I will be arriving in Paris next week for the first time. Due to a pretty tight budget i was thinking taking public transportation from the airport to the city.
Has anybody ever taken the train / metro from the airport. Does it go directly to the city or are there many transferts between the the train and the metro?
Thanks, very much appreciated.
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Which mode of the several excerllent public transportation alternatives---RER %26#39;B%26#39;-ROISSYRAIL-train; ROISSYBUS, Les CARS AIR FRANCE --routes #2 %26amp; #4--- %26#39;..works..%26#39; best for you, will depend largely on what your final destination / address is within Paris.
MORE DETAILS would be useful in helping to determine which??
But, YES...the RER %26#39;B%26#39;--ROIUSSYRAIL--train goes directly into Paris and makes direct connections with several different Metro lignes at its several stations within the city (Gare du Nord,, Chatelet-Les Halles, Saint Michel-Notre Dame, Luxembourg, Port Royal, Denfret-Rochereau). The fare 8 € RER fare also includes onward Metro travel from the RER station.
For basic information on the various modes of airport transfer via public transportation, check---
aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/…
http://www.airfrance.com/double6/passage2.nsf/(LookupPublishedWeb)/en-EXCDG-CarsAF?OpenDocument#
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If you have never been to the city before..I don%26#39;t recommend taking the RER into the city. It can be very intimidating.
Go to www.bee-shuttle.com and book a car. It%26#39;s inexpensive and safe. The best part is they take you right to the hotel. No worrying about how far you%26#39;ll have to drag your luggage, from the train station to the hotel front.
I%26#39;ve usd these guys a couple times and they%26#39;re great.
Just make sure you confirm 24hrs before you arrive.
When you come out of the airport, the cabs and shuttles will be lined up against the curb, backwards. Bee shuttle has gray VW busses and the name in on the back door.
They won%26#39;t meet you inside the airport, but just walk out the front and they%26#39;ll be right there.
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Oh come on! The RER metro combo is e-a-s-y. Especially if you understand French (you%26#39;re from Quebec, so I assume you do).
This is how you do it: After you get off your flight and go through customs and get your bags, get on the yellow bus marked %26quot;ADP%26quot;. Take it to the train station. Go downstairs and look for the ticket office. You will see a bunch of people lined up to buy tickets, so that%26#39;s how you know where the ticket office is. Get on line, use euros or a credit card to buy a ticket into the city. The ticket is about 8.50 euro and gives you a ride on the RER %26quot;B%26quot; and one metro ride.
The RER takes about 20-30 minutes to get into the city. There are several stops in the city. If you get off at St.Michel/Notre Dame for instance, you probably only need to make 1 or at most, 2 transfers to your final destination.
Watch for pickpockets.
If you are staying near the Opera Garnier, take the Roissybus instead. It drops you right there.
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I would suggest Les Cars Air France - these are buses that leave from the airport. There are 4 main stops - Arc de Triomphe, Porte Maillot, Gare du Lyon and I can%26#39;t remember the 4th one. The round trip ticket is 18E/pers which is a great deal. You buy the tickets on the bus.
If you decide to take this option, the return trip, the buses run every 30mins.
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RER couldn%26#39;t be simpler -- you take the CDG shuttle from your terminal to the RER station -- it only costs about 9 Euro to go into the city and you can use that ticket for your metro trip to where your hotel is (and the Paris metro is the easiest subway in the world to use -- very clear maps -- just know your hotel metro stop)
it is so much cheaper and often easier -- unless you have gobs of luggage it is the way to go (and taxi lines can be long and slow -- we arrived at Paris nord by train and ended up with lots of luggage still taking the train because getting a cab looked like an hour wait)
and I always feel more comfortable personally taking the train TO the airport after an experience in Rome where the shuttle driver got lost -- only my neurotic need to get to the airport WAY too early saved us missing our plane -- if we had booked the shuttle according to the standard timing recommended by the shuttle company we would have missed the plane (of course that was Rome and Paris is more efficient -- but I still hate to trust high stakes travel to traffic jams and cultures I don%26#39;t fully understand)
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Get on line, use euros or a credit card to buy a ticket into the city. The ticket is about 8.50 euro and gives you a ride on the RER %26quot;B%26quot; and one metro ride.
The RER takes about 20-30 minutes to get into the city. There are several stops in the city. If you get off at St.Michel/Notre Dame for instance, you probably only need to make 1 or at most, 2 transfers to your final destination%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Just some minor clarifications for the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne--ROISSYRAIL--train connection from CDG to Paris.
