We arrive Saturday at CDG at 6am and are unable to check into our apartment until 1pm as the prior people have a late checkout.
We%26#39;re looking for suggestions as to what to do with our luggage? We know we%26#39;re going to be extremely jetlagged, as the flight is arriving at 10pm our time, so I%26#39;m assuming that we will sleep very little. It has been suggested to store our luggage at Gare du Nord and then take the metro somewhere to a cafe /park and just people watch, etc.
Before anyone suggests don%26#39;t carry luggage and just backpack, we%26#39;re heading from Paris to Ukraine and are carrying things with us for friends in Ukraine, so light luggage is just not an option.
This is my first time to Paris, and I would prefer to not do a lot of complicated metro transfers etc on no sleep.
As a side note, it is supposed to be raining all day Saturday.
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Have you contacted the agency you are renting the apartment from about this? Perhaps they can suggest a place to store your luggage. If not, then I guess you should try to take the RER from CDG to Gare du Nord and store the luggage there. If is raining then I would go to a museum. The Orsay is a nice easy museum and has a place to eat lunch. When I am jet lagged I need to keep moving. if I was to sit in one place very long I%26#39;d pass out.
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I think there might be baggage storage service at CDG. Perhaps you can look further into that option. Good luck!
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Email the apartment folks to find out if they offer a place to leave your bags until check in. It%26#39;s not an unusual request, and they may well allow you leave the bags in their office, or offer another alternative to the baggage storage at Gare du Nord. If the rain matters to your luggage, there are waterproof vinyl covers that zip on for protection. If you%26#39;re leaving for your next destination from CDG, consider splitting your luggage so you can use a smaller bag for Paris and checking your large bag at the airport. It will be safe. It%26#39;s not cheap, but it might be worth it, just for the convenience.
I want to know where so many folks get the idea that the Metro is so terribly complicated. Yes, there are some journeys that are complicated, but most are very simple and easily accomplished, and lots of us survived that first trip in from CDG on the RER and Metro with no sleep on an overnight flight and without getting confused or lost. Don%26#39;t build a mental barrier for yourself. You can do it all just fine as long as you don%26#39;t convince yourself otherwise.
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Thanks for all the quick replies, and just to let everyone know, we have contacted the apt rental agency and they are the ones who suggested the train station as they do not have a place to store bags.
I also realize the metro is supposed to be extremely easy, and the only reason I added that comment, is someone had suggested to me a trip that took 3 transfers, and that just seemed a bit much jet lagged.
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After you leave your luggage at GDN you can easily get a taxi. Not a bad idea if you are really jet lagged and new to Paris. We once had to change metro trains at Chatelet Les Halles during rush hour after an all night flight. It was really awful.
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The Metro is not all that hard.....but if you have anything more then a small carrry on roller bag and a small over the shoulder, there are some stairs involved in the CDG to Gard de Nord transfers that might make you think twice. Overall, I think I%26#39;d taxi it to the North station, then Metro a stop or two to were your apartment is. By the time you explore the neighborhood and find the market etc it%26#39;ll be time to check in and you can go get the luggage later....
Sean
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If there is a medium- to large-sized hotel within 1 block of your apt., you could take a taxi to the hotel, ask to check in your luggage (if they ask if you are checking in, just smile elegantly and say ,%26quot;Later, thank you%26quot;), give the bellboy a nice tip and come back later for your luggage. If it%26#39;s a larger hotel (and especially a chain like the Hilton etc.), they will have a trunk room and the bellboy will not mind making a little extra money for a small service. It beats leaving your bags at the train station and making the trips to pick them up.
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Forgot one more thing. If the hotel has a nice cafe or breakfast area, you can even enjoy breakfast there after you leave your bags.
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It would be a big help if we had some idea where your apartment is located. There are a lot of other places you could leave your luggage besides GduN. Two of them (Gare de Lyon and Gare Montparnasse) are actually easier to get to if you have a fair bit of luggage and don%26#39;t want to spring for a taxi. It wouldn%26#39;t make much sense to leave your luggage at one station if your apartment is right around the corner from another.
I%26#39;m not at all sure about the %26quot;Later, thank you%26quot; ploy with the hotel. I%26#39;ve never tried it and I%26#39;m not sure I would have the gall to either...
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You%26#39;re right, IrishRovr. Just because I have been successful leaving my luggage at hotels like the Sheraton, the Marriott and the Hilton doesn%26#39;t mean that this approach works for everyone. Even if you offer the bellmen a nice tip and a very nice %26quot;thank you%26quot;, there%26#39;s always the chance that they%26#39;ll say no. I guess. If there%26#39;s no train station nearby and the original poster has tried asking the apt. owner for help, then they have to decide between the possibility of being a little embarassed for a few minutes and the burden of having luggage with them for half a day.
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