Ditto on idea of taking Roissybus. Cheap, as fast as a cab, first stop is Opera, where you can easily walk to Metro. I alternate between this and RER, since RER can drop me off at St Michel RER which is sometimes more convenient.

Would taking a taxi be an option for you?

A taxi is the best way to get into town. It's not the cheapest way, but when you are tired and carrying a ton of luggage, it's worth the expense. The same applies when going back out to the airport to go home. It's only a tiny fraction of the total cost of the trip, so there's not much to be gained by trying to use public transportation or shuttles.

Do make sure that you use only official taxis, though, as "rogue" taxis (without official signs) are likely to charge ridiculous fees. Official taxis have a lighted sign and line up at the official taxi stands.

Anthony I just watched a globe trekkor program on Paris where they tell you to never get into a taxi unless you can speak French or follow your route on the map while in the cab. They gave several accounts from tourists on being over charged.

will my final destinatin is in the 3rd arrondisemont would that work with montparwhateveryousaid (HELP LOL)stop?

I think I am stuck taking the bus anyway since that train strike is looming for the 21st.

Glad to hear you are all so positive about it!!

Gads, then there must be alot of us who should not have taken any taxis in and around Paris. To be blunt that Globe Trekker tip is inaccurate and unfair. Better stop looking at that series if those are the types of things they broadcast. I don't speak flluent French and I have not always checked every single step of my journey in a taxi and my fares from CDG to central Paris were always about the same amount. In fact, once my taxi driver exited in the wrong area and seemed to be taking the long route if you know what I mean. Well, he was genuinely lost as he even had to consult the vehicle's Map Quest feature. And the final cost was generally the same cost as the other times I'd taken taxis to the same area.

Tell us how you like it, boy.

I don't think "The French" are any more identical in political philosophy than "The Americans" are. As a matter of policy, the French government doesn't support the war in Iraq, but then, neither do 60% of Americans.

I have taken the Roissybus several times. I find it very convenient. My only advice, you need exact change. You have a choice of taking the metro or a taxi from there. My next visit, I plan to take the bus and then a taxi (I am not as young as I used to be).

I have watched the Globe Trekker episode. I did not agree with their advice. I have taken taxis several times in Paris, I was never shortchanged or charged an outrageous rate. I can’t say the same for other European cities.

Do you really think the people in Hollywood, Bel Air, or the ritzy areas of LA were aware of the riots in Watts? I suspect they were wondering what all the fuss was about too.

I saw that Globetrekker episode and thought it was silly in some parts, also -- that was one of them.

If you are going to the third, the Air France bus to Gare de Lyon should work out fine. I really like the AF bus. The third isn't the greatest for metro connections, except on the edges, but you could get there from Gare de Lyon with a change. If you have a metro stop like Reaumur, Temple or Arts et Metier, there would be a direct line from the Opera, and I'd take the Roissybus.

Bonsoir,

A person whose nickname is PrincessOfPenguins (hope I'm not making mistakes while writing her nickname) asked a question related to the social status of French people originating from "le Maghreb"/Northern Africa... I wanted to try to answer her question in the initial thread called "Rioting in France" but don't find any window in which to type in my answer... Thus, if you don't mind, I'll post it in this thread :

The French society is far from being perfect, one must acknowledge there is a kind of discrimination in the world of work towards people from Northern Africa, but one must say that all the legal immigrants who live in France receive the same and numerous social helps as any French person. They don't pay for the dentist or/and doctor's, receive family allowance (which are proportional of the number of children, thus, represent quite an amount of money in these families who always have more children than the "average" French family, get unemployment benefits, etc. Thus, their social status is much better than in the country their parents and grandparents are from...

Now, if you are interested in getting the point of view of a French person whose family is from Morocco, here is what my friend and colleague, Saïd, who is "professeur agrégé (holder of the agrégation) de mathématiques" in my high school and whose parents are from and still live in Morocco, said to me yesterday while having lunch at the canteen...

First, he wondered why and how parents living in the suburbs of our towns and cities and being from Northern Africa or black Africa can leave their children go out at night... And he also said that a lot of these parents have no more authority upon their children, the father being exhausted after coming back from his job or... being retired (a certain number of my students say that their father is retired when they fill in the form I ask them to complete at the beginning of each school year...) Thus, such fathers are quite old and it must be difficult for them to exert their authority upon their children. He also said that, most of the time, the mother in a family from Northern Africa won't tell her husband about the wrong things their son(s) have done... Thus, nobody in the family scolds and punished their children when they go out at night and/or do reprehensible acts...

Moreover, Saïd said that, in his opinion, most of the riots which happened for the last past days on the outskirts of Paris and towns/cities "en province" are being organized by gangs... Saïd said that, otherwise, how could teenagers have enough money to have so many cellular phones and change them not to get spotted by the police), buy lots of petrol/gas, find the items to make "des cocktails molotov", etc. and be able to coordinate several violent acts in various towns around the same time... ???

Saïd also said that such riots would not happen in his native country, Morocco, because everybody there knows how the police "suppress" any act of rebellion... And he set the repression policy in Morocco and... the one in France and said French laws are not strict enough... Most teenagers when being under 18 are released after stealing a scooter, destroying a letterbox and even stealing a car... Thus, such teenagers when they have decided to drop of school feel as if they can do anything they please since they know they won't be put in prison...

