Graziella5b

Hello , I wish to give directions as clear as I can to my grandson going to París , he has to meet us at Hotel le Robinet d'or, he is arriving at Charles de Gaule Airport. He has to take the RER B.
Get off @ Gare du Nord , and then switch to the Metro ligne 4 or 5 for one stop, to Gare de l'Est exiting through Exit Rue du Faubourgh St Michel. (As Per., the hotel instructions)
Can anyone familiar with the RER ligne B tell me if it is easy to switch to the metro?
Is the metro on an upper level than RER?
also is it easy to get the RER @charles de Gaulle. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Andrew

Yes, it is easy to get the RER at CDG airport. But he will probably have to take a shuttle tram from the aiport called CDGVAL to the RER station. That assumes he is arriving at Terminal 1 on an international flight from the US:

http://parisbytrain.com/tag/cdgval/

As explained there, he needs to get off the CDGVAL at Terminal 3/Roissypole (some stops are at parking lots). There he can buy a RER ticket, probably from a ticket window. I bought mine from a ticket machine last month, but I had a Visa card with a chip in it; most American credit cards don't have a chip so may not accept the card. Also, he may want to stop at an ATM machine and get some Euros first; they may not accept his credit card at the RER ticket counter, either. (Possible but not a safe bet.)

I avoided connecting at Gare du Nord last time to Metro. It's kind of a maze as a remember from previous visits and the station can be very crowded. Still, it should be easy for him. Tell him to follow the signs to Metro 4 or 5 (perhaps one is preferable for his connection?). It may be quite a walk through hallways, up escallators and stairs. When he exits RER he'll need to insert his ticket into the machine at the exit and insert it again to enter Metro (he can use the same ticket).

Metro is very intuitive: at each platform, only one train (in one direction arrives) - that is, the #4 will have a separate platform from the #5. But the signs are pretty clear to each and he can follow them, through the maze, to get there from RER. If he's not in a rush he should be fine.

MrNuke

How old is the grandson and how much luggage are we talking about? Assuming he can follow a map and/or simple directions I'd walk from Gare Du Nord to the hotel via the Rue la Fayette bridge over the Gare Du Nord tracks.

MrNuke

How old is the grandson and how much luggage are we talking about? Assuming he can follow a map and/or simple directions I'd walk from Gare Du Nord to the hotel via the Rue la Fayette bridge over the Gare Du Nord tracks.

StuDudley

My wife speaks/reads French, we usually spend 2 months in France each year, and we have been doing this since we retired early in '99. Before that, we visited Paris about once every 3-4 years. We've spent around 10 weeks in Paris.

In 2011 we took the TGV to the Gare du Nord and transferred to the Metro. It was a mess. We got confused & lost at the Gare du Nord.

Getting to the RER at CDG is easy - just follow the signs.

You can easily walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare d'Est.

If your grandson is under about 18, I would give him 55E and tell him to take a taxi from CDG to your hotel. Print out a document for him to give to the taxi driver that shows the hotel name and street address. You don't want him to get lost or have a bad experience.

Stu Dudley

Graziella5b

You have been all so kind. He is 17, this is the deal , he lives in Buenos Aires, we are inviting him to París for a week..
He is flying Air France to Charles de Gaule.
We are evaluating paying for a taxi , but At the same time I feel he has to be aware of the value of saving some fare money with some effort and also to be able to look for himself and to use public transportation. he will have only a carryon.
I am also concerned if that area is seedy or not.
It seems to me that lately train stations seem to attrack the worst characters.
May it is better the option to walk, between the Gare du Nord and the hotel?
as a grandmother I find so difficult to try to convey to our grandchildren that things should not be taken for granted and that been as lucky as he is that we are taking him to Paris he should not always be able to go the effortless way. do I make any sense?

Andrew

Will he arrive at Gard du Nord at night? If not, I wouldn't worry about "seedy" characters. Train stations in general seem to attract them, but unless it's dark and deserted, I wouldn't feel concerned. (However, he needs to be aware of PICKPOCKETS on the RER, Metro, and pretty much everywhere in Paris.)

