How to make the most of days when travelling to a new city.

I’ll only try to convince you to use luggage storage facilities! Sometimes they are at stations, sometimes nearby. Hotels will usually hold your bag for you as well.

You can usually leave your bag at a hotel desk outside their check in/out hours. I have checked out "early" (before designated checkout time), left my bag with the hotel, gone out to explore/visit/etc., then picked up my bag mid-afternoon to move on to the next destination. Same is true if you wanted to take an early train somewhere, just drop your bag at your next hotel and come back to check in later in the day. No need to haul your bag around unless your hotel doesn't offer temporary luggage storage. In that case there could be other options (lockers at train stations, or other places like Stasher).

I do what CL does.
Never had a problem with hotels holding stuff before or after a stay.

OP haven’t backpacked in another country since Nixon was President.

Throughout my travels learned to appreciate the one bag philosophy. In that regard I’ve always checked in ( morning, noon or night ) then ambled about the neighborhood. I’m practical and thus seek out a market or grocery store where I’ll secure “ snacks” Gum, candy, bottled water. I also discover the closest bus stop, tram/metro/underground station. I’ll
then look for green spaces and a coffee shop, cafe, restaurant.

Food and transport are the focus before. For me the last day is about getting to the airport and flying home.

Yes, I have left luggage before check-in or after check-out, but sometimes that may involve too much back tracking or same if left at train station. What's a realistic activity if I need to keep my carry-on suitcase with me, other than sitting at an outdoor cafe/ restaurant or park and people watch?

I admit I’m pretty much stumped in that case, but throwing money at a problem will solve it! (Too much backtracking on foot, take a taxi, etc.)
Some museums allow for bag storage, you could research that.
Given that it’s usually around lunch time, I think that is not too onerous with a bag, then get your travel accomplished and if still too early to access a room, store bags on that end and explore the immediate surrounding to get your bearings, etc.

Tgere are about 4 locations on this forum where regular visitors and locals will help you pull out the best experiences. Those are the ones I woukd concentrate on.

Mr E makes a good point, post on the pages for the places you are visiting and you can possibly eke out some creative ideas.

I have never had to wander around the city dragging my bag before check-in time and there is no way that I would sightsee with my luggage. There are other options.

As noted, you can typically leave your bag at the hotel front desk before check-in or after you check-out. When I arrive before check-in, I typically go straight to the hotel to drop off my bag. Sometimes hotels will check you in early if the room is available.

Another option is to find a luggage storage location and pay to have your bag stored for a few hours. Some train stations will have lockers or a left luggage counter where you can pay to store your bag; check the train station website for this info. Some commercial businesses also offer this service. Try websites like stasher and nannybag to find places to store your bag.

I'm an early morning person so I would typically get a morning train and leave my bag at the new hotel. I am not sure I'd enjoy sightseeing in the AM before a journey...I'm too risk averse to be comfortable with that.

Yes, I have left luggage before check-in or after check-out, but sometimes that may involve too much back tracking or same if left at train station.

Adding that there are luggage storage places besides the train station in many cities. For example, go to nannybag and search on Rome. You will see locations all over the city.

Like Pam, we rarely sightsee in the morning of travel days, when travelling independently. We prefer to get to our new destination as early in the day as possible. Dump our bags at the new hotel and then start exploring our new location. On the few occasions when we have taken afternoon or evening trains, we do our sightseeing and then use taxis if necessary to retrieve luggage. Chalk it up to the price of choosing to travel at that time of day. We do try to stay at hotels within a reasonable distance of the train stations.

Like others, I usually leave the bag at the hotel and occasionally check it at the train station I will be leaving from later. Once, I don't remember where, I was able to check my bag at a museum while visiting the museum -- having confirmed the option in advance. In larger cities, there are often nannybag, bounce, or similar bag check places around town. I have not had to use these but I have sometimes looked them up online in case I needed one.

Like others, I either keep it at my departing hotel or at the arriving hotel. A few times I've left it at train station storage when making an interim stop.

I can't be bothered dragging a suitcase around while sightseeing. That would be a bigger inconvenience to me than backtracking to pickup or drop off my bag.

I agree with the many options outlined above for stowing your luggage temporarily. In Italy there is no shortage of convenient places to leave your luggage.

Beyond the luggage issue, you can plan items on your itinerary before you check out of one place and after you check into the next. My wife and I figured out how to do this effectively on a recent trip to Greece. It does require fairly precise planning to get the timing right. In Meteora, we got up early and toured a monastery before checkout time. It gave us the opportunity to freshen up before our journey to the next town. Mornings are also a great time to visit nature sites like parks and gardens because they are quiet. If travelling by train, we also use the morning to gather supplies for an onboard picnic.

