Paris Train Stations
 

I'm travelling by train from Montpellier to Amsterdam. The first train arrives at Paris Gare Lyon at 11:11am. The continuation train to Amsterdam departs from Paris Nord at 11:52am. Are these two different stations? How do I get from Paris Gare Lyon to Paris Nord in the 41minutes allotted? Thanks in advance.

Yes, they are most definitely two different stations. Best bet would be to go out to the taxi stand and take a taxi. Navigating the Métro when you aren't familiar with it would be cutting it close.

They are different stationss. Fastest would probably be a taxi.

There is a way to get there by Metro, but you would need to change lines. About 8 stops from GdL.

i would agree with the taxi idea although the journey planner at www.ratp.com says you can do it in about 14 minutes.

From Paris Lyon to Paris Nord is a seven-minute journey on RER line D, which is probably quicker than a taxi. If you've never been to Paris before, you'll probably find a taxi easier. I'd be tempted to book a later train to Amsterdam and have lunch in Paris, but that depends on the rest of your schedule.

You could take the RER, the metro, or a bus. As mentioned above, you can plan your route on the RATP website. Though this indicates you could get there in as little as 15 minutes, you have to walk from the train tracks to the station, find your platform, then get from the metro/RER station to the proper track once at Gare du Nord.

I'd recommend a taxi as well, with the hope that the queue is not too long, that it moves quickly, and that there's not much traffic.

You'll have to hustle. Even so, I would have a contingency plan, just in case, as you may not make it.

Finding the RER D platform at Gare de Lyon wouldn't take a whole lot longer than just getting out of the station to the taxi stand. It's on <i>Niveau</i> (Level) 2. There are signs everywhere showing where to go. You want <i>Direction Goussainville</i>. I would be surprised if it took five minutes to get there.

At Gare du Nord, the only requirement is to get upstairs from the RER to the <i>Grandes Lignes</i> platforms - and that's a piece of cake. Follow the SORTIE signs.

With the RER, you aren't dependent upon taxi queues or traffic conditions to keep on schedule. The ride is only 8 minutes and without changes, leaving plenty of time to get oriented.

What kind of ticket did you buy for the Paris-Amsterdam trip? Some fares have options for exchanging within a specific window of time.

I haven't purchased a ticket yet. I have a railpass, and put in Montpellier to Amsterdam on the Rail Europe web site (to make a reservation), and this is what they gave me.

Djkbooks - what kind of a contingency plan could I have?? Don't I have to make a reservation on one train or the other? What if I make reservations on the earlier train from Paris Nord, but dont't make it there on time (i.e. too much traffic, etc). Then what can I do?

With a pass you sometimes need to add on a seat reservation (as you do for the Thalys) and sometimes a supplement for the route.
I would say you would just have to repurchase the above for a later train if you miss the one you plan to take.

DON'T buy any rail reservations from RailEurope even though they are ownew by SNCF they will charge you MORE for a reservation than you'll pay if you get it after you arrive in Europe!

Unless there is a holiday period, etc., or you are planning to travel on a train which limits the number of reservations available to passholders, you'll save money buy getting all your seat reservations, etc., at the first rail station you enounter (the same one you'll use to validate your pass).

So please consider that possibility.

The Paris Metro never struck me as being luggage friendly. If you are toting a couple of heavy bags, rolling does not help on stairs.

Having taken the Metro from Gare de Lyon, I agree with the taxi idea. You don't need the potential delay of buying a ticket, negotiating the maze, finding the right train, and repeating the maze at the other end.

The taxi should bring you in on track level rather than in some subterranian tunnel.

Gare de Lyon is a huge station, but that also means that there should be a good supply of taxis in the rank.

I do not recommend riding the M&eacute;tro from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord. It is <b>RER Ligne D</b> that directly connects the two, and it is as luggage-friendly as any other train connection.

