Paris questions
 

I'm heading to Paris soon for a week. I've been there many times (the last time five years ago) and I'm looking to do some things I haven't done before. First, I want to take a ride on the Seine. I'm not sure why I haven't done this before, but I think it's time.

I'm staying in the 5th. I'll be taking the RER from CDG to my hotel. According to the hotel's website, the hotel is about 300 feet from Luxembourg stop. Are there local and express trains? If so, does the express train stop at Luxembourg? My flight is scheduled to arrive at CDG at Terminal 2E. From a map it appears that the RER is close by. Is there a lot of walking from Terminal 2E to the RER? Stairs? I travel light, but a lot of stairs will not be fun.

Metro/bus passes. I want to buy a pass for a week. Can I buy this at the airport? What are they calling their passes these days?

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. I've read how important it is to store valuables away from pickpockets. Other than that, is it safe to go there alone? Safer to go by metro or bus? I make jewelry and I'm hoping to find unique and inexpensive trinkets. Is this the place? Are there other flea markets that might suit my interests better? I'm definitely not in the market to buy furniture/antiques, but browsing is always fun.

Marche d'Aligre. It sounds exciting and colorful and a good place to play with my camera. Is this area safe?

Chinatown. I can't get dim sum where I live so I plan to get some while in Paris. Is Chinatown a safe area? I've read recommendations for both La Chine Massena and Tricotin for dim sum.

Any recommendations for beads stores in Paris?

I have a long list of possible restaurants. I'm not on a tight budget, but I don't go to very nice restaurants when I'm dining alone. Yes, I know I can and did so when traveling for work. I want to stay low/moderate end for this trip. Also, I like to eat dinner early (not very European, I know). Any comments on my list for lunches and dinners?

La Jacobine - French
La Bievre - Moroccan (I've eaten here before)
Boco - cafeteria
Babalou - Italian
La Feria - Spanish
Prik Thai
Le Palais de Raja Maharaja - Indian
DeliBay - Asian
La Crete - Greek

I'm also going to Belgium where I will eat mussels until they come out my ears. And then Amsterdam and The Hague where I have more multi-national choices.

Thanks. Diane

I know I have a lot of questions. Surely, someone would be kind enough to answer at least one. I found bead stores, so that's one question that doesn't need answering. Thanks. Diane

Blimey, give people time!

Marché d'Aligre: perfectly safe area, though as with any crowded area where people are likely to be distracted, use your common-sense to protect your valuables. Don't forget the covered Marché Beauvau in the middle of the street market.

Personally, I've never used weekly passes in Paris, since AFAIK for some reason they only start on Mondays, and I'm usually there for long weekends. Carnets are enough for me, but you could check out www.ratp.fr (NB their English language pages push the Paris Visite pass and don't tell you anything about any other passes, for which you'll need the French version).

All of the places mentioned are safe, including the flea market. Just keep things unaccessible to pickpockets and you should have no problem.

I don't think there are any express RER trains from the airport at the moment due to work they are doing on the tracks, but it only means about 10 minutes difference in travel time. CDG to Luxembourg should be about 40-45 minutes. No stairs to worry about in the RER -- there are escalators and (harder to find) elevators.

For your purposes I wouldn't bother with the big Marche aux Puces. Glad you found your beads.

For the RER, the express trains may skip stops in the suburbs, but they stop at all of the Paris stops.
There may be stairs, but neither the airport nor Luxembourg are very deep stations.

St Ouen is safe, but huge. You may find more of what you are looking for at the Vanves market.

I rarely eat Chinese in Paris. I am very sensitive to msg (48h migraines) and there is a ton of msg in the local Chinese food.

I often eat at non-French restaurants. I do not know a single name on your list. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I simply can't help you. Other affordable food that I do know and like would be Mai Do (Viet), Au Bambou (Viet), Chez Vincent (Itai), Kunitoraya (Jpn) and the tagine place at the Marché des Enfants Rouges.

when we stayed near the RER Luxembourg stop about 2 years ago they were working on it so we had to lug our luggage up some stairs; with any luck they have finished it by now.

there are lots of staircases and corridors at CDG on the way to the RER station, but they are all escalators and moving walk ways so no climbing or long walks to be done.

have a great trip!

Thank you all for your assistance. With the exception of La Jacobine (recommended by a friend) and La Bievre (I've eaten there before) I got this list of restaurants from Tripadvisor. At least for hotels it's been a good source. Along with this forum, traveling has become easy.

I'm staying in a budget hotel, Hotel Cujas, near the Sorbonne. I'll report back on my experience there.

We stayed on Rue Le Goff in May. I don't believe there are escalators at the Luxembourg station but as another post noted it's not a big stairway.