Confused about Paris Train Stations
 

Hi all -

Am finalizing my trip plans for March and am confused about the Paris train stations. At a couple of points during my travels, I will be connecting through paris and it appears I come in to one train station and out another. Does this mean I have to walk or take a taxi to the other station?

Also, along the same question. When we arrive in Paris, we are going directly to Bayeux. It says we leave from Paris St. Lazare. Do I take a train from the CDG Airport to this station or how does that work?

thanks!!!

There are some real experts on this forum who could give you the best advice so I hope they do.
For my part, I would take the RER from CDG to Gare du Nord then a taxi to St.Lazare train station.
Maybe there's another way.?

Paris is similar to London and some other big cities. There is no railway through the city centre, so the main railway termini are around the centre: if you want to catch a train westwards, your station is on the west side of the city; if you want to go north, the station is on the north side.
In Paris, all are linked by the metro, the RER or buses. The only pair within easy walking distance are Nord and Est which are also one stop apart on the metro. If you arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport, you can take the RER to Chatelet then the metro to St-Lazare station. A taxi is always another option, of course.

Here's the metro map:

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Oops :)

http://www.discoverfrance.net/France...ro/metro_2.pdf

Just want to congratulate you on a great title: clear and to the point.

The fastest rail route would be to take the RER B from CDG to Gare du Nord, a short connecting walk to the Magenta RER station, the RER E to Haussmann St-Lazare, and a short walk to Gare St-Lazare. It will take about 40 minutes to get from CDG to Gare du Nord. Total time from Gare du Nord to Gare St-Lazare, including walking, will be 15-20 minutes. (If you're packing light, this would work well. Otherwise, taking a taxi from Gare du Nord to Gare St-Lazare is a good idea.) Visit www.adp.fr, the Aeroports de Paris site, to see how to get from your terminal to the RER station. The site is viewable in English. Another helpful site that is also viewable in English is www.ratp.fr. That is the source of the pdf map referred to above and to the Journey Planner that I used to calculate routes and travel times.

Thank you all and thanks Mimar for the compliment! i have learned from my searches on this site that it is frustrating if the titles aren't clear!

ok - stupid question - what is RER?

Thanks for all the links. I think i'm just going to need to print all of this out as a reminder for when i'm there. This is sounding confusing and now i'm worried about our attempts to fly from the states to Paris and do all this to then get on a train to go to Bayeux right away. It seems like it will be exhausting.

Should we instead just stay one night in Paris when we first get there and then head to Bayeux for two nights instead of three the next day? Then regroup back in paris at the end of the trip for a few more nights as we had planned?

The RER is the regional system which also covers the center of Paris. It can be used as a métro within Paris, but the ticket price increases when going outside Paris. One more thing: It uses the opposite side of the track from the métro which enters the station from your left.

I'd suggest going on to Bayeux as planned on your day of arrival. After an overnight flight, your first day is kind of a lost day any way. You might as well use it on the train rather than mooching around Paris waiting for your hotel room to be ready.

The RER to RER or Métro is somewhat rigorous, because it involves going down in the ground and back up. The hike to Magenta is long.

I'm partial to the bus, myself, and there's a direct route between Nord and St-Lazare. It's Bus N° 26, and it stops in front of both stations. (Also N° 43, but not on Sundays or holidays.)

I would also recommend going on to Bayeux. Your mid morning to mid afternoon departure times from Gare St-Lazare are 10:43, 12:25, and 14:57. Booking a PREM (discount) ticket online from SNCF now, if seats are available, will save you about 10 euros, but you would need to allow four hours between your scheduled arrival at CDG and your scheduled departure from Gare St-Lazare in case your flight arrives late. It might be better to wait until you get to Gare St-Lazare to buy your ticket even if it costs a little more. Then you can simply cstch the next available train.

I don't think there are PREM fares available to Bayeux, as it's not a TGV route.

By the way, there's a map showing all the Métro, RER, and main line train stations at

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?nompdf=rer_idf_geo&amp;loc=secteur&amp; fm=pdf</b>

(It also shows the layout of the tracks - in case you're interested.)

Have you considered driving to Bayeux rather than taking the train. Rent at CDG and you will be in Bayeux in 3 hours. You are already on the &quot;right&quot; side of Paris to go to the north.

How many are travelling together?

PREM fares are available on non-TGV routes, including Paris-Bayeux. (I looked it up before posting my note giving the E10 price differential.) I bought PREM tickets for a Toulon-Paris night train (not a TGV) for a trip I took in June.

Thanks, Tim. Didn't know that.

Bayeux is almost due west of CDG. Their latitudes are about ¼&deg; apart.

AutoRoute says it's 174 miles, takes 2:40 to drive, and the fuel costs $46.80 (predicated on $6.50/gal and 26mpg). Don't forget the cost of the rental.

I'd take the train.