I must have forgotten some other things said by my friend and colleague but I thought his remarks were all the more interesting as they were made by a person being from Northern Africa...

Now, let's hope the situation will improve in the days to come. Strict measures have been taken by the government to prevent youths from hanging around at night, punish the ones who commit reprehensible acts, etc. And money will be given to associations working in the surburbs/"dans les banlieues", etc. More free zones ("davantage de zones franches&quot will be created in these suburbs to create more jobs, etc. See the following article from the AFP :

http://www.wanadoo.fr/bin/frame2.cgi....myt476ql.html

"Mardi 8 Novembre 2005

France: le gouvernement décrète l'état d'urgence, Villepin annonce un plan..."

Voilà ! Bonne soirée ! And don't forget that, for the present time, one can walk around in the centre of our French towns and cities without problems. I did my shopping this evening until 7 pm in the centre of my town, Rouen and everything was OK, the town was very peaceful... Cordialement. Marie

I don't watch FOX news, and CNN rarely, but I have heard reporting on Paris events on the radio (NPR daily)and read it in the paper daily (Washington Post). I didn't think any of them were "sensationalizing" it, but that it was just good coverage of international events. I don't know what FOX says as I never watch FOX and wonder why Mark is watching FOX. If he lives in Paris, then I imagine he is not seeing and hearing standard coverage in the American media, only what is available in Europe (FOX and CNN).

I have also been scanning Parisian newspapers daily and these have not been the main focus of the papers recently or of much prominence. It has been covered, but it has not dominated the print media as St Cirq says it has dominated TV.

I find that you can't often win with some critics of the US, and I get rather tired of it, even though I'm a liberal and even socialist in some regards. I have some German friends who are always ragging on the US and about how we don't really see things in the news and don't have enough coverage and don't care about international events. I've seen really biased and sensationalized coverage in German media of certain events, and the Canadian media didn't look completely unsensational in some cases when I was there, either. So, now I guess some folks think the US media is covering international events too much and should just be silent and not write much about this. So then Europeans can complain again about how ignorant Americans are because American media doesn't cover international events.

So are we NOT supposed to believe that there have now been riots in 274 French cities and over 5000 cars burned? Or is that just hype too being reported in NBC?

Thank you, Patrick...I sincerely doubt that all these news sources are willing to stick their necks out and report incorrectly what has been occurring for almost two weeks. Maybe a few could possibly do that...but all of the news sources?

> sensationalized coverage in German media
Do you refer to the channel which is owned by the same company as fodors?
Sometimes they are publishing "news" which are based on how good they might sell. On ARD and ZDF I always feel to get biasd info. I'm paying for it anyway!

Patrick yes the numbers are true. However, theres a little spin. I would think of riot as something that involves a medium to large group of people causing a disturbance. If a single car or trash bin is burned the town is counted. That could very easily be a solitary act. I dont really think there have been any "riots" in Paris proper. I dont think 3 or 4 kids setting a car on fire qualifies as a riot. I think the reports in american media have been slanted / spun to give the appeance that France is declining into a state of civil war with grave danger around every corner. That couldnt be farther from the truth.

I live in the city of Paris and have seen nothing out of the ordinary.

If you take the trouble to look at Google news you will find over 1800 stories on the Paris riots from such as: Pakistan Daily Times, The Statesman (India), Brisbane Courier Mail, Xinduanet (China), ATI (Italy), Khaleej Times (United Arab Emirates).

Just amazing to me that all these sources are collaborating to tell their readers and listeners about nonexistent riots.

Someone should tell Theo Van Gogh that he was in no danger in Amsterdam because the city center was quiet. What about the tube bombers in London? Didn't they know London was safe?

Twelve nights of riots in France, a state of emergency declared. Oh sure, everything is fine. You're as safe as being in Mayberry.

<<Anthony I just watched a globe trekkor program on Paris where they tell you to never get into a taxi unless you can speak French or follow your route on the map while in the cab. They gave several accounts from tourists on being over charged.>>

We have never once been overcharged by a taxi driver in Paris. On our first trip, not sure what to tip (coming from the airport), I asked the driver who asked if I would mind if he took 10% out of the change (which he had already given me). I had read that one must be diligent in checking when getting into a taxi that the prior fare had been cancelled. For years I did this - never once had the previous fare not been cancelled. And, we've never had a driver take a round-about route to any destination.

If you speak no French, it's a fabulous idea to print out maps for places you think you may want to get to by taxi (such as your hotel)at www.pagesjaunes.fr before leaving home. (These maps are handy anyway, whether you're taking using taxis, metro, bus - even walking.)

When we had riots here in LA we had out of town visitors coming. It didn't seem like they would likely be in the rioting areas but we warned them anyway. Good thing we did because they were planning on driving a shortcut right through the area to get to our house.

They went to the art museum on Wilshire Blvd and the Brea Tar Pits and the rioters came running down the Blvd near them.

You just never know when things can get out of control so it is best to be prepared and know which areas are to be avoided. Not such a strange plan.