I don't think you are going to manage this very well at all unless you buy a rail reservation from Raileurope for that train, and probably take a taxi.

If you don't buy that reservation, you are going to have to stand in line at the train station to get one, and that is okay -- but I don't think you'd ever be able to do all that and make that train. YOu could for a later one, though. Those lines at any train station in Paris can be very long (to buy tickets or reservations).

I certainly agree in principle that one who knew exactly what to do and where to go could do this by the RER, but I kind of doubt if that would be true in this case.

I would be sure to understand what your backup plan/train time is. Sometimes the trains don't arrive on time - this isn't Italy. (ha ha)

The connection is not too bad, all things considered. The stations are in the same general section of Paris. I agree with the taxi choice.

I think a 41 min connection time is iffy - especially for someone who does not know the ropes.

If a Eurostar train from London is arriving like they do at least hourly expect long queues to get a taxi - sometime very long.

And getting to the RER station part of Gare de lyon is also time consuming and buying a ticket. I do believe you can buy a metro ticket from the bar car on most TGVs so do that if going by RER.

I'd give you a 50% chance of making connection especially since TGVs are apt to be late - the longer the distance the more likely.

Two weeks ago we took a taxi from Gare Lyon to Paris Nord to make the Eurostar. It took us 20 minutes just to get a taxi as the lines were long and taxis few plus Paris Nord can be a little confusing inside. Taking a later train might make your trip less stressful.

I don't know if this works in France too, but a few years ago in Scotland I missed a train and they just let me get on the next train without buying another ticket. As long as the route is the same it shouldn't matter. These were unreserved seats though, so it may be different for the reserved ones.

With that said, you should have no troubles getting between the two stations in 41 minutes. Unless you have lots of heavy luggage that slows you down in the RER.

Hi Chat,

www.voyages-sncf.com (The French National Rail Site) shows TGV 6204 leaving Montpellier for Paris at 07:37, arr Garde de Lyon at 11:11.

The THALYS no. 9333 for Amsterdam leaves Gare du Nord at 12:52, NOT 11:52.

You have plenty of time.

((I))

&lt;don't know if this works in France too, but a few years ago in Scotland I missed a train and they just let me get on the next train without buying another ticket.&lt;

no does not work on Thalys trains except for full fare tickets which are literally a hundred or more so bucks expensive than discounted fares you can book on sncf site Ira mentions or www.thalys.com - the cheaper tickets are not changeable or refundable.

So if you just buy a ticket before the train you'll pay dearly for that ticket.

sounds like OP has booked tickets but there are other options - such as doing Montepellier to Lyon then change to Lyon-Brussels TGV then regular hourly IC train to Amsterdam - could be quicker, cheaper and no hassle changing in Paris.

Ira -
On the date that I'm travelling (aug 5) it looks like the times I quoted are correct. See
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/...mp;_AGENCY=VSC

Am I missing something?

chatenever,

One thing you are missing is TinyURL. Your 141 character long URL is shortened to http://tinyurl.com/2tdvw7 at TinyURL.com. Then it doesn't run off the right side of the screen. Besides, it is empty. Nada, blank.

Direct Paris to Amsterdam is served exclusively by Thalys. There is a train nearly every hour from Gare du Nord. With a Eurailpass you are going to pay &euro;23 extra for a seat reservation.

For an intro to European trains go to http://tinyurl.com/eym5b.

Do not worry about it. Buy your reservation when you get to Gare du Nord. The best way to get there is well discussed by others above, and depends on how much luggage you have. You'll be looking like a tourist so beware of pickpockets in the stations of Paris and Amsterdam.

There is a train nearly every hour from Gare du Nord. With a Eurailpass you are going to pay &euro;23 extra for a seat reservation.

the problem with waiting until Gare du Nord to make this reservation is that many Thalys trains are fully booked, and even more will be soon when the high-speed rails are finished in Holland, making the journey but 3.5 hours and thus attracting folks who currently fly.

Show up