Originally Posted by
pfreet
Personally, I like the late afternoon TATL departure time. Unlike a midnight departure, I can enjoy the D1 meal and service, still get a few hours sleep, and be in Paris for morning meetings. Or catch the early TGV to Lille/Lyon/Strasbourg
There's a broad swath of time between 4 PM and midnight so you created a bit of a false dichotomy there...
A few hours of sleep is optimistic unless you're already a lark.. you land before midnight EST time.
Barring an early morning meeting, I feel like 7-8 PM is the best time. Two hours to eat and get settled, and then maybe be able to pull 5 hours of sleep (going to bed at a somewhat normal 9-10 PM). If you do have to be at a morning meeting, even a 6 PM would be better than a 4 PM.