Exiting Chatalet-Les Halles in Paris - Construction?
 

Hello...

We'll be taking RER B from CDG to Chatalet-Les Halles on our way to Hotel de Nice (r. Rivoli across the street from place Baudoyer).

I think I read somewhere that there was construction there...but even if not, finding the right exit has been always a challenge in the past. I tend to get disoriented.

What is your best advice?

Also...would it just be easier to get off at St Michel? The walk seems about the same (15 min or less) and the station is much simpler to navigate and when you exit, it's really easy to orient yourself (because of the river).

NOTE: We only have carry-on rollers, so the walk is easy. No need to suggest a taxi or bus.

Thanks.
SS

One more thing...

Street View seems to show St-Michel RER access at r. Saint-Jacques, but it's pretty blurry. Is there one there?

I also seem to recall that a few years ago I found a map website that actually showed the locations of the individual entrances to the metro/RER. Does anyone know the URL? I can't find one on the RATP site.

Thanks.
SS

Hostelworld.com is the best source. It rates them for you with good reviews. I know many that have used this and found great cheap places to stay in very safe areas. Have fun.

no clue why my hostel post posted here. Oh well. We exited there and used St Eustache as our landmark and found our way to our apartment quickly. Still under construction?

fipab...

Thanks...St Eustache is, indeed, a great landmark assuming we exit near it...but at least once, we came up inside a department store. Trying to leave that place facing east bordered on the comical. :-)

SS

Ideally we'd like to exit at the corner of r. Berger & Place Joachim du Bellay...since our hotel is on R. Rivoli a few blocks east of the H. de Ville.

SS

If you change metros you can exit at the Hotel de Ville or St-Paul and be closer to your hotel. This would allow a much easier walk and less problem finding the hotel.

The Hotel de Nice does not have a large sign- just a small sign outside the large blue doors on the street. It may be hard to spot. You enter the doors and walk up a flight of stairs to the hotel lobby.

Take the Place Carrée exit from the RER. You will find it by following the connection signs to metro line 4. Then take the escalators up to rue du Pont Neuf which leads straight to rue de Rivoli.

zoecat...

Thanks so much for the info, but this will be our third stay at Hotel de Nice, so we know that immediate area pretty well. The transfer to Line 1 has always been an option, but, if I recall, it's a long transfer with stairs (?) and depending on the connection time could take nearly as much time as walking. N'est pas?

SS

Kerouac...

Thanks...is r. Pont Neuf the best exit? It seems to be on the west side, and we're heading east of bd Sebastopol.

BTW...I presume you mean the Chatalet stop for line 4, not the Les Halles stop, since it is closer to R. Rivoli...right?

I have a map of the metro complex:

http://www.sanderhome.com/~~metro-ch...es-complex.jpg

Isn't there an exit right around bd Sebastopol?

But, to digress...Is there any advantage to getting off at Saint Michel instead? It was just an idea that popped into my head today. The walk seems about the same distance...in fact, more interesting, going across the Petit Pont and past N.D. Plus -- it'll be a little different than the way we've done it in the past.

...just brainstorming...

SS

Zoecat...

Re-reading my post, I'm worried I sounded a little snooty and unappreciative of your thoughts. My OP probably did not make it clear that we knew where H. de Nice was, were familiar with Line 1 as an option, and were merely looking for alternatives.

My apologies.

SS

No worries- I didn't feel your response was snooty or unappreciative.

I stayed at Hotel de Nice the first time I visited Paris in 1997. I arrived via the Hotel De Ville stop, came upstairs to the street, and found it was pouring rain and dark. I picked a direction and tried to find the hotel by street number, not knowing that the numbers increase in both directions from where I was standing. I finally asked a nice Frenchman on the street for help but he couldn't figure out the addresses either. I kept walking, lost, wet, frustrated and on the brink of tears when suddenly that same Frenchman reappeared to tell me that he'd figured out the street numbers and then kindly pointed me in the right direction. He must have run 2 blocks in the pouring rain to find me. I'll never forget that extremely nice man.

Enjoy your trip!

The Pierre Lescot exit is the closest one to place Joachim du Bellay (which all Parisians prefer to call "Place des Innocents" because of the fountain), but it is currently being totally rebuilt and the direct escalators are closed, causing one to use the other escalators level by level, and they are sometimes turned off as well due to the construction work. As far as I'm concerned, the Place Carrée/rue du Pont Neuf exit is the fastest way out, but since you are familiar with the area, it is unlikely that you will get lost no matter where you pop out -- except that the "canopée" is really going to surprise you.

Due to the name of the RER station "Châtelet-Les Halles" most people think that it is close to Châtelet when the station is really at Les Halles, which is what makes it so much easier to exit directly at Les Halles than trekking to Châtelet through all of the tunnels.

Zoecat...

What a great story! You are right about the tiny sign on H. de Nice. Our first stay there, however was in 2009, and Google Street View was operative. It was still, a little hard to see, even on Street View...but we found it, and therefore knew exactly where to go when when arrived.

I always recommend a Street View "tour" around the neighborhood to all my friends whenever they travel to a new place.

SS

Kerouac...

Thanks for the construction update...very, very helpful.

SS

I second everything kerouac said. I'm at Châtelet-les-Halles just about every day and walk from there to the Hôtel de Ville at least a few times a week, using the Porte de Lescot exit.

Similar, but different questions:

Going from Chatalet-Les Halles to CDG. Which entrance do we use? We'd be using Notre Dame as our reference point, since we'll be staying near there.

Take the RER directly in front of Notre Dame at the Notre Dame-Saint Michel station. No need to go to Châtelet-Les Halles.

Thanks, kerouac! That'll make our last journey on vacation easier.

Getting closer and I'm getting a bit nervous about the whole thing.