Is it too risky to rely on the first train of the day?

I wouldn’t do it. I make it a rule to be within taxi distance of the airport before a transatlantic flight in case there is a public transportation problem (delay or strike) because I don’t want to risk missing the flight and having to buy a new ticket.

but since I booked my flights with points, my return flight leaves from Frankfurt.

Check the rules for changing your flight using points. Is there a chance that you might be able to get a flight out of Paris using points closer to your trip date? On my last trip using points, the airline significantly dropped the number of points for my flight about 6 weeks before departure. I was able to cancel, get the points back, and rebook at the lower point value.

As someone who takes a lot of planes and a lot of trains, I wouldn't do it. Not for a transoceanic flight. If you miss the flight, you have to get a whole new ticket and it may mean cash out of pocket.

My rule is similar to the one above....I need to have alternate transportation options to the airport on the day of my flight if I'm not staying at an airport hotel.

It would be too risky for me. I would stay in Paris most of the day, and then take an afternoon train to Frankfurt. You can then explore Frankfurt and have peace of mind about your flight the next day.

I wouldn't do it because problems can happen and you don't have wiggle room. Several years ago I took the train from Nice to Milan for an overnight before going on to Venice. Knowing I had plenty of time, I bought tickets for Milan Duomo. What I couldn't plan for was a four hour delay in Genoa because there was a dead lady on the train track in front of our train and police had to investigate.

Always be at your departure city the night before. Lots can go wrong with trains.

I agree with Heather, Andrea.
For example, we once took a regular Toronto-Montreal train and expected it to be the five hour norm. In fact, it took 9 excruciating hours (I was already unwell) due to vague/odd tech issues.
Five minutes ago, I booked us an Antibes-Paris train for the night before flying home, just to be on the safe side.
Good luck.
I am done. the bitten fingernails

I really hate packing up for a one night stay right before flying home.

I get that but I would agree with the others. It's too risky and I certainly wouldn't do it.

That said, when you leave France, you can make it easy when you pack the night before by putting the items you specifically need for the last night in your personal bag. That way you don't even have to open your suitcase. I usually do that if I go to an airport hotel and it always makes it easier.

I do a lot of 1-night stays to be in locations that I like. It’s not a big deal to move the day before to your final destination, and you will certainly sleep better & be more relaxed that last morning.

The only things I’m taking out of my bag are a change of clothes, my nightgown & toiletry kit, and my bedside tray/bag. “1, 2, 3 in the morning & I’m packed.” (Nightgown, toiletry kit, bedside cinched up bag)

We have experienced several delays in France on the train system. The most recent was in Aix en Provence in October. All trains leaving Marseille, including ours back to Paris, were delayed 90 minutes because of an unclaimed piece of luggage and related security requirements. We have followed the advice to be in our departure city the night before for decades and particularly for any long haul flight.

We can check for planned larger maintenance on German side (long-distance trains) if you provide date of travel.
You can also self-check here by filtering the date: https://karte.bahn.de/de/region/DB_Fernverkehr

The safest thing is to be near/in Frankfurt the night before the flight. If you really, really wanted to stay in Paris the final night, I would actually do air over train. With train, you have one shot at getting it right. With air, both Air France and Lufthansa have first-morning departures during the 7 o'clock hour that get you to FRA late during the 8 o'clock hour. Air France has one later flight and Lufthansa has 2 later flights that would comfortably get you to FRA before your flight. I've done this 3 times (early morning Vienna flight to Munich on Austrian Air & early morning Berlin flight to Frankfurt [twice] on Lufthansa) -- first flight out in the morning, redundant flights after my flight that would allow me to make the connection, and at least 5 hours before my Delta flight to US departed. I only had a carry on all three times. The price for a "classic economy" type airfare one way on a random day in April is $100-$150. The big BUT is if things do go awry and you don't make your flight, you're paying for a full-fare flight home; I was traveling solo and was willing to take that risk.

If the first flight is an intercontinental flight then I won't do it either. For airline reward tickets, canceling and rebooking is often the easiest and sometimes the only way to change flights.

,,.if something goes wrong with that train, there's not really a backup option. Am I crazy for thinking about doing this?

You could be by the time the trip comes as, if I were planning this, it would be a constant concern that would never leave my mind.

With air, both Air France and Lufthansa have first-morning departures during the 7 o'clock hour that get you to FRA late during the 8 o'clock hour.

That may be true - but there is a "cost" involved beyond the cash - getting up early enough to get to the airport in time for a 7 AM flight. Which makes for a super-long day returning to the States.

To me it is not making much sense. If you are the experience traveler that you say you are, why are you not coming home from Paris? For other readers this is a classic example of where open jaw tickets should be used. There is little risky with first train of the day as I am it will run on time as do most trains. The big risk (how big? who knows? ) is if something happens to that train via a delay, accident, etc. There is no plan B. When I am on a travel schedule I seldom do anything without a plan B and probably plan C is available. I would not do it but I also would be coming home from Paris. United FF allows me to do it most of the time.

If you are the experience traveler that you say you are, why are you not coming home from Paris?

I think the OP explained why; this is a France vacation but the flights were booked with points so presumably the return flight they could find for a reasonable number of points is from Frankfurt.

However I agree with the predominant opinion, it is way too risky to not be in/near Frankfurt the night before the flight. It's inconvenient but sometimes that's how travel works for the 99.9% of us. The past two years I've spent a nite in Rome at the end of trips elsewhere in Italy because the direct flight I wanted left from Rome and I wanted to be sure to be on it.

