john41044

I will be arriving at the Gare du Nord by Eurostar from Britain on the evening of September 18. I will want to put my party of 3, with one large piece of luggage each, into a cab to take us into the 16th arrondissement, to a hotel at 5 rue Massennet, just a bit to the south or south-west of the Eiffel Tower area, I think. I am wondering how long such a cab trip should take and, roughly, how much it should cost.

It is very hard to get this information from the ordinary maps I have consulted on the net.

Is there a website for Paris Cabs?

Any information would be much appreciated.

On a related matter....is it possible to "see Versailles" in any sort of reasonable way in even a long afternoon - say 6 hours? I know the palace is about 20 km outside the city, so the 6 hours would have to include, I suppose, the trip each way.

On yet another related matter, does anyone know the modern name of the island in the Seine were the last Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, was burned on Friday, October 13, in 1314? Is the site marked, for example?

John

bob_brown

I will pass on the taxi question.

The best I can come up with on de Molay is that he was burned somewhere on the north end of Isle de la Cite in the year 1314. Philip the whatever is said to have watched from the palace window.
The Michelin green guide says nothing about a marker. Go there and look is my only suggestion. You will be there for Ste. Chapelle, so it will be a good opportunity to look around.
The supposed site is on the downstream end of the island.

As for Versailles, it is quite doable freelance. I took RER line C5 to Versailles Rive Gauche and walked to the entrance. Versailles can also be reached from Gare Montparnasse by local trains, station Chantiers which is a little farther from the palace than Rive Gauche.

Line C runs along the left bank and can be boarded at Javal, Invalides, Musee d'Orsay and some other places.

I do not know when to go. We tried to get there early and beat the crowds. No such luck. The inexorable mass of tourists caught us before the Hall of Mirrors. I had visions of little men with hydraulic presses squeezing in the tourists.

Trying to tour the main palace in the afternoon could not be any more crowded because it was not possible to stuff in any more people.

Coming back to your cab question, it all depends on traffic. The cab charges are based on time, pieces of luggage, and distance. So distance alone is not determintive.
I would allow €30, but that may be way off.

bob_brown

After looking at a map, I don;t see how Isle de la Cite can have "a north end".
The river looks to me to be flowing east to west at that point.

At any rate, get a green Michilin Guide and look up the same info and see what you think.
that is is the best source I have.

Travelnut

I'm offering as a means of comparison that our taxi from Gare du Nord to rue Lacepede, just south of the Arenes in the 5th cost about 11Euro (2 people + 2 bags). So 30Euro to your address sounds like as good a guess as anyone's.

adrienne

It'll be tough doing any justice to Versailles in 6 hours, including transit. Last time I was there I didn't get to the Hall of Mirrors until about 4:30 and there were very few people then. I think that's the least interesting part of the palace. I much preferred touring the Kings' and Queen's apartments.

How long will you be in Paris? If only for a day or two I would give Versailles a miss and stay within the city.

Christina

De Molay was burned at the Square du Vert Galant on Ile de la Cite (the tip of the island) and there is a plaque there commemorating that. I'd call this the western tip, more or less, at that point in the city (sort of slightly NW). It could be at the northern side of that tip, I suppose.

The area you are going is near rue Passy and the Muette metro stop, which isn't south of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty directly west of it across the river a bit, and a very nice area.

there is a web site for Parisian cabs but I don't have the URL handy and it won't tell you anything but the official rate per mile in various zones and time periods, waiting time, charge of luggage, etc., so I don't think that would help. It does really depends on traffic a lot, but I think 25 euro is a good guess. If you're lucky, it will be less.

SusanP

john, I think 6 hours is enough to make it worthwhile to go to Versailles. It took us about 40 mins. from the St. Michel station on RER Line C. It looks as though the closest station to your hotel would be the Champ de Mars/Eiffel Tower station, which would be less. So if you figure 30 mins. on the train and 15 mins. to walk over to the palace, that's only 1-1/2 hours to get there and back, which leaves you 4-1/2 hours to tour the palace. You may not have time to see every little thing, but you could certainly see a lot in that time.

john41044

What a marvellous resource this board is! I want to thank each of you who took the time and trouble to reply to my several questions.

I especially appreciate the cab-cost-time estimates, and also the detailed information on the site of the execution of de Molay.

It was also most valuable hearing how crowded Versailles can be - that is the kind of invaluable information only a site like this could provide!

We are staying three nights and two days in Paris, so we will indeed have to make a decision about Versailles as opposed to staying "within the walls".

Again, many thanks to all who have helped, for the help has been both specific and real.