First (jet-lagged) day in Paris: comments/suggestions, please

Self fulfilling prophecy and all, why not pretend you WONT be jet lagged your first day?

You will start day one with all the excitement and that should push you through the day. Go ahead and either plan a short nap/wash up before wandering Paris in the evening or feel okay about going to sleep early.

If you like Paris, you may kick yourselves later for not just soaking up as much of the city you can while you are there.

Pere-Lachaise is a bit of a bore compared to wandering around the Marais, Latin Quarter or Montmarte or simply sitting in a garden or cafe and enjoying watching the world go by.

I suggest taking a sneak peek on your first day. It will actually help you appreciate Rick's tour better because you got all the initial oohing and awing out of the way.

We've both been to Paris before, so we don't feel the need to get right out there for that "OMG, I'm in Paris!" moment. Also, believe me, I know from lots of experience that we'll be slogging our way through that first day (or at least the afternoon of that first day). Unfortunate, yes, but true. I made the mistake once of hitting the British Museum on a first day in London, and after about an hour, I was wishing I could lie down on the Elgin Marbles!

So you obviously know the importance of walking as much as you can on that first day. I think the Pere Lachaise idea sounds great - and you won't see it on the Rick Steves tour. Another idea is to go to the giant flea markets at Porte St Ouen. Make sure you take a left once you pass the street vendors with racks of clothes. The real flea markets are behind them.

Another idea - even if it's not walking - is to take a canal boat tour on the Canal St. Martin. You could get to their departure point near the Cite des Sciences and spend 2 1/2 hours on that fascinating tour. It will come out of the canal onto the Seine and then take you downriver to just below the Musee d'Orsay.

Pere-Lachaise is great, but I would go to the Porte de Vanves flea market in the morning , have a leisurely lunch and then do the cemetery or take the Canal ST martin boat trip.Also, on Saturday morning there are lots of neat morning outdoor markets. President Wilson is behind the Trocadero and I think the metro stop is Iena, maybe.We are photographers and we try to hit several morning markets to photograph and we get our lunch there- olives, bread ,cheese,etc.

Since you're arriving at night & will have a full night's sleep, I don't see why you're going to have a jet lag problem. I always feel great the day after arrival & hope you will too. I do suggest that you take it easy & just enjoy the city itself. If you rush around trying to fit in sites/experiences, you'll miss what many of us think is best about the city - which is the city itself. I love to walk around & explore without a destination, sit at the cafe's & people watch & just relax.

Your hotel is likely in the 7th, so pick up some things along Rue Cler or vicinity for a picnic and go hang out at the Eiffel Tower. From there wander over to the Rodin Museum, where you will see his fabulous sculptures. Take a scenic boat ride on the Seine. Go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe at sunset. Stroll the Champs Elysee. I don't think any of these things are on the Paris tour, but they are not to be missed...sights that will be forever seared into your memory. Something we unfortunately didn't have time for was RS night tour by taxi. Next time.
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/france/floodlit.htm
Have a wonderful trip!

I'll agree with Rose on this one. If you go to bed at a reasonable hour and plan to sleep a little late on the first day, jet-lag won't be a huge factor.

I was in Paris at the end of July. We got through the airport real easy. Our bags were already there when we went to get them. As far as customs, they just looked at our passports and said OK, so that was nothing. Don't be too hard on yourself, this is a vacation after all. Do what your body needs, we got there at 9am which was really 2am for us. We just walked around our area for a while and then took the forbidden nap, but after that we were fine for the rest of the trip.

I say 'OMG, I'm in Paris!" every time I go there. ;-) That's why it is always a favorite recommendation.

The British Museum is enough to do anyone in on a good day let alone the first day. :-P

The flea market is a good time even if you don't go to buy.

Just go and 'be' in Paris.

What I notice about Rick followers is that they are usually nose deep in his books following some tour he mapped out that they forget to look up and just enjoy.

I wonder what Rick has to say about seeing his blue book toting travelers all over Europe hanging on his every word. He is all about finding 'back doors' not just following his.

I am in Paris in a couple of weeks so I will check out this Rue Cler business everyone raves about. I did Gimmelwald and Rothenburg 7 years ago on his recommendation, I can only imagine what it is like now with even more Americans crawling all over it.

I spent a month in the 7th, the best neighborhood in Paris, as even the locals told us! Even when you arrive that night the best thing to do is go for a short walk and then find a cafe for dinner, then to bed. By that time, you'll be so exhausted you'll sleep like a baby. The first thing we did was drop our bags and walk to the Eiffel tower, only 10 minutes away on foot (from Rue Cler area).

Since you're staying in the 7th, you can definitely plan on arriving at your hotel within 2-2 1/2 hours from your flight arrival, dependent upon your mode of transportation from airport to hotel. I highly recommend a shuttle ride booked in advance, much easier than those poor travelers we saw hauling luggage through the metro with all of its steps at most sorties (exits).

The 7th is such a fantastic area with so much to do and see, i.e. Hotel des Invalides with Tombeau de Napoleon, Tour d'Eiffel, Rue Cler, etc,etc. that you really don't have to leave it on the first day.

On our first day, we of course found patisserie (croissant et pain au chocolat)and walked to Eiffel, then to Invalides, then caught the metro, Balard line 8, to L'arc de Triomphe. Just those sights made for a busy day, and by the time we returned to our hotel just off of Rue Cler, we were ready for dinner.

I'm not sure how long you will be in Paris, but don't try to do everything on the first day.

I don't think pere-lachaise is a good idea for your first day, it's really huge and is really overwhelming to figure out. I suggest you start out by walking around the Latin Quarter, going to see Notre Dame, etc... there's lots going on in that area, and you'll be walking alot exploring it. :)