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;.