as well. During the ride you can get an English narration of what you are seeing as you pass through the city and you can make notes of what you want to see in the time you're in Paris, and just as importantly, what to leave out. If you are there three days or longer you might look into the Paris Pass, which is more expensive than the Paris Museum Pass, but includes everything on the PMP plus the buses, Metro (subway), the HOHO busses and many other things. After two family trips to Paris I'm going there solo for the first time in September and after a lot of research and advice on the forum the above is what I am doing, Have a great trip.
Jim
I agree that the hop on hop off bus, and Seine river cruise are good ideas on your first jet lagged day. Another suggestion would be to stroll the Ile de la Cite and Ile St. Louis -- the historic and most beautiful area of Paris, near the river, Notre Dame, Ste. Chappelle. A much better area for a leisurely stroll than the Champs Elysees -- which I do not recommend at all!
We are going this September and have a Paris by Martin evening tour booked for our first afternoon/evening in Paris. We are excited to get acquainted with the city with a local. He supposedly will even give us his cell to give him a shout if we need anything for the rest of the time we are there. I'll be reporting back...don't know if this will help you or not since I don't know when you're going. Enjoy yourselves! :)
Matt -- Good ideas above, including NOT the Champs, unless it's so near your hotel that it's easy to do, along with the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, etc. Also, I'd be leery of the HOHO bus because you'll be sitting and getting gently rocked, perchance to sleep, like a baby I once knew whose parents would get him to nap by driving him around. :-) HOHO could be an expensive nap venue, walking will for sure keep you awake.
So your basic nice leisurely stroll idea is right on target, and the where depends on where your hotel is. Marais, Iles, Luxembourg, Champs, Montmartre, Eiffel -- ?? Keep it simple, stop for coffee now and then, try to hold out till early dinner, maybe some wine, then to bed for hopefully a long sleep till morning.
How about going to a museum? Have lunch after checking in, then get to the museum.
Does anyone have any restaurant recommendations in Marais? I want to see Carnavalet on my jet lag day. Thanks.
I enjoy the walk up falafel stand L'As du Fallafel on Rue des Rosiers which is a short distance from Musee Carnavalet.
Thanks All for the great suggestions!
We did the Fat Bike Tour (met under Eiffel Tour) our first day in Paris. We find being outdoors and active is the key to getting through the first day. A bike tour gives you a good overview of the sites you'll want to see later, is easier than walking (the route is flat and you can sit anytime!), and keeps you alert. And between the guide and other travelers you may get helpful tips and ideas for your visit.
If you prefer to walk, I agree with the others that there are better options than the Champs-Elysees.
a walk is what you need to do your first day, but i underline like the others NOT along the Champs-Elysées (honestly I would recommend against walking it any time during your vacation, but some people think it's a must-do). I think that Rick possibly has in his book a walk that goes from Concorde along the Seine on one side and then the other, possibly as far as the Eiffel Tower. Or you could go the other way, down to Notre Dame. Outside, along the Seine, seeing some of the monuments you've only seen in movies -- Invalides, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, etc. . . .that to me is the perfect first Paris day. In my opinion, museums are also to be avoided on that first jet lag day! Walk, sit at a café or brasserie, etc etc.
We also went in late Fall. Love it this time of year! Another vote for ditching the Champs-Elysees...Viewing it from the HOHO bus is more than enough. I did enjoy going up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, but we arrived by metro. The view is awesome especially around sunset. (6pm ish in October) Great photo ops of Tower!
Since we always rent an apartment, our first stop is to a supermarche to stock up on provisions, bread, cheese and wine to name a few. It depends on where you're staying. You could hit the Rue Cler or Montorguil market streets even if you are in a hotel. We were in the 1,2,3,4 arrondisment area so we walked to the river to see Notre Dame. Seeing the Seine and Notre Dam with street musicians' accordions playing in the background really made you know you were in Paris. No matter where you're staying, I would get to the river to get the real Paris vibe.
The Seine cruise is great, but I prefer it to start at twilight so that you can see the most of the buildings, not to mention the Tower after dark. Remember: As RS puts it....The Tower has it's "electronic orgasm" on the hour, (after dark) but you don't have to be on a boat to appreciate it. Have fun!
Paris is Always a Good Idea
--Audrey Hepburn
On our first day we arrived CDG at 10AM, was at hotel by noon. Had lunch and went to Montmatre - we followed Rick Steves walk and had dinner at a yummy place on Rue Tholoze. A nice walk bc there are no museums per se, unless you want to check out the Montmartre Museum, which we did not. We were back at the hotel by 9 and crashed - but woke up surprisingly refreshed the next morning. We walked up CE to check out Arc - you won't miss much if you skip it.
Montmartre sounds perfect - thanks!
