dkAz

Hi everyone,

We will be arriving in the PARIS AUSTERLITZ train station on our last night in paris. We will be arriving by train pretty late, either 20:30 or 22:30 depending on which train we take from the Dordogne area.

I am looking for suggestions on where to stay that is convenient to the train station and also for a quick connection to the airport the next morning.


Any advice?

thanks,
dk

tod

dkAz - Maybe it would be prudent to get a taxi from Gare d'Austerlitz to a hotel very near the RER 'B'line which goes directly to CDG airport, that is if you are not going to book a shuttle service to collect you in the morning.
Hotels nearest Blvd.St.Michel metro would be good.
Sorry I can't suggest any but someone else is bound to.

PalenQ

Austerlitz itself is really a wastleland for hotels - but just across the Seine on the new bridge that leads to nearby Gare de Lyon you'll have lots of nice hotels

Gare de Lyon has easy RER trains to CDG as well the next morning

dkAz

Is it hard to get a taxi at night from the train station?

I do prefer to stay in a nice area and not "wasteland" on my last night in Paris. Otherwise, I'll just stay near the airport.

Also, if I do end up staying near the airport, is possible to have a shuttle meet me at the train station?

thanks,
dk

PalenQ

Well by Wasteland i meant for hotels in that there are not many right in the vicinity of the station - otherwise the area is fine - i often go thru Austerlitz when in Paris - it's fine

There are always taxis it seems waiting outside the station if a train is coming in

From the Dordogne you could arrange a TGV rain from nearby Bordeaux that would take you right to CDG Airport you know?

dkAz

I checked the schedules and a train to CDG does not work out for me. I'll be training from Brive to Paris. Once I'm in Paris, I have to decide what to do.

Travelnut

If you look at a map of the Gare Austerlitz area, the river and Gare de Lyon just across...

You can see that you can walk across Pont d'Austerlitz to Gare de Lyon and stay at several very decent hotels. The next day you can take the Air France coach from Gare de Lyon directly to CDG.

Mercure Gare de Lyoný
Novotel Paris Gare de Lyoný

www.cars-airfrance.com/
The first one leaves Montparnasse at 6:30am to come to Gare de Lyon.

Travelnut

If you look at a map of the Gare Austerlitz area, the river and Gare de Lyon just across...

You can see that you can walk across Pont d'Austerlitz to Gare de Lyon and stay at several very decent hotels. The next day you can take the Air France coach from Gare de Lyon directly to CDG.

Mercure Gare de Lyon
Novotel Paris Gare de Lyon

www.cars-airfrance.com/
The first one leaves Montparnasse at 6:30am to come to Gare de Lyon.

dkAz

I'm probably showing my ignorance, but is Gare Austerlitz close to the Latin quarter?

Thanks for all your great suggestions! I will research the Gare Lyon hotels.

tod

You'll need a map. I don't have one to hand but think Gare de Austerlitz is in the 13th Arrondisement which joins onto the 5th (Latin Quartier), which means you are right it is close, but how close is close when it comes to metro stops and hotel destinations? Probably quite a few miles.

Travelnut

Jardin des Plantes is in the 5th, and Gare Austerlitz is right next to it. It isn't "miles" from anything.

Travelnut

dkAz- - why do you say the RER is not 'timed' to coincide with your flight out? those trains start very early in the morning, earlier than even the AF coach I mentioned.

Travelnut

dkAz- - why do you say the RER is not 'timed' to coincide with your flight out? those trains start very early in the morning, earlier than even the AF coach I mentioned.

You -were- looking at RER schedules, not just a regular train of some kind?

kerouac

The reason that Austerlitz is considered a "wasteland" is that it is the only main line train station in Paris that did not generate a whole neighborhood around itself. That's because it is boxed in by the Seine on one side, a gigantic hospital on another side and the Jardin des Plantes on a third side. And of course the 4th side is all of the train tracks heading south.

For an arrival that late, I would recommend just going to one of the hotels at Gare de Lyon which is just on the other side of the bridge. You probably won't be running all over town, but if you want a taste of Paris on your last night, it is a perfectly pleasant area where all of the cafés and restaurants will be open until late (2 a.m. or later).

The next morning, you can just hop on the Air France bus straight to the airport. As big a fan as I am of the RER, if I have an Air France bus right in front of me, I am perfectly happy to pay a little extra and take that instead, especially if I have luggage.

dkAz

Travelnut - I meant connections from Dordogne did not work out for me, not the RER from Paris. Sorry for the confusion.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I will look for hotels near Gare Lyon.

But, I'm still curious. Has anyone ever been picked up by a prebooked airport shuttle from a train station at night?

thanks,
dk

kerouac

Living in Paris, I have never used one of those shuttles, but I am pretty sure that most of them only run at earlier times than your train arrival, and even if you managed to find one still running later, it would probably charge double the normal rate or even more. After all, taxi rates go up in the evening as well.

PalenQ

Yes Near Austerlitz includes the Gare de Lyon area - half mile at tops less as crow flies - short taxi ride from Austerlitz, Pairs' least impressive mainline train shed IMO and i have to use it all the time

even with current renovations it pales in grandeur with Nord, Est, Saint-Lazare and even Montparnasse