I will be traveling with my teenage granddaughter from London to Paris the end of this month via the Eurostar. We will be staying at the Hotel du Lys and arriving about 7:30 p.m. I have never been to France before. My questions are: Should we take a taxi or is there a metro that wouldn't be too difficult? How much would a taxi cost? I assume that I can purchase euros when I arrive at the station in Paris, but would it only be large bills that make it difficult to pay for a taxi? I am thinking about the cash machines I have used here and in other countries. If a metro, what type of ticket would we need and could we purchase it at that time of evening? I woke up this morning thinking about the logistics of this and could not go back to sleep. Thank you.

Margel

There are lots of bank machines, just take some money out when you get to Gare du Nord. They dispense €10 and €20 notes usually, but I cant imagine that will be a problem for a taxi.

How much luggage will determine whether you want to take the metro/RER - you can take RER B 2 stops to Saint-Michel-Notre Dame and it looks like a short walk to your hotel. You can buy metro tickets at Gare du Nord as well from machines (or the tabac stores) - but there are lots of stairs in the metro stops, so if you have lots of luggage you may prefer to take a taxi.

Hope this helps!

We paid about 15E for a taxi from Gare du Nord to St Germaine area in 9AM weekday traffic.

Taxis don't care if you have large bills, why should they. People selling newspapers on the street or very small businesses care, or if you want to pay for an ice cream with a 100 euro note. A taxi might care if you tried to pass off some humongous bill, but I"ve never been given any euro note in an ATM that was larger than 50 euro. I don't know why a taxi would have a problem with that, in fact, I save a 50 to pay the taxi driver when leaving.

And if you are truly nervous about only having large bills/notes -- then get an amount from the ATM that is not divisible by 50. If you ask for -- say €240, you <i>can't</i> receive just €50 notes.

My past problem is that taxis don't give change unlike a business so if I only had a large note, that would be what the taxi would take and assume the extra was a tip. Thanks.

<<My past problem is that taxis don't give change unlike a business so if I only had a large note, that would be what the taxi would take and assume the extra was a tip.>>

That has never, ever happened to me, anywhere in the world. Perhaps you look extraordinarily gullible or something. All one has to do is wait, hold out a hand, or whatever, and it's perfectly clear you're expecting change, whether you speak the language or not. And if you do, you ask for your change. Taxi drivers in Paris don't even expect much of a tip, if any, so that kind of reaction from a taxi driver would be very unusual or suggest that you look like a really easy target.

Hi S,

www.ratp.fr will give you directions for public transit between any two points in Paris and environs.

An ATM machine will usually give you 20's.

Enjoy your visit.

Thank you for the information.

"<i>An ATM machine will usually give you 20's.</i>"

That is true in the States -- most give $20's and ONLY $20's. But European ATMs must be smarter Because you don't have to ask for a multiple of 20 and can get various denominations.

here is an old thread discussing the same thing

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-20e-bills.cfm