Eurostar/Gare du Nord Paris
 

My husband & I will be taking Eurostar between London & Paris next month. We will each have a medium-sized suitcase with us and would like to know if using the Metro/RER to our hotel in the "Latin Quartier" (Metro Maubert-Mutualite) is an option or if a taxi is necessary. The M-M station is only a few minutes walk from the hotel but we would have to change trains at Metro St Michel I think. Any help would be much appreciated!

There's no simple answer....is it doable...yes....will it be comfortable? Depends on the time of day....frankly I would probably prefer to take a taxi...do you speak French? you also, with your baggage, have to start up and buy Metro tickets....not really a big deal but every little bit hurts so to speak.....if you decide to take the metro, it will be cheap yes and you will almost certainly get there but I still think you would be better off with a taxi.

tembo,

Been there, done that, would never do it again. The Metro is difficult enough without luggage, espically in December. A taxi is the way to go even if there is a line. Everything is only a few minutes from the Metro, only if you know exactly where you are going. Therefore, it is doable, just not practical.

Have a good trip.

Greg

I might ride the suburban express train (RER) from Gare du Nord to the St-Michel Notre-Dame station and either walk or taxi from there (depending on the distance). That's the same thing you do when you take a train to another city, isn't it? Transferring to Métro Ligne 10 is probably most of the distance to your hotel, and not a good idea.

Type <b>metro maubert-mutualite paris</b> into Google and press &quot;Maps.&quot;

If your suticases have wheels, Robespiere's suggestion might be the best. Walk up to the Blvd. St. Germain and left down the Blvd. To Maubert Mutualit&eacute;.

My first trip to Europe and alone last year, I took the Eurostar and then the metro to St Germain Des Pres station --then walked 3 blocks with my med size rolling suitcase (25&quot; tall) to the apt. I thought it was very easy but I made sure to slip my big purse into the suitcase so I only had one rolling bag to handle.

If I were travelling with someone else, I might be able to justify the cab fare since it's more cost-effective. But as a solo traveller, the 40 Euro you save pays for a nice dinner.

Cab fare for 2 passengers from Gare du Nord to Place Monge was about 10E a couple years ago. It shouldn't be more than 15E these days to get to M-M metro area.

It is just a matter of travel style I think. 2 of us only travel with 1 small roller, and we take always the RER from CDG into Paris and in September we took the metro from the St. Paul Metro stop to Gare du Nord with absolutely no issues. Do whatever you are comfortable with.

I used to live near Place Maubert. My suggestion is to take Metro line 5 from Gare du Nord 'direction' Place d'Italie and get off at Gare d'Austerlitz (9th stop and the end of the line). Make the 'correspondance' to Metro line 10 'direction' Boulogne Port St. Cloud. Get off at Maubert Mutualite (3rd stop). Don't worry about counting stops. Each Metro car has a line map.

This suggested route is a little bit circuitous but it avoids Metro St. Michel. Metro &quot;Sahn Meech&quot; is &quot;Pickpocket Central&quot; in Paris, and a cavern. When on the Metro or in any station hang on to your luggage at all times.

The Place Maubert neighborhood is ideal. I was there for four months. You are close to everything but off the trail of all the tourists. You made a good choice. The Cafe du Metro at Place Maubert is reasonable and very nice on a winter afternoon. My lunch in January was a croque madame, a glass of Cotes du Rhone, and a cafe express. Cost &euro;12.20.

With each having a medium sized suitcase, to transfer right to the RER and then onto metro MM -I've done that before with a much bigger suitcase, and had no problem, so you should have no problem either-just do take care as Hopscotch says, to hang on to your purse and not keep any wallets in the back pockets while in the metro. The problem with a taxi from Gare du Nord is, the minute you start going down towards the 6th, depending on the time of day, the traffic really gets bad (well, it's pretty bad in the Latin Quarter all the time)-therefore, I think your option of taking the metro is quite reasonable and imminently doable, not to mention far less costly.

oops, I was thinking of the cab from CDG to the Latin Quarter as being 40 Euro.

From Gare du Nord, I think cab fare is 10-15 Euro in good traffic, as another poster suggested. In that case, I'd actually take a cab if there are two or more people -- it's only a few more Euro per person.

Many thanks to all who replied to my
query - very helpful indeed!!!

RER B from Gare du Nord to Saint Michel-Notre Dame. Connect there to metro line 10 and go one stop to Maubert. Travel time 15 minutes, most of which will be in the connecting tunnel from the Saint Michel RER station to the Cluny metro station on line 10. Fare 1.09 &euro; per person, if you buy a carnet of 10 tickets.

When you buy your RER ticket at Roissy just say a ticket to central Paris and then you can use the same ticket to go to any metro station in Paris - you do not need buy a separate metro ticket at Gare du Nord or Saint-Michel/Notre Dame.

Some Paris public-transit fares are on sale in the Eurostar departures waiting room in London.

When arriving in a city I haven't visited before, I sometimes splurge on a taxi to my hotel, especially if I'm jetlagged (not so much an issue for you if you're coming from London, of course). To balance the cost, I take public transportation back to the airport / train station. It's easier at this stage, because I've found my way around the city, understand the public transportation system, etc.

Note that there are a lot of flights of stairs in Paris metros (although they're not as deep as some of the Tube lines in London). There are some escalators, but you can't count on finding them everywhere (and frequently, there's only an up escalator, no down escalator).

No Brainer this one.Take a taxi! However be prepared for quite a long wait lining up. I have waited up to half an hour. Definitely dont try the Metro with all your luggage.

The Gare du Nord is arguably the worst place in Paris to get a cab. And yes, I mean in the cab waiting line.

