kerouac

Due to work on the tracks, RER service is going to be suspended on certain weekends between CDG and Aulnay-sous-Bois. A bus service will operate on that part of the line, but it will obviously be far from ideal. Other transportation like the Roissybus will increase its frequency.

So there will be no RER on 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26 September
2, 3, 9, 10 October
6, 7 November

A few other weekends will be added in 2011, but the precise dates have not been announced yet.

tod

You are always on the ball Kerouac, now helping prospective visitors to Paris over that period. It helps temendously with arrangements for transport. Even though I won't need this advice I'm sure other Fodorites may appreciate it.
Thanks, keep it up.

Byrd

Thank you, Kerouac, for this information.

Our arrival in Paris is a little later (Nov. 20), but we'll keep an eye on this, just in case the work on the tracks takes a little longer than expectted!

And thank you for all your help as we make our plans for our granddaughter's first visit to Paris.

Byrd

Carlux

The important thing to take into account here is that if you want to take the RER out to CDG Roissy, you can - there will be a bus linking the stations. BUT you will need to leave at least half an hour earlier than planned.

julia_t

Oh dear.

I arrive at CDG early on Saturday 2nd October. This isn't what I wanted to hear, but thanks for the heads up.

Now I'll have to research bus stops, times, etc!

BuffaloGirl

Please help me understand - I'm not sure what this means "between CDG and Aulnay-sous-Bois." I will be arriving in Paris on the morning of October 3rd. Can I take the RER into Paris (St. Michel stop)?

Thank you (it's my first trip so unsure of some things).

kerouac

Yes, a shuttle bus labeled "RER B" will take you from CDG to where the train is running. I would imagine that the buses will leave from the road dock above the train station.

BuffaloGirl

Aulnay-sous-Bois is a stop between CDG and Paris? The bus will take us to the next stop after that?

I was trying to save some money, but perhaps we will take a taxi after all.

Thank you for posting this.

julia_t

Aulnay-sous-Bois is the destination of the RER line B which starts at CDG. The line passes through Paris stopping at Gare du Nord and St Michel.

I'd planned to take the RER to St Michel on the 2nd. Oh well, there is the shuttle bus, and also the Roissy bus which stops at either Opera, the Arc or Gare de Lyon depending which one you get. But then it would have to be a combination of metro lines to get to where I need to be.

I think the shuttle bus to St Michel is going to be the simplest option. I shall just have to remember where to get it to return the next day!

avalon

Just read the bus will be stopping only at terminal 1. For terminal 2 and 3 you will have to change to RoissyVal light rail.

\The article said allow an extra 1/2 hour for terminal 1 and an extra hour for terminals 2 and 3

BuffaloGirl

Thank you julia_t and avalon. Now I understand.

julia_t, can you tell me more about the shuttle bus to St. Michel? My apartment is within walking distance of that stop and maybe that's another option for us besides a taxi.

LarryJ

Kerouac,

"A bus service will operate on that part of the line, but it will obviously be far from ideal"

You can be sure of that. Earlier this summer while track work was being done elsewhere on the "RER A line" I took the RER and the bus to get around the work area and it was the worst bus ride of my life. They do not provide enough buses and so the few that are used are unbelievably packed to the point that some people could not get off at some of the stops and of course with all the hot breath it was unbearably hot to the point of being frightening. By all means use an alternative mode during this track work.

Anyone who would have used the RER during this time should be extremely grateful to Kerouac for this warning.

Larry J

kerouac

However, if you want to save money and your exact destination is something like "Saint Michel-Notre Dame" or "Luxembourg" you might want to consider this route anyway.

The fact that the buses originate from CDG means that it will not be impossible to get a good seat and stow your baggage safely. It will definitely take longer, but once you have arrived at Aulnay-sous-Bois, life becomes easy again.

PalenQ

Ooh Aulnay-s-Bois - one of the diciest of the 'banlieus' or infamous public housing studded immigrant districts - i have always tried to avoid the stopping RER trains because i have seen hoardes swarm aboard at Aulnay-sous-Bois and i am sure most of them are decent folk but even for this veteran traveler it's a bit unnerving. Probably totally cool... and i overreact

kerouac

Yes, you do. You are even afraid of Boulevard de Strasbourg. You seem to have a problem with dark complexions, PalenQ. You are not alone, I know.

PalenQ

Jack as usual you have misread me - i was never in fear on the Blvd Strasbourg and you are seriously mis-stating what i said - I said as i remember that one metro exit looked like it could have been in any American inner city - tough looking blacks hanging all over the stairs, etc. Knowing Paris i was not afraid but my traveling companions were taken aback

Same at Aulnay-sous-Bois the average Fodorite will be on edge and that was my purpose - have you ever been to Aulnay-sous-Bois RER station? Many Fodorites just would not be comfortable with luggage, etc.

Oh you are French so you think there are not tough cookies in those suburban ghettos - you have probably never been to one - why not take you camera and show us what they are all about?

PalenQ

On the way to Auvers-sur-Oise recently i had to change trains at a well-known Banlieu (sp?) infamous for problems. I had bought a pain au chocolate and was eating it on the platform awaiting my train

A young OK looking Arab came up and asked me if he could have some of it - i shook my head and then he immediately started intimidating very threateningly me so i just gave it to him.

Now i assume this was an isolated event... but it was an event that would never have happened outside of such areas.

Kerouac you do need to get into the banlieue and then put yourself into the role of an American tourist

kerouac

Most of my friends and colleagues live in the suburbs and I go there regularly, PalenQ. Please only talk about what you know. As you know, I work for an airline based at CDG, so most of my colleagues live in Aulnay, Drancy, Le Blanc Mesnil, Villepinte, Sevran-Beaudottes, etc. -- in fact every station on that line. I know every single station intimately and have never had a problem.

PalenQ

Kerouac - yes but you have lost touch with what the typical American traveler will perceive - rightly or wrongly. How many Fodorites would feel comfy in a typical 'banlieue' (not sure how to spell)?

Not very many and i have indeed been to some just to look around and at least in the daytime did not feel threatened at all - but it still was not an environment most Americans would revel in.

Same as if French came to the worst part of Detroit, in my state - i have gone to the diciest areas in the daytime and no problems - but the average French tourists who ended up there would be crawling in their skins

And that was the point I wanted to make and which you seem to faily to grasp is possible.

kerouac

I would like to take this opportunity to mention how ridiculous I find the use of English-speaking media of the word "banlieue" which merely means "suburb." Anglo media have implied that the word means "sleazy dangerous place," but I would like to point out that Neuilly-sur-Seine is a "banlieue" -- not only was the current president of France the previous mayor, but it is the richest city (per capita) in France and also the city with the highest American population. Versailles and Fontainebleau are also cities of the banlieue.

So if you do not want to sound stupid (any of you -- not just PalenQ -- who is quite intelligent but who often gravitates to incorrect or inflammatory reports for some reason), please do not use the word "banlieue" if you want to talk about urban problems in France. "Tough" or "bad" suburbs is just as informative and does not put a blight on many of the incredibly rich people who live in the "banlieue" and wouldn't dream of living in nasty, dirty Paris.