When we arrive in a new town, especially if it's later in the day, we use that time to familiarize ourselves with the area and how to get around. We focus on the sites that are self guided like churches, monuments and public squares. We also find the cafes, Patisseries and restaurants to visit later. Because of the time involved with intercity travel by train/bus, I usually don't plan organized tours for that day unless there is a healthy cushion of time. I have learned that the unexpected happens (strikes, construction) often enough that I don't book things too tightly in on travel days. I often use them for wandering.

Yes, I have left luggage before check-in or after check-out, but
sometimes that may involve too much back tracking or same if left at
train station. What's a realistic activity if I need to keep my
carry-on suitcase with me, other than sitting at an outdoor cafe/
restaurant or park and people watch?

Without knowing where you are traveling to give specific advice on this, you can avoid sitting around with your luggage with some advance planning. This might mean selecting accommodations with earlier check in or later check out times. Consider taking trains midday or later in the afternoon. It could mean adjusting your daily itinerary so you have activities near your hotel on your travel day. As noted, posting specific questions in the relevant country section in the forum may get you some excellent ideas for your specific situation.

I think luggage is the smaller issues because you just store it in hotel or at stations.

If you know / share clearly what your interests are or what you like to experience others on travel forums can help you to make the most of your time at a destination by identifying places of interests before you arrive. The more concrete your question the better an advice can be.

Approaching a large destination without preparation is in most cases a losing strategy: With a window of two days starting to look around on arrival and getting information about a large destination such as Paris, Rome, Berlin, London and also smaller ones will likely fail because the offering and what you do not know is too huge to compensate this in this short time.

With such a short window it makes also sense to inform yourself about opening times of sights and attractions in advance. Example: not all museums open on Mondays.

”I'm wondering about the time before and after the actual journey between cities, excluding the time to get to and from the train station and finding your new accommodations.”

I switch hotels at least 10+ times on most of my trips, so I have this down to a science.

Most important- the location of my small hotel or B&B is in the center of the historical city. Anything I might want to see early morning before leaving or after arrival from the train at the next city is very close to my lodging.. There’s no backtracking or wasted time before I’m out enjoying the next city. Even for my recent Christmas Markets trip, all of my hotels were within a block of the main Christmas Market. Yes, I love to wander, but I can be very efficient with my time when needed, especially for 1-night stays.

I book my hotels and B&B’s through Booking. I send a note thru their website to ask if I may leave off my suitcase when I arrive in the morning at “x time”. I’ve never had one say “no”. And when I arrive, after a warm greeting, I let them know I’m not expecting my room to be ready - just leaving off my suitcase. Most of the time they check me in right then. If my train arrives at 10:00am, and I walk 15 minutes to my hotel, I am out enjoying the new city by 10:30am.

Since I move so often, I keep everything in my bag except my bedside Tom Bihn travel tray drawstring bag & my toiletry kit. Packing up & checking out is a 10-minute process. So the “after” time is still most of the day like a regular day if I didn’t switch hotels.

I usually book my hotel relatively close to sites I plan to visit on my first or last day or near the train station and leave my bag at the hotel. This reduces any "day of travel" backtracking. Generally, I am paying a little more than the rate for a less expensive hotel out away from the central station or tourist zone...worth it to me.

Hi Susan ToCA, the train journeys may only be 2 hrs but the logistics of getting to the hotel, dropping bags, then coming back for checkin after 2pm means your day is easily filled with the move. I rarely plan anything except for a nice dinner at the destination, but if I have time at my disposal I check out the neighbourhood, work out where there is a supermarket or food businesses, pharmacy, etc. I also often do my laundry in that space in my timetable. If it's soon after arrival you might still be dealing with mild jetlag and maybe that space will be welcome to decompress a little in your hotel (is there a pool? a gym? do you watch TV in other countries? I do and that is part of the pleasure of the journey for me). And if you are staying in the historic centre, your stroll around the block might be a more detailed walk with a guidebook. I favour leaving the last city early in the day to make the most of the afternoon in the new city and don't try to see anything in the morning. I am too focussed on thinking about how to make my train on time. YMMV!

Lavandula

I have had a great time enjoying things in a city before checking in or after checking out!

The Broad in LA is an example. The Rubell in Miami is another. It is like getting an extra vacation day.

The choice between the hassle of a suitcase ( which many museums will not allow stowing in the coat check and which don’t fit into lockers) vs. returning to the hotel for a bag is an easy one for me. The hotel will have a restroom and is the easiest place to arrange pick up by taxi or ride share.

Team Hotel to Store Bag. I cannot imagine less fun than dragging a roll on bag over cobblestones, curbs, doorways and stairs.

Most of us have offered the same opinion, which it sounds like you don’t want to accept. Perhaps consider hotels near train stations in cities where that is a desirable option.