How to get to the Holiday Inn Notre Dame
 

We are landing in Paris at CDG airport on August 24th at 7:15am and need to know how we get to our hotel (Holiday Inn Notre Dame). Is it better to arrange transportation or to take the RER. How long is the ride from CDG to our hotel? Does anyone know? Can you take luggage on the RER? How much does it cost to take the RER and how much would it cost to arrange transportation? Thanks!

I believe that your hotel's address is 4 rue Danton. Take the RER to St. Michel (about 30 minutes) and walk to the hotel (it's half way between the St. Michel and the Odéon métro stops). You might want to use the map function in Google, enter the address and print out the resulting map.

www.ratp.fr - everything you need to know about transport in Paris. Best to be familiar with it before your trip.

How far is the walk from St. Michael to the Hotel? We will have our suitcases with us (just 2 and they wheel). Is it doable or should we take a taxi from CDG? How much would it cost?

If you are unfamiliar with Paris and the RER, you might consider taking a taxi. From the customs exit to your hotel's front door nothing is faster.

Expect to pay 50€ to 55€ plus 1€ per each bag after the first.

The website www.ratp.fr is in french. Don't speak french. Is there a way to change to English?

Click on the British flag.

You can click on the Britsh flag icon.

RER is cheapest and fastest way to get into central Paris. Buy a return ticket from the ticket booth.

Caveat...some people state that when you land you will be tired and confused, so attempting public transit is a task to leave for another day. I might disagree, but it is your call. At some point you will need to brave the Metro/RER :)

Since the line starts at CDG, you "should not" have an issue finding a seat and having luggage near you. As you get nearer city, and depending on time of day, and day of week , it will fill up. I have travelled RER and switched over to Metro on several trips.

In your case. the RER goes directly to St Michel station. If you go to Googel; Mpas and type in:

paris holiday inn notre dame

You will see the distance to walk. Roughly 4 blocks.

In the upper right corner of the RATP site you can click on the little English flag and get an English version of the site.

Here's a link to the English version of the interactive map on that site:

http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/carteidf.php?lang=uk

At the top of the page, there's a tab "Instructions for Use" of the map. We found it very helpful during our last visit to Paris.

I didn't even know they had an HI there, must have bought out some other hotel (or that hotel decided to join HI's marketing group).

I am not big on using public transportation to get to a hotel upon arrival after a long flight (I cannot sleep ever) when I'm tired, but it doesn't have anything to do with being confused as I know Paris very well (in this case, could be in other cities) -- however, even I might to that location given it is fairly close to the RER stop. But it's still probably about 2-3 blocks away, given it's on the part of rue Danton just off bd St Germain.

YOu might consider taking it back to the airport once you've gotten used to things, and do something else upon arrival.

YOU can take luggage on the RER, lots of people do. YOu can even take it on a bus or the metro, assuming there is room for you. I've done it on the metro, on off hours.

The RER B is totally doable.

But the RER is so easy and your hotel is so close. Hop on the RER at CDG with your luggage and take it to St. Michel. Watch for the names of the stops. They will be written on the wall as you approach the station. If you print out a metro/rer map ahead of time you will know when your stop is approaching. We stayed in the Marais and did it from St. Michel and so can you. It's a lot cheaper. Save your money for something more important or fun!

You might be interested in the entry for Tuesday, June 7 on the following thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...is-portion.cfm

Well, I guess if it's pouring out you might want to take a cab.

Thanks everyone for the info. I think we will probably take the RER - we have taken public transportation many times in other places and had no problem - especially if we get info before taking it. I am really getting excited about visiting Paris and Rome! Sounds like there are so many places to see. More than likely we will have to plan another trip as I don't think we will be able to do all we want. Where in Paris is a good inexpensive place to eat close to our hotel? Are all the streets narrow, that is the back ones.

<<Are all the streets narrow, that is the back ones.>>

Huh?

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...de_France.html

If you look on Trip Advisor (link above) you can find restaurants located around your hotel.

No, all the streets aren't narrow, not even the "back" streets. But a lot of them are.

You may like rue St Andre des Arts, right around the corner from your hotel. There is also a creperie on that street if you want cheap and casual. The neighborhood is filled with dining choices, it depends on what you want and what you consider "inexpensive." It's a pricey area in general.

This looks like the troll du jour, maybe the troll du semaine. LOL.

take a look at www.parisbytrain.com...step by step on using the RER in from CDG; just keep your bags light!

I would recommend getting some Euros before you leave or at an airport ATM (buy something cheap to get change) so you can shorten the wait time by paying with Euros instead of credit card.