When jet lag hits early a.m. Paris

Stroll the streets

Watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee.

We find arrivals that early from the west coast far too exhausting. We reserve our accommodations for the night before, letting our hotel know of our plan to arrive early the next morning. With our hotel accessible upon arrival; we take luggage up to our room, freshen up, go explore until we are exhausted which is usually late afternoon. Then congratulate ourselves on money well spent. (Of course that's our opinion, and other's may see it as a waste, but one time with an arrival that early was one too many for us.)

Paris is not an early morning town. Bakeries usually open at 7 and many will have coffee and maybe a table. Map out a stroll through scenic streets and a bridge or two if near the Seine.

I find that the time to take a sleeping pill is often the first night or two to reset that body clock.

If the weather's good, a couple possibilities: go to the river and walk along the quais (there will be plenty of other people jogging, etc.); go to a light commercial part of town and walk around--it's fun to see the city waking up with all its activities; do a web search for an all-night restaurant or cafe near you: there aren't that many, but they certainly exist--many cater to people who work night shifts

This is not an answer to your question but…….I’ve had good luck with the Timeshifter jet lag app. When I follow the recommended it helps prevent the 2:30-3A wakeups and the 3P slumps, lol. The first round trip is free. I’ve used it twice with good success.

I also agree Paris is not much of an early morning city! My normal is coffee around 6 so I have to depend on instant coffee packets in the room for that.

Also not an answer, but why do you think jet lag will hit you so early? Is it possible you are going to sleep too early the day you arrive in Paris rather than staying up as late as possible on your arrival day? I personally find that the later I can stay up on arrival, the easier it is to settle in to the European time zone. YMMV. That being said, I usually enjoy walking around many places early in the morning when most locals haven't yet awakened. And if you are interested in photography, you may find taking photos during the "magic hour" a worthwhile activity.

Like the OP. It doesn't matter when I go to bed that first nights, odds are I will wake up at 3 or 4 and not be able to go back to sleep.

@janet, sleeping pills are out this trip because I’m bringing my teen GS who can’t indulge. Melatonin only. @Barry, indeed there are some 24hr locations TY. @Carol @Pam, bringing Starbucks singles which are not bad at all. @Pam, a jet lag app could work for me, but GS is another matter. Thanks all.

jsmyersoh,
I know abbreviations are common, but I keep finding new ones. What is GS? Is that grandson? I don't live by texting, so I only know the common ones. New ones keep popping up. GS is a new one on me. I asked around my friends, and no one else knew what GS was. Please enlighten.

@ Judy, yes GS is GrandSon.

To the OP - your grandson might or might not be as affected by jet lag or travel tiredness as you are. Plus he can always lie in bed and fiddle with his phone while you sleep, lol!! In any event you will have a wonderful time with him! What a treat!

@Pam @Judy. Yes, GS meant grandson. Ove actually learned to say mon petit-fils, but I’ll save that for France. His sleep/wake habits are certainly different from mine. He will indeed have his phone to pass the early hours and I’ll have a few breakfast items to hold us over until Paris wakes up.