I still contend it shouldn't be too hard for him to change from RER to Metro at Gare du Nord. There will be signs when he gets off the RER with the #4 and #5 in colored circles; he should follow the signs for them. (I'd probably pick ONE either the #4 or #5 so as not to confuse him; as I said, Metro uses separate platforms for each train, so he can't just go to one platform and wait for either one.)

In fact, here's the exact type of sign he will see there:

http://parisbytrain.com/files/2008/0..._exit_sign.jpg

At some point, the #4 and #5 will split - plus #4 and #5 will individually split in two directions. He also needs to know the ENDPOINT of the line he is getting on. Otherwise, he won't know which #4 or #5 to take.

So yes - walking from Gare du Nord might wind up being easiest, I suppose, rather than worry about these details. Then again, you'll also need to make sure he has a decent map so he doesn't get lost when existing the Gare.

I think the most important thing is to make sure he has the name, address, and phone number of the hotel written down clearly; if he gets lost, he can just ask someone and show them the name/address.

Graziella5b

Hi Stu, i read your answer after writing my second posting. You make sense, I am discarding the transfer inside the Gare. You are right, The walking option may be ok, but again I wonder how seedy the area is .
Why are we going to that hotel, ? I do not even know, my husband has good memories ...we might end up having him take a taxi, but again, because of the awful lack of security in Buenos Aires these children are raised in a bubble. I do not feel we are helping them, but instead overprotecting them.
TKS for your advice, I agree navigating inside train stations can be a nightmare. over the top for any adult
More so for a boy, he speaks French but anyway.

StuDudley

The area around the Gare Du Nord is more seedy than the areas around other stations we've used or visited - St. Lazare, Montparnasse, Lyon. But as Andrew stated - it is less threatening during daylight hours than at night.

Stu Dudley

MrNuke

The area is perfectly safe and switching to the metro at Gare du Nord isn't nearly as complicated as Stu made it sound.

<i>"May it is better the option to walk, between the Gare du Nord and the hotel?</i>

Just practically I think it is. I suggest looking at the area on Google maps. Gare du Nord and Gare d'Est are literally adjacent. You can walk 1,100 meters from Gare du Nord to the hotel in 10 minutes or you can take 10 minutes to change to line 4 or 5 and then he'll still have to walk 600 meters to the hotel. Especially with a carry-on bag only it doesn't make a lot of sense to switch to me.

Southam

The official CdG airport site http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/e...assagers/Home/
contains extensive maps. Once he uses his Internet skills to determine the terminal sector where he disembarks, he can print out the appropriate map to help him navigate to the RER rail station. Parisbytrain has a section on CdG, also complete with photos to show the way. And the direction signs are okay. The young man should do fine. He can buy an RER ticket from an agent that is good for the Metro too. One caution: On that train, keep all personal items tightly in hand. Thefts, though not frequent, have been known to occur.

StuDudley

>>isn't nearly as complicated as Stu made it sound.<<

Perhaps you are correct for most people making the connection. We got lost/a little confused/frustrated, and a 17 YO who is traveling alone, and just arriving in a foreign country, and probably doesn't read or speak French, and was "raised in a bubble" - might have some difficulty.

Stu Dudley

Graziella5b

I am considering another option and would love to have your opinion,
How about taking the Roissy Bus from Charles de Gaule Airport to L'Opera 10 euros and then the Metro ligne 7 to a couple of blocks from the hotel ?
I think it will be better for him, he speaks French, to get the Roissy Bus, and easier to take the Metro from lOpera to the hotel. not a big fuss.
Any Opinion?
there might also be a bus, or even a taxi...this way we avoid taking the free little train to the RER station at the Airport, the unpleasant change from RER to Metro or instead walking in an area which is not that nice.
a little more expensive but much less than a taxi.
I have not taken ever the Roissy Bus,is it worth it,?
does any one know where the luggage goes?
Thank you

PatrickLondon

Another option is bus 350 to the Gare de l'Est.
http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/e...nsport/350.htm

Andrew

Looking at a Google Map...I too would probably tell him just to walk from Gare du Nord to the hotel. In fact, if you are worried about how "seedy" the area looks - check it out yourself on Google Street View. You can plot a walking course from the hotel (search for it on Google Maps) to the Gare Du Nord and traverse the whole route and see what he'll see (roughly). You/he can also print out detailed walking directions from Nord to the hotel. Try it out.

