To go from our hotel in the 1st Arrondissment to fly home from CDG, terminal 2A on a Tuesday morning (leaving the city at approx. 7:00 am for an 11:30 flight), I would like to take the RER B train. My thought is take a Taxi to the Chatelet Les Halles station (closer than Gare du Nord), but I am not finding it possible to buy a ticket online (at www.ratp.fr) for this station. Only from Gare du Nord which would be a longer cab ride. Does anyone know if we will be able to arrive at the Chatlet RER station and buy tickets for the RER that morning?
RER from Paris to CDG
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Hi Leslie,
not only can you buy tickets from the Chatelet stop to CDG, but you can buy them at any Metro station either at the machines or the ticket desk. at any time. [you could get them tomorrow!].
and depending on where you are exactly in the 1st, you may be able to walk to Chatelet, or get the metro [line no 1 connects with the RER B at chatelet] instead of getting a cab, though the "correspondances" can be quite long.
I've heard it can be possible to buy RER/métro tickets through certain travel agencies abroad on-line but I don't believe they can be bought on-line from any official RATP sanctioned website. The reason being that there's no need for a reservation and there are machines to buy them in every station (sometime ticket counters too but these are being reduced). There are also stores that sell métro/RER tickets, such as tabac stores. Look for the green RATP sign. It will be quite prominently displayed.
Be sure to get on an RER train that says Sans Arret to CDG - other trains before those that stop a lot may take longer and get awfully overcrowded - Sans Arret after Gare du Nord that is.
I've never even heard of buying an RER ticket online. It's a huge public transportation system - not sure why you'd think that was even possible. Just go to the station, or buy it at a tabac or something.
If you're taking a taxi to start off with anyhow, go to either the St-Michel or Gare du Nord stations rather than trying to save a dollar or two by wrestling with the labyrinth of Chatelet-Les Halles. Advice at www.parisbytrain.com
We are staying on Rue Moliere (near the Palais Royale). I didn't know the Chatelet-Les Halles station would be confusing and it seems the closest RER B line from our hotel. Since it is a weekday morning, I didn't want to go by coach or taxi due to the concern over traffic. I thought Gare du Nord might be large and confusing too. I had read to be careful about some stations not having ticketing for the RER and barriers, also with rush hour and lugguage, I didn't want to get on the Metro to get to Gare du Nord or Chatelet-Les Halles unless you think that is a good idea.
The Châtelet-Les Halles station is not at all confusing if you know how to follow the (overabundant) signs.
Hi Leslie,
if you go to google maps, and put in rue moliere, it will show you your hotel actually marked on the map [it did on mine!] then use the directions function and the "walk" option to show you how to get to the RER Chatelet les Halles. it says about 17 minutes, but it's a very straight walk along rue Etienne Marcel.
alternatively, get the hotel to order you a cab. that should take about 5 mins, max.
the indicators at chatelet are very clear, as Kerouac says, and if you get on a train that doesn't stop between Gard du Nord and CDG, it will take approx 30 mins.
The normal trains from Châtelet-les-Halles to CDG take either 33 or 38 minutes. I wouldn't wait for a non-stop train. Just get on the whatever train arrives first. The crowds on the trains are worse coming into Paris in the morning (commuters) than in the opposite direction. If you find a train too crowded just wait for the next one. They'll arrive every few minutes during weekday commuter hours.
There are several ways to walk to Châtelet-les-Halles from rue Molière (if you're luggage doesn't encumber you) depending which end of the street you are on and there are several entrances to the train station itself. If you took a taxi it would probably take you down rue Saint-Honoré and drop you near the entrance Porte de Pont-Neuf. You wouldn't have any traffic to worry about if you were planning on arriving at the station around 7AM so you don't need to factor traffic into your decision making.