Gard du Nord to La Defense
Apr 25th, 2006, 12:19 PM
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Gard du Nord to La Defense
I'm arriving in Paris on the Eurostar around noon on a Wednesday and want to get to my hotel at La Defense. For 2 of us with luggage, would it be better to just take a cab and buy our transport tickets after we've dropped off our bags? If so, about how much should I expect to pay?
Apr 25th, 2006, 12:28 PM
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Hi nj,
Go to www.ratp.fr for directions from Gare du Nord to your hotel.
From that you can decide if you want to pay for a cab.
Go to www.ratp.fr for directions from Gare du Nord to your hotel.
From that you can decide if you want to pay for a cab.
Apr 25th, 2006, 02:27 PM
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Yes, thank you, I've done that and I see that I have to change trains. I've also read posts that say there are long lines for metro tickets at Nord. Of course, there may be long longs for cabs as well...
Apr 26th, 2006, 05:04 AM
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With luggage, I think a cab is easier...but I do know that on my last trip (also staying in La Defense) we had a difficult time communicating to the cab driver where we needed to be. It was probably a combination of really limited French on our part and being on the outskirts in La Defense. When I go with my Mom (NEXT WEEK woo hoo!) we are taking an airport shuttle to avoid that issue.
Apr 26th, 2006, 09:07 AM
#6
Just take the RER B one stop to Châtelet-Les Halles and change to the RER A direct to La Défense. An RER ticket with the suburban segment supplement to Grande Arche de la Défense costs 2.05 euros. If you just took metro line 1 from Châtelet after the RER B, the trip would cost 1.40 € (or 1.07 € if you buy a carnet). It all depends on a) how frugal you are and/or b) whether you wish to save money on taxis to splurge on some other activity. The taxi fare would indeed be about 25 € from Gare du Nord + train station surcharge + baggage in the trunk surcharge.
Apr 26th, 2006, 12:11 PM
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Kerouac - Thanks, I looked at these options on the transit map. I agree that I'd rather spend my money elsewhere, but I was concerned about lugging our suitcases on stairs etc. Is it a straightforward change at Châtelet-Les Halles? Also, if I have an 3 zone Paris Visite card can I use the RER? Which is better - RER or metro?
Apr 26th, 2006, 12:25 PM
#8
It all depends on exactly where your hotel is -- Esplanade de la Défense or Grande Arche de la Défense. "Grande Arche" is both metro and RER. "Esplanade" is just a metro station on line 1.
The connection between the two RER lines at Châtelet is super easy. Changing to metro line 1 is a little trickier, but not all that bad if you are used to urban transport. At least you are not traveling at rush hour -- that makes everything much much easier.
The connection between the two RER lines at Châtelet is super easy. Changing to metro line 1 is a little trickier, but not all that bad if you are used to urban transport. At least you are not traveling at rush hour -- that makes everything much much easier.
Apr 26th, 2006, 12:27 PM
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Whenever you take a cab from CDG or wherever you are arriving from, print out a map of your hotel location with the address and hand it to the cab driver. There is no need to take a shuttle because of not speaking French.