Or - how about just taking the very short taxi ride from Gare du Nord? As I said above, just make sure the exact name/address of the hotel is clearly printed for a taxi driver to read.

The CDGVAL tram at the airport should be the easiest part of the trip.

Graziella5b

Thank you Andrew and all, the short taxi ride makes sense, I was a little worried the taxi driver might be annoyed or refuse to take him. but it could be a good plan A providing there is a Plan B.
Years ago a taxi driver refused to take us and it was a reasonable ride I thought. (As I said it was years ago)
The Roissy bus option seems fine to me,because in my experience is easier to take the metro from the street level than switching from RER level to metro level.
I was thinking : for many decades I only used taxis to get in and out of the Paris aéroports
but Times have changed a lot. For us at least.
Not only economically but also security wise, but I agree with you we have magnificent tools now I.e.
Google maps, etc
Also we possibilies of chatting with other Fodorites is amazing.

MrNuke

Stu,

I did not intend to come across as condescending. My apologies if I did. Really it is pretty simple in my opinion and Andrew posted a good image of this above. You step off the RER and follow the signs on the platform for the metro connections at the exit and going forward. At Gare Du Nord this involves going up one level.

Graziella5b,

<i>"I am considering another option and would love to have your opinion,
How about taking the Roissy Bus from Charles de Gaule Airport to L'Opera 10 euros and then the Metro ligne 7 to a couple of blocks from the hotel?"</i>

It is another viable option, but what is wrong with the RER to Gare Du Nord in your opinion? Your original plan will be quicker.

<i>"The Roissy bus option seems fine to me,because in my experience is easier to take the metro from the street level than switching from RER level to metro level."</i>

I may be the odd ball one this, that being said; while I find both fairly easy especially in Paris, I think switching lines at a station is easier than taking the metro from street level. At street level you still need to know exactly where the entrances to the station are and at what street intersection. If you are in a metro/rer station and connecting you really only need to follow the signs for the line you are connecting to.

Really take Andrew and my suggestions to look at the neighborhood on a map like google maps. It is a perfectly safe neighborhood. I'm still suggesting taking RER B to Gare du Nord and walking from there. It is the cheapest, quickest, and safe way of getting to the hotel. Your original thinking of RER B to Gare Du Nord and switching to Metro Line 4/5 to Gare de l'Est is completely fine. It is just quicker to walk between the two stations than it is to transfer to the metro, and in this case it is quicker to walk from Gare Du Nord to the hotel than it is to transfer.

Leburta

We went from one train station to the other several times, and I agree that the walk is very short as they are close to one another. We did not find the area around these train stations threatening in the least during the day.

apersuader65

I would use the RATP site.

http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/

You can select the particular station and pull up the map of the station directly from there.

Christina

I like your Roissybus plan. Also, Gare de l'Est is not the closest metro station to the hotel, they told you that because you can't get on line 7 from Gare du Nord, that's all. SO you can get closer to the hotel at the Chateau Landon metro stop on line 7 from the Opera, it's only about 1-1.5 blocks from there. The Roissybus has a special luggage hold under the bus, it's not like a regular city bus. I think the bus is more pleasant than the RER. It is true he'd have to be able to see the Opera metro stop when getting off, but it isn't far away.

I would not take the metro from Gare du Nord to Gare de l'est, that would take longer than walking.

So, I'd say do either:
1) Roissybus then metro line 7 to Chateau Landon, or
2) RER to Gare du Nord then walk.

I hope he has a good map and knows how to read it and follow it, as he'll have to do that to walk to the hotel from wherever he is (Gare du Nord or Chateau Landon stop).