spartacus_33

Good afternoon.

I'll be staying at Hotel le REGENT (61, Dauphine street) in the Saint Germain district of Paris. I'm looking for suggestions for the best way to get to and from the airport. I've heard that taxi's should be avoided. Is the Metro complicated?

Thanks,
Spartacus_33

janeygirl

I don't know why you were advised to avoid taxis, as long as you make sure you get one from the official Taxi Stand and not from a driver coming up to solicit your business.

This is the only way I take from CDG into the city. I'm way too jet-lagged to think about the RER. I understand that it's not at all difficult but you need to be aware of what's going on around you due to the possibility of pickpockets taking advantage of jet-lagged travelers with luggage to distract them.

StCirq

I don't know why you've heard that taxis are to be avoided. I've been using them for 25+ years without a hitch.

The métro isn't complicated, per se, but to my mind, after an all-night flight, with luggage - even light luggage - getting to the RER, being jostled around with rush hour commuters, inevitably going up stairways and down long corridors, then switching to the métro for more of the same, and then walking above ground to get to a hotel - just doesn't make for a pleasant arrival in the City of Light.

A taxi will cost you about 45€, which isn't cheap, but it's the easiest.

You can also take the Air France navette to the Gare de Lyon or Montparnasse or the RoissyBus to Opéra and take a taxi or métro from there to your hotel.

Patrick

To me "best" means quickest and easiest. The best way is a taxi. Anyone who says otherwise is trying to kid you or kid themselves. Unless "best" means cheapest, then you can do one of the other methods which are all more "difficult" than walking out the door and taking the next taxi in line.

Obviously the person telling you to avoid taxis was opposed to the money. There's no other excuse for saying that.

Robespierre

I've done it every way, and the best tradeoff between speed, comfort, and economy is bus+taxi.

However, if you're young and vigorous and don't have kids or a lot of luggage, RER is very fast (30- min) compared to any surface mode (60+ min). I use it when I have a tight meeting schedule and can't risk getting in a traffic jam.

Ride the RER to St-Michel Notre-Dame and find the Place St. Michel (one RER exit comes up right into it; another is a block east). Go down the west side of the Place (on your right as you face away from the river) until you come to Rue St. André des Arts. Turn right and follow that. The fourth street you come to will be Rue Mazet. Your hotel is just around the corner to the right.

robjame

I must confess to having had the same opinion as the poster regarding taxis from CDG. In my case it came from the competition: Frommer's France 2005 book says, "Long lines form for taxis outside each of the airport's terminals...."

tedgale

What happened to your car, which you were to drive from Germany and drop off in Paris?? Just curious......

Christina

I agree taxis would have to be best, and so any other opinion would probably be the money. I like Frommers books but they are dead wrong on that one and I've taken taxis enough at CDG to know that is not a problem. Maybe that author is anti-taxi and was just using that as an excuse, you can see a line of a few people at times, but it goes quickly.

I think anyone who has to ask if metro is complicated or how to use it probably shouldn't take it. It's really a bad idea to that location, I think, as there isn't a metro stop very nearby. Of course, if you don't have any luggage to speak of (maybe one backpack), it's possible, you'd have to transfer at St Michel RER stop to the metro to go to Odeon metro stop.

I'd suggest one of those group shuttle vans as second choice to a taxi to that location.

Ronda

There are long lines for the taxi's even at the train station but they move really quickly and it doesn't take long to get one. Taxi's are the best but most expensive method to get to your hotel.

I have never used a shuttle but many people use them. You might check with your hotel because they often will make arrangements for you or do a search here - you will find lots of posts on shuttles.

The metro is not complicated but with a long flight, luggage, first time in Paris (?), you might not want to try it. You would have to take the train to Gare Nord and then pick up a Metro which means a change. There are turnstiles making it a little difficult with luggage. There are gates which can be opened by metro staff.

We tried the Roissy bus from the airport to Opera Plaza in November but we still had to get a metro to our hotel. My companions weren't very happy. We could have gotten a taxi at Opera Plaza which would have been more convenient but I couldn't say how that would have worked out cost wise. Thread on Roissy bus: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34540466

If you are looking for a stress free, family argument avoidance method of getting to your hotel, and starting your trip off right, pop for a taxi. Let someone else lift the luggage, find the hotel, and while you look at the view. We paid about $60 one way (back to the airport - what does that tell you).

Scarlett

Will you be dropping the car off at the airport?

We always take a taxi, the "long" wait we have when we come in, early in the mornings is usually 5 -10 minutes. The taxis are excellent, nothing to avoid in any way.

Dave_in_Paris

It depends on what I'm toting. I take cabs if I have checked luggage and the RER and then Metro if I have only carry-on. In rush hour, a cab can take longer. (Not accounting for the possibility that you might get lost on public transit.) There IS a certain loss of control in a taxi, and that slightly uneasy feeling may be magnified if you don't speak French, but the overwhelming majority of Paris cabbies are honest, and even the very few who aren't will not take you very far around. (If the meter climbs above 50 euros, something may be wrong.) Do be prepared to pay extra if you have several bags. It's perfectly legal.

Clea

I tried the Paris shuttle last summer it worked out great. It is cheaper than a taxi, meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel. We did have one other couple in the van with us, but we were dropped off first! You can reserve in advance to this website:
www.paris-anglo.com/parishuttle/

Clea

isabel

I have taken taxis to/from CDG and there is no reason to "avoid" them, except for the cost and sometimes the amount of time it takes. Parisian taxi drivers are generally honest (as oppossed to some cities where they tend to take naive tourists the "long" way and then charge you alot). But it will cost at least 40€. How many people are in your group? If it's 3 or 4 then the money would definitly be worth it. If you are alone, or just two of you, then there are more economical ways.

I am not a backpacking kid, but I travel with a 21" bag and take the RER with no problems. Costs less than 8€ and takes about half an hour. If you are comfortable with public transportation, and can read a few key words in French, then it really is quite easy.

Patrick

tedgale has reminded me that you're the one driving from Germany to Paris. Why are you dropping the car at CDG? If you are afraid to drive in much closer, how about circling the city a bit and dropping it at Orly? The taxi from there to Hotel le Regent is about 20 euros -- maybe 25 -- I've done it several times. Or drop it at Montparnasse train station -- easy to drive to. From there a taxi is about 10 euro at most.

SalB

The instructions for the RER were excellent. We always use that . . . BUT we only have a carryon and backpack each.

If you are nervous about pickpockets (and we've never seen one), take the express RER as they don't use the express. They can't grab and jump . . . or so we've been told.

Best is what most suits your lifestyle. We're obviously all very different.

spartacus_33

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.

Yes, I'm the one driving from Munich to Paris. The only "drop off" site is basically at the CD airport. I'm coming in on Friday (can't drop off on weekends) and staying through the weekend.

Gretchen

Taxi vote here also. A wait at the taxi queue ranges from zero to minutes, when we needed a cab for 4. The shuttle for more than one is almost a "wash" against a taxi. It is more economical, of course, if there is just one travelling.

spartacus_33

Thanks to Cleas's link, I found the following prices for the Shuttle:

1 Person 23.00 €/per person
2 to 5 Persons 17 €/per person

There will be 2 of us so 34 € beats 50-60.

Thanks again.....

Scarlett

Have a good time driving ! Enjoy Paris

cmeyer54

We stayed on blvd les ecoles in paris - took a taxi from the airport which was fine and the RER back. Don't know if we would have been able to successfully navigate the metro and RER without the help of a flight attendent on her way to the airport. There were some long-ish walks and escalators for us. our nearest metro stop to the hotel was maubert mutualite if that helps.