The fare is 8 €uro one-way and includes onward Metro connectrions (as many Metro %26#39;rides%26#39; as necessary to get to your final destination, so long as you DO NOT leave the controlled spaces of the Metro stations.
The RER %26#39;B%26#39; train travel time is 30-34 mins to the first stop in northern Paris at GARE du NORD and 44-48 mins to the last stop in southern Paris, CITÉ UNIVERSITAIRE...plus onward Metro travel and train transfers.
You can use a US or Canadian issued major credit card to purchase tickets from an agent at a ticket booth....but the vending machines in stations will only accept €uro coins...OR...a RFID %26#39;smart chip%26#39; credit card. These machines will NOT accept most US or Canadian issued credit cards.
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Hi
Yes, my wife and I took the RER B line into Paris in April when we went there. And in Paris we got of at the train station that was most convinient for us when it comes to switching to the metro. So it is possible to use this method but be aware that some of the train stations are big and only a few of them have escelators/lifts so don%26#39;t bring too heavy suitcases :-) I have made a trip report from Paris. Get in touch with me if you want me to send it to you. Have a great trip to Paris. It is a great city to visit :-)
Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen@hotmail.com
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Thanks for the help.
I have decided that i will take the train to get to Paris as I only have to make one transfer. As for the luggage, I have no problem, i am only bringing a backpack.
Thanks again
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There really are only a couple of %26#39;..tricks..%26#39; that you should be aware of when using the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne--ROISSYRAIL--train transfer and possible onward Metro connections. The first is that there are both an %26#39;..express..%26#39; (%26#39;..K xxx..%26#39; trains) and %26#39;..locals..%26#39; (%26#39;..P xxx..%26#39;). The difference in travel time to stops within Paris is only four(4) minutes, so the difference between %26#39;..local..%26#39; or %26#39;..express..%26#39; doesn%26#39;t really matter all that much. What may matter more is whether you can find a seat on a train waiting at the CDG departure platform next to or close to the doors. In practical, luggage-carrying terms, this will make exiting the train at your stop in Paris, that much easier and direct.
You also need to keep your RER ticket / coupon readily-at-hand. You will need it again to insert into the turnstiles / gates to exit the of the RER portion of your arrival station in Paris. If you have the ticket / coupon handy, you can simply observe those passengers ahead of you and see exactly what they%26#39;re doing and pass through without any fuss or fumbling for tickets.. You also need to RETRIEVE your ticket from the machine as you pass through.
Your RER fare includes onward Metro travel throughout the Metro system (transfering between different Metro lignes at the smae station)--so long as you remain WITHIN the gate controlled portion of stations. With this in mind, you want to follow signage indicating CORRESPONDENCE (these are passages which connect to other Metro lignes) and avoid any passage that indicates SORTIE (these are passages which lead to EXITS). If you accidently exit the Metro portion of the station, the validity of your RER ticket is %26#39;..dead..%26#39;. and you will need to purchase a new Metro ticket to re-enter. There will be more than ample signage, system-wide maps and numbered, color-coded ligne diagrams throughout stations, passages train platforms, to assist you in making your way through any station. (relative %26#39;..direction..%26#39; of any train will be determined by the Last Stops on the ligne) Simply keep your eyes open and look around you, Everything you need to make your way from Point A through B C D, etc is there. Beyond CORRESPONDENCE and SORTIE, you really don%26#39;t need to read or speak much, or any, French to navigate through the system quickly and efficiently. It might help if you wrote out your intended RER / Metro route on a slip of paper to refer to as an aide memoire during the trip. (i.e. %26#39;...RER %26#39;B%26#39; to SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME station then Metro ligne #4 (heading in the direction of %26#39;..Porte d%26#39;Orleans..%26#39;) to SAINT SULPICE station..%26#39;)
One other note of caution. There are sufficient reports ( reports do tend to be somewhat exaggerated though ) of pickpockets and other petty-thieves-of-opportunity operating in the immediate vicinity of the RER satations at CDG and along the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne, to merit taking reasonable, common-sense precautions (something you should be doing anyway). For this transfer from CDG, all you will need, once you exit the French Customs control EXIT from the luggage collection area of your CDG arrival terminal ,will be either 8 €uros in cash or the credit card that you will use to purchase your RER ticket at the station.. You won%26#39;t need anything else. So, simply make certain that all of your personal possessions are secure on or about your person BEFORE you begin to make your way from your arrival terminal to the RER station. Do this as a matter of SOP as well as peace-of-mind.
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