ClaudiaBR

I'm arriving in Paris at Gare du Nord from London on April 29th at 7 PM, and I need to take the metro as quickly as possible. Is it a smooth transition? Is there any type of customs that might delay me? How long will it probably take me to reach the metro station and how long to purchase the ticket? Thanks in advance.

StCirq

There's no Customs at train stations. The métro is right there at the station. You just follow the signs. It should take under 5 minutes.

Robespierre

What is your destination? Maybe there's a faster way.

ClaudiaBR

I'm going to Alma-Marceau Metro to take the boat tour (Bateaux Mouches) that leaves from Pont de l'Alma.

Cries_Van_Notebook

Alma Marceau is line 9 and that line doesn't connect to Gare de Nord.

You will have to transfer or take a taxi.

I think you can take line 4 to St. Michel and transfer to RER C and get off at Pont L'alma.

Thin

Cries_Van_Notebook

I meant to add that you really need to get a Metro map of Paris. You can get the Streetwise Paris at a place like Barnes/Noble.

Thin

ClaudiaBR

I've been consulting the RATP site and it's very useful.

And Thin, you're right, I do have to tranfer from 4 to 9 but at Strasbourg-St. Denis.

Weekender

Claudia:

The transition is very easy-just did this a week ago. Took 1/2 hour from Gare du Nord to Ecole Militaire. I needed to switch from the #4 to the #8 at Strasbourg-St. Denis.

ClaudiaBR

Thank y'all for your comments.

3sica

hey weekender, thanks!
i will be doing the exact route once i reach Paris and it is great to see that it only takes 30min!

Travelnut

The "billets" windows are in the hall where you also find the signs for the various metro line entrances.

Robespierre

When you exit the Eurostar platform, turn left and go all the way to the other end of the station. There is a huge M in a circle showing the ticket hall. If you have Euro coins, you can buy your tickets from a machine. You might be able to buy them in advance in the bistro car on the train.

Ride RER B to St-Michel Notre-Dame. Change to RER C and ride to Pont de l'Alma. Walk across the river. Ten minutes faster than any other way.

PatrickLondon

It's quite straightforward. Customs and immigration will all have been dealt with when you boarded in London, so all you do is walk to the front of the train, and bear left to go downstairs for the metro. There's plenty of signposting: the convention is to show the number of the line you want, and the end point of the line to indicate the direction (so in your case, line 4 to porte d'Orleans, and at Strasbourg-St Denis, line 9 to pont de Sevres.

BUT there may well be a huge queue of people waiting for tickets at the metro station, and possibly a hustler or two: there used to be an option to buy a carnet of metro tickets at the London Eurostar terminal when it was at Waterloo, but I'm not sure if the facility is there at St Pancras. The Parisian transport authorities list an agent in the UK that you can buy in advance from, but the price of a carnet of 10 tickets has about a 20% mark-up (a difference of about USD3 at current exchange rates):
http://www.helloparis.co.uk/paris-tr...r-tickets.html

If time is the issue, a taxi may be the only way.

Weekender

There is a Eurostar customer service desk at St. Pancras (located after you have cleared security and in the waiting area). I do know that one day Metro passes are sold but not sure about carnets.

Robespierre

Bus N°42 goes directly from Gare du Nord to Alma-Marceau without changes in 25 minutes. All at street level, and passing a number of significant monuments.

To get to the bus at the train station, go out the front door and turn left. Walk to the end of the station and turn left. The bus terminal is at the top of the little incline.

Here's a map of the route: http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...loc=bus_paris/

ClaudiaBR

Thanks!
By the way, is RER a surface train?

Robespierre

Not inside the city.