Like the other poster said, this is a no-brainer. Take a cab. Having been to Paris many times and seeing people struggling with suitcases on the Metro, I can honestly say I think there is nothing worse then the Metro and luggage (except for small carryon sizes). Taxi's at Gare de Nord are not that difficult, so you stand in line a few minutes, big deal (chill-it's a vacation !!). It sure beats the heck out of dragging luggage on the Metro.

You might want to show your cab driver the name/address of your hotel when you get in, if you do not speak French it can save some anxious moments if you are a worrier. Cabs in Paris charge for luggage too so be aware of that.

Not sure what you plan on doing to get to Waterloo in London but I'd take a cab there too unless you are positive your Tube stop has an elevator. The Tube and luggage are not exactly a great match either.

You could take the 38 bus which starts at the Gare du Nord, get off on the Blvd. St. Michel and Blvd. St. Germain and walk to Maubert-Mutualit&eacute;.

Taxi lovers must keep in mind that some people are taxiphobes because of the &quot;no control over where I'm really going&quot; factor -- an especially powerful phobia in an unknown city. Taxiphobes will put up with quite a bit of extra discomfort in order to navigate by rail or bus on a carefully planned path. Cheapskates will also put up with a lot of inconvenience for symbolic savings.

I am both a taxiphobe and a cheapskate, yet I take taxis from time to time. I personally do not trust many Paris taxi drivers because I know what they do to increase the fares. But since I know Paris as well as a taxi driver, I can get them to take the correct path with no problem. The other cities where I do not trust taxi drivers are New York and Bangkok.

Cities where I trust the taxi drivers (perhaps foolishly) are Hong Kong, Cairo, Singapore, Saigon and Havana.

&gt;&gt; do not trust many Paris taxi drivers because I know what they do to increase the fares. &lt;&lt;

Would you share this knowledge with us, apart from the known Shangai route ?

I've been living in Paris for 24 years, out of these 24 years, let's say that I have practiced taxi drivers for 6 years, and I have witnessed only once a taxi trying (unsuccessfully) to take a long route.

Re your comment on the DCCRF : it's rather the Pr&eacute;fecture de Police, Bureau de R&eacute;glementation des Voitures Publiques, that has authority over Paris taxis.

In November we took a taxi to Gare de L'Est from our hotel on Blvd. St. Michel near rue des Ecoles. It was just 8 Euro and was basically a straight shot to the station. Gare du Nord is very close to Gare de L'Est. Definitely take a cab. You never know how many stairs you'll encounter on the Metro. It's just not worth the hassle with luggage. The waiting lines move fast at the stations with a person at the front directing the cabs and customers.
We never had a problem with French taxi drivers, it's the Rome cabbies who would take the long way, even with our protests. And my husband speaks the language!

I don't like fooling around with public transport to save a few euro, but even I would take the metro between gare du Nord and that location -- IF I were just on a weekend trip and had a small suitcase of about 20 inches or so. It's hard to say what medium-sized is to others, but if that is 25&quot; or more, I would probably take a cab. I also would if the weather were really bad or rainy. After all, between two people, the taxi cost doesn't amount to much. Although I will admit that the line at Gare du Nord is about the worst of anywhere I've been for a taxi, which is why I'd go by metro if the weather were fine and I didn't have much. It's still not that terrible, I think I've gotten a cab there in about 10-15 minutes wait. I trust Paris cab drivers, but don't trust NY ones that much or those in the city where I live (Wash DC), which I think are about the worst of anywhere.

Superheterodyne, it might be the Pr&eacute;fecture that makes the rules, but it is the DCCRF that has all of the taxi rules on its website, because that is where you make complaints.

I have only been living in Paris for 34 years, if that is the criterium for authority.

&gt;&gt; because that is where you make complaints. &lt;&lt;

Well, you can make complaints -also- (and dare I say, primarily) to the Bureau de R&eacute;glementation des Voitures Publiques of the Pr&eacute;fecture de Police. It's even written on the rear left window of the cars, just below their registration number and the fare calculator table.



http://www.prefecture-police-paris.i...pecial/pup.htm

<i>Taxis

01 55 76 20 11

En cas de r&eacute;clamation, contactez &agrave; ce num&eacute;ro le Bureau de r&eacute;glementation g&eacute;n&eacute;rale des voitures publiques. </i>




See also:

http://www.taxis-bleus.com/html/reglementation.html


&gt;&gt; I have only been living in Paris for 34 years, if that is the criterium for authority. &lt;&lt;

Don't take things so personnally :-)

So, what are those things Parisian taxi drivers do to increase the fares, apart from dthe A3/A86/A4 trick from CDG ?

Cheers !

Recently, a taxi driver on the Champs Elys&eacute;es tried to take me to Barb&egrave;s via Ch&acirc;telet rather than turning back to follow Wagram/Courcelles/Batignolles/Clichy/Rochechouart. Another one tried to go out to the Mar&eacute;chaux for no good reason. I have noted that usually it is French drivers who do this. Immigrant drivers are more honest.

Well then... I must have had only &quot;immigrant&quot; drivers. I think it's wise to let this argument go down, at least, Fodorites in search of the Parisian equivalent of the TLC will have an accurate answer ...

Cheers !

I would add London to the list of honest taxi drivers. One of my bads was in Germany.

Always write down the name of your destination and ask the driver to write the estimated cost. It helps if you have a fair idea of how much it should cost before you do this. If the cabbie's estimate is out of line then ask another cabbie.

I did this with the German driver and when the meter went over the estimate with my destination not in sight I asked him what's happening. He said he was taking &quot;the fast route,&quot; as we sat in traffic. I asked him to turn off the meter, and he did.