To me it is not making much sense. If you are the experience traveler that you say you are, why are you not coming home from Paris? For other readers this is a classic example of where open jaw tickets should be used.

To me it makes sense to assume that an experienced traveler probably has a GOOD reason for the flights they picked. For example I often don't do open jaw because it's considerably more expensive (however if those of you who would like to tell me how I am doing it wrong want to pay the difference for me I will happily follow your advice! )

Don't do it.

I once was in a very similar situation where I had to take the first TGV at the crack of dawn out of Lyon straight to CDG with no reasonable backup option -- not even driving, since the train is so fast. (I didn't book it this way, but parts of the trip were out of my control so these were the only workable logistics).

A day or two before, an SNCF strike was announced -- my train ended up being OK, but let me tell you that spending your entire last day worrying about the trip to the airport and how to potentially replace a $$$ airplane ticket at the last minute was Not a Fun Way to spend it. I strongly recommend you overnight in Frankfurt (or nearby)!

Aww, you're probably all correct that this is a bad idea! I've stayed near Frankfurt before and it wasn't terribly inspiring so I had hoped that an afternoon departure would give me a little flexibility. I have also been stuck waiting for trains hours after the scheduled time so I know what you all mean! Any thoughts on staying in Mainz instead? It looks like there is short but frequent transit and we could take a taxi if something goes awry.

In terms of flights, the best value for my airline points was indeed a flight from Frankfurt. Adding the short Paris-Frankfurt hop to the flight would have doubled the cost. We are planning to buy our liquor limit of Chartreuse while in France so the way home will definitely involve checking a bag and I'm not comfortable having an unprotected connection in that case.

Thanks all for the sanity check!

Hochst is a reasonably interesting place on the outskirts of Frankfurt. One could do a lot worse than overnight there.
Good luck.
I am done. the open jaws

Hi Andrea,

Have you seen the Chagall windows in the Mainz cathedral? Many years ago we too ended up with a roundtrip flight to Frankfurt because of frequent flyer miles. And at the end of the trip we found ourselves in Mainz the day before our flight home. The windows are absolutely gorgeous --- a memory that sticks with us to this day because they are so wonderful.

Hope this idea helps take the sting out of having to move on from Paris early!

have had too many delays at frankfurt airport, dont risk it.

I really hate packing up for a one night stay right before flying home

The problem with that is that there aren't that many places within a short taxi ride to the airport that I would want to stay at for more than a day.

In 11 trips to Europe (Germany) since 2000, I've stayed one night in Freising, a 17 minute bus trip to MUC twice, and for one night in Mainz, a 26 minute, no change, S-Bahn ride to FRA, twice. I also stayed once in Herrenberg, 33 minutes from STR, 1 night, 1change. In 2003, I stayed one night in Bad Herrenalb, 2:06 by streetcar and ICE to FRA. That's 6 (out of 11) one-night stays before going to the airport. There are just few place near the airport I want to stay more than one night.

On the other hand, two time I've come in a long way to an airport the day before my flight out. In 2004, I came into FRA from 4 nights in Boppard on a direct 1:18 minute RE, and in 2017, we came in from 9 nights in Lohr am Main, near Würzburg, an hour and 44 minutes with a change at the Frankfurt Hbf to an S-Bahn to the airport. I didn't think those were too risky because, although longer trips, they were basically direct or one change connections, and I always had plenty of time at the arrival end.

I guess, for the most part, I've been lucky, but I'm not sure I would want to risk a long trip, like Paris to FRA.

You’re planning to start your day 500km from the airport you’re flying home from in a different country and what you have to lose if you miss the flight is presumably the cost of a new ticket at the walk up price. Way, way outside my comfort zone.

Can you not take a late train the evening before and just use an airport hotel?

I really hate packing up for a one night stay right before flying home

With all due respect, you really need to perfect your packing system. I've gone to Europe 11 times since 2000. It took me about four trips to develop my system.

First, I take a minimal amount of clothing. I take three pair of washable slacks. Unless I find a washing machine, I don't wash them. The stay at the bottom of my convertible back pack. I take four or five cotton-polyester shirts in a Tide mesh wash bag. I take three sets of underwear, cotton-polyester, in another, smaller stuff bag. I sink wash clothes every night, and the cotton-polyester stuff has always dried overnight. I've thought of packing cubes, but my "packages" are a lot smaller than that.

Other than a RS red toiletry bag and a stuff bag for my electronic and another stuff bag for my dirty clothes, that's about it. When I get to my overnight accommodations, I just take 4 or 5 package out of my backpack and put them on shelves in the chifforobe. My backpack with the slacks goes on the floor of the chifforobe.

While I am there, any time I take anything out of the package, to wear it or wash it, it goes right back in the package. When it comes time to depart, I just put the 4 or 5 packages in the backpack and I'm ready to go.

In 2007 (my fifth trip), on the Romantic Road, I had 7 one-night stands and only 3 two-night stands. My system work perfectly.

The high point of my trips is the day I realize I have enough clean clothes to get my through the trip and I don't have to sink wash anymore.

When I get to my final night's accommodations, I take a set of clean clothes, the last one left, out of my bag and lay them out for morning. When I go to bed, I put my clothes from that day in the dirty clothes bag, and I'm good to go in the morning.