I'd like to take the metro from CDG to my hotel near the Ecole Militaire. I tried the subwaynavigator from the www.ratp.fr web site but I don't understand. Do I have to make several changes on the metro lines? Can anyone help with a clear idea of which metro lines I should take? <BR> <BR>Thank you for any help you're able to offer. <BR> <BR>-Kelly

Kelly, I am not an expert but my understanding is the metro doesn't go all the way there. I took an air France bus (no, I didn't fly air france) and got off at the stop they told me to-I think it was Champs Elysee- and took the metro from there. Don't know if I did it the right way but I asked another girl from Paris how to accomplish and that was her route. It worked!

You take the RER (area train service) into Paris from CDG, it is marked as the B RER in blue on the map. You will get off the RER train at a station, probably St Michele, and transfer to a Metro subway train to go to escole Militair. It is my belief that you do not need a second ticket to transfer to the Metro.Your RER ticket should work in the gate. There are others on this board who are more experience than me can be more specific

The Paris Metro trains in the strict sense of the term do NOT go as far out as CDG Airport. The RER (line B3), which is the light suburban rail that interchanges with the Metro goes to CDG. <BR> <BR>Unfortunately, there is no easy way to get from an RER station to Ecole Militaire, which is a station on line 8. This line runs a looping route from southeast Paris, to the right bank of the Seine, then it curves around and goes southwest, under the Seine, to the left bank. Unfortunately, Line 8 does not connect with the RER line from CDG at any point. Therefore a minimum of two changes of trains are involved. <BR> <BR>The RER stations usually involve a long walk to connect to a Metro train, and a separate ticket, as I understand it, when you come from as far out as CDG Airport. <BR>The RER-Metro stations are not at all friendly to a passenger burdened with luggage. I rode the Metro and carried my luggage in my youth when I had more brawn than brains and more brains than money. <BR> <BR>My suggestion is to engage the services of the Paris Airport Shuttle, which has been described many times on this forum, and let it take you to the door of your hotel with a minimal amount of effort. <BR>I have used it twice, and will do again my next visit. <BR> <BR>Another alternative would be to take the Roissy Bus as it is called to town. It is my understanding that the bus terminal is on Rue Scribe near the Opera Garnier and the American Express office. At the Opera Metro station, you can then get on Metro Line 8 in the direction of Balard. Your stop is Ecole Militaire which is the 5th one from Opera Garnier. The walk from Rue Scribe to the Opera station should be relatively short. It certainly will be no longer than hiking about the RER/Metro stations trying to get from one to the other. <BR> <BR>If you are forced to taking the RER-Metro all the way, then here is my best shot at a travel plan, with no guarantees. Take the RER as far as the St Michael-Notre Dame station. Transfer there to a C5 or C7 train to the Invalides station. At Invalides, transfer to the Metro, line 8, in the direction of Balard. Ecole Militaire is the second stop once you make the trek to the Metro. Invalides is a huge station and it is a long walk between the RER platform and the Metro. <BR>I remember changing there one day to go to Versailles and it seemed like we were nearly to Versailles before we got to the RER part of the station, after emerging from Hobbit land, deep within Middle Earth. (No Bilbo Baggins was not around, but it seemed like it. [Have I got that name right? A long time has elapsed since I read any of the Tolkien tales.]) <BR> <BR>If I had to do it, I would take the van, which is marginally more expensive. When you get off of your arriving flight, you call a toll free number and the receptionist tells you where to wait after you clear passport control and customs. You may need to share the ride with others, but at least you don't have to do any more than carry your luggage to the van, and from the van to the hotel. <BR>

The metro sounds a bit tough to me but since several people had posted "horror" stories about the Shuttle and I've had similar experiences in U.S. cities with shuttles I cancelled my reservation with them! Maybe I should opt for a taxi since it wasn't really so much the cost but my peace of mind I was concerned about. The bus doesn't sound awful and I suppose I could take a cab from the bus station - I'll only have one smallish carry-on bag since my stay is brief and I travel light. <BR> <BR>Thank you so much for your detailed information Bob! <BR> <BR>-K

<BR> Just to point out that the ticket you buy at CDG to Paris allows transfer on the metro too...

I did not know that about the RER ticket. Did I overpay when I returned from Versailles? I used a second ticket to ride from Invalides to Montparnasse. <BR>I know going out, I was told to buy an RER ticket to Versailles Rive Gauche, which was in addition to the ticket for the ride on the Metro to Invalides. <BR> <BR>As for cancelling the van because of one accident, that is like cancelling your trip because of problem with the cows. <BR>Or because the Concorde crashed. <BR> <BR>Besides, the van service I used was not the same one!! The bus could wreck, too.

Kelly, One last thought-I figured out the bus/metro thing when I got there. I realized a while back that when traveling, people are more than ready to help out. If you can't figure out anything else than you can always do the cab but if you are on a budget the Air France bus into town was actually quite easy. Good luck

<BR> Bob : yes, you did overpay. The RER tickets to Paris include the metro ride. There's turnstyles between the RER and metro, but when you insert your ticket, the machine gives it back to you...

