annie_pie

My teen age son & 2 friends are arriving in CDG airport in the afternoon & will be staying in the Bastille area. What is the safest/ most cost efficient way for them to get there please? Would it be wise for them to split a cab? It's their 1st time there.

nytraveler

The easiest - but not the cheapest - would be to hop in a cab. (Easy and cheap are generally mutually exclusive - this is a basic rule of life.)

I would never do anything but a cab - but I don;t do luggage on any sort of local transit - I'm pst being pack mule woman.

gh21

How familiar are they with using trains and making connections to the Metro.

If it were me, I would take the RER B train from CDG to Gare du Nord and change to Paris Metro line 5 to Bastille stop if this is indeed the closest station to their final destination.

http://parisbytrain.com/charles-de-g...aris-by-train/ is a link for RER B from CDG to Paris.

If they are unfamiliar with riding public transportation, perhaps a taxi (65 Euro approx) may be best until they can familiarize themselves with the Metro etc. Alternative is RER B from CDG to Paris Gare du Nord (directions to the train are very well marked in the airport) and then taxi from Gare du Nord to their final destination.

CDG website has info for all options from airport to central Paris

gh21

Fare on RER B from CDG to Gare du Nord is 8.40 Euro per person. Taxi from Gare du Nord to Bastille estimated to be no more than 20 Euro.

gh21

Also, if they choose the taxi option from CDG or Gare du Nord, please advise them to use the official taxi stand rather than accepting a ride from a driver that approachesvthem in the airport or on the street.

Can you tell I'm also a mother?

avalon

Do the math ..3 people x8.40 RER fare 25.20
Taxi from Gare du Nord 20.00

For about 5 Euro more than can take a taxi from CDG right directly to their hotel

Gretchen

Please tell them to take a cab from the taxi stand.

Aduchamp1

I took that exact route a few years ago and if you are young and spry it might not be too bad since the route is a labyrinth of interminable stairs and passageways.

I also found the RER a not very effective means of transporting people with luggage as the aisles are extremely narrow, therer is little overhead storage, and depending upon your flight, you could be traveling at a rush hour, since its primary use is a commmuter lines.

TimS

As of 1 July, the fare from CDG to anywhere in central Paris on the RER B plus the Metro is €9.10.

I would follow the route given by gh21: RER B to Gare du Nord and Metro line 5 from there to Bastille. At Gare du Nord they will need to follow the "Correspondance" (connection) signs to get from the RER B platform to the Metro line 5 platform. The track they want is the one for trains going in the direction of Place d'Italie (the end of the line).

TimS

For a zoomable map of the RER and Metro system, go here: http://tinyurl.com/6xmvms4.

Gretchen

What age teens are these? Do they know anything about the metro system in paris? Do they speak any French?