lmlweb

If all goes well, I should arrive in Paris CDG at 13:00, give or take some delays. I will arrive at T3, but considering the time that it will take for me to go through passport/immigration control, what time would it be reasonable to request a pick up at T3?

thanks in advance,
Laurie

lmlweb

Alternatively, I could take the RER into St-Michel, and walk through the connection over to Cluny-Sorbonne metro station, and then walk a couple blocks or so to the hotel. My concern is my luggage. I will have one suitcase, a bright red one, and it's fairly large (but not heavy, hopefully) so would I have to hoist it over turnstiles and so on? What is my best bet? Hotel du College de France recommends the train route on their website.

Christina

generally, I would book a shuttle pickup one hour after scheduled arrival at CDG. You could get done a little earlier, but it depends on the service as to whether they charge extra for waiting or leave if you aren't there at some time. You won't waste a lot of time if you make it one hour after, if your plane is one time.

If you don't mind walking to the College de France from the metro stop, I think the RER could work fine for you, if you only have one suitcase. YOu are going to have to do the "and so on", of course -- if that means carrying it up stairs, and you know walking a ways. I've never had one so big I couldn't get it through the turnstile, but there should be a way to get it through near some little booth where they might have an extra lane without a turnstile (if you can actually find someone there to open it for you, sometimes no one is there). They have that there as some people even go onboard with strollers, etc., so they need a way to get out.

How large is fairly large?

Nina66

I hadn' seen this shuttle point when I responded to your itinerary post.

The shuttle company will make the decision as to when to pick you up. You tell them your scheduled arrival time when you make your reservation. Then you call them at a toll free number just before you get your luggage (after you go through passport control) and they do the rest.

They are aware of the current baggage pick up delays and will schedule your van accordingly. You don't have to worry about getting into a specific van at a specific time. That is their responsibility, unless of course you are way delayed, but again, they will still take care of your transportation.

We have never had to wait more than 15 minutes at their designated pick up location. Vans are constantly coming and going to the airport.

Make sure that you know the name of the company - last year my first time Paris visitor and shutte user friend, argued with the driver that it was not the van she had ordered. It was, but she had the name wrong, Paris Airport Shuttle vs Airport Shuttle.

The first driver couldn't convenience her, so he left.

The second driver was more persuasive and got her aboard. Knowing her, she is a very nervous person, and she was traveling alone to meet friends. I can visualize the whole scene - very funny now, but she was sooooo upset at the time. She too had originally planned on taking the train into Paris and then walking a few blocks to her destination.

I really had a hard time talking her into using the van, as her friend that she was meeting up with, had taken the train for years. Once aboard, she loved the van, and she and her friend used it instead of the train to return to CDG. The friend is now a convert.

The horror stories about the van companies, are more about returning to CDG, not going into Paris - ask me how I know

Nina

MorganB

Lmlweb, keep in mind you dont have to hoist your bags over the turnstiles. At every turnstile on the one side or the other there is a door that can be opened to go through with your bags. Some are automated and you just insert your ticket and others you press a button on the wall and request that it be opened.