I just thought I should say Mark from Airport Shuttle was very responsive to my concerns when I sent an e-mail saying I wanted to cancel because of the "bad posts" I read here. I realize people are often likely to complain even if the service wasn't bad. But, since it's my first trip to Paris and I don't speak the language I'm concerned frankly about getting in a vehicle with almost any driver! I'm still not sure what I'll do. I may reconsider again and ask Mark if he'll reschedule my ride. If so, I'll be sure to post here if it's a great experience so they don't suffer business loss from Fodors readers. <BR> <BR>Thanks again to all of you. <BR> <BR>-K

Kelly, <BR>Before you panic about Shuttle accidents, etc. remember ANY vehicle can be involved in an accident, i.e taxi, buses, trains, planes, ships, ferries -- you get my drift here. We've taken the Paris Airport Shuttle several times and had no problems. We've taken taxi's several times and had no problems. We've been on a flight with a bomb scare, we've ridden in airport hotel vans in the U.S. that were not driven by the world's most careful drivers, we've been on trains that were delayed because someone jumped in front of a train (London), we were on a train that had to stop and let everyone off (in Cambridge, England) because the windshield wipers broke and the engineer could not see the tracks ahead in the rain, and I've been rear ended on my way to work - not my fault at all, I was stopped at a light. What I am getting at is that you can experience a bad moment almost anyplace with any mode of transportation. Don't panic because someone had a lousy Shuttle experience. Remember people usually only talk about the bad, hardly do you hear about the good. We found the Shuttle to be convenient, punctional and economical. It sure beats the heck out of dragging luggage on and off public transportation and climbing stairs, etc. with baggage in hand. Taxi's are the most expensive, but again, you can be involved in an accident too, there is no guarantee you will arrive at your destination without incident -- there is no surefire "safe" way to do anything. You can trip over your own feet and fall down on the sidewalk too ... I'd rethink your Shuttle decision and use them. We will use them in April when we are there again and if for any reason we feel the driver is driving too fast we'll just say "please slow down" ... passengers can speak up. We've had to on a Hertz bus twice in fact because we were not thrilled with the driver's speed.

I used the Paris Airport Shuttle. <BR>The reservation was made in English. <BR>After arrival, I called the toll free number and talked with an English speaking receptionist who gave me clear directions. The driver spoke some English and took me to my hotel. <BR>I speak about as much French as the cat next door, but that has not been a barrier that stopped me from reaching my destination. <BR>I have gone all over Paris and have yet to get lost. I always have a map. <BR>Besides, I have found that people in Paris are often willing to help.

Depending upon where your hotel is (and how much luggage you have to carry), you can change at St Michel to RER C, which follows the Left Bank with stops at d'Orsay, Invalides, Pont d'Alma and the Champs de Mars. <BR>You could also take the RER B as far as Gare du Nord, then get a taxi to your hotel from there (faster and cheaper than a cab all the way from the airport during rush hour).

Kelly: It really is not as difficult as it seems. When you buy your ticket at CDG, tell them you want to go to Ecole Militaire. The one ticket, for 49FF, I believe, will take you there. Just hang onto your ticket until the end of the line, and until you are out of the system. You can always be audited, and if you don't have your ticket, you can be fined! Take the express to Gare du Nord. There are express and non-express trains to Gare du Nord. The express trains skip all the in-between stops. Check the TV monitor to find an express train; they run at intervals of 15 minutes or so. When you leave the RER terminal at Gare du Nord, go to the metro line 4 and go to Strasbourg-St. Denis. Your original ticket will take you there. Then take Metro Line 8 to Ecole Militaire. The same ticket works. Get a map of the metro system at CDG and study it. I think the RER/Metro system is easier than the London tube. For more information, e-mail me at [email protected] or see my web site at www.francetravel.bigstep.com. Bon voyage.

I personally think that the best way is one of the following two: Take the Roissy-Bus to Opera (50 ff) and the Metro (line 8, direction Balard) to Ecole Militaire. Or take the Air France bus (55ff) to Etoile and take a cab from there. <BR> <BR>Frankly, all the changes involved in using RER-Metro make this a way-too-complicated thing to do with luggage after a transatlantic flight. <BR> <BR>Check this URL: http://www.paris-france.org/parisweb...fo/eng_rgc.htm

Bob: Like Kelly, I had decided to forgo the Airport Shuttle and just take a taxi. Well, I've changed my mind, too. Now I've tried to reach ashuttle address on former thread and only get french. Would you share the address, please?

Kelly. I just returned from Paris this morning. When my husband and I arrived in CDG we took the RER to St. Germain. We used one ticket the whole way, save the ticket to connect with the original metro transfer. We actually bought round trip tickets when we arrived for the RER/Metro. We had to take the Airport Shuttle for our flight this morning because unfortunately there was a transit strike and the return metro was useless. Anyway the shuttle was fine. But if you are going yourself the cost is much, much more than the RER. I believe for one person it is about 149 FF as opposed to the 49FF on the RER. I would not hesitate to take the RER again, but I had one carry on size bag, which may make a difference while going along the correspondence to transfer lines. Also, you could take the RER as far as you could easily travel, say get on the metro at the Gare Du Nord lets say line 4 and go to St Germain Des Pres and take a cab from there. I would look on it as an adventure, unless there is a metro strike. Get a map of Paris like Streetwise and follow the lines. I must admit after reading the other posts,and looking at my map, the 8 really isn't so easy to get to though.

Two shuttle URLs: <BR>http://www.paris-anglo.com/clients/ashuttle.html <BR>http://www.Parishuttle.com/parishuttleus.htm

Well, I thought I had it all figured out, but just realized that there are multiple "Airport Shuttle" companies. I found "PariShuttle" and also "Airport Shuttle Paris". <BR> <BR>Has anyone actually used both services and can point out any major differences...? <BR> <BR>Thank you.

I think one of the problems with some airport shuttle companies is that they are overloaded with requests. It's hard to offer a personalized service with numbers so high. With so many customers they need to hire lots of drivers. You'd probably get better service from one of the smaller companies. I find this to be true with restaurants, hotels, and just about anything else in the travel industry. <BR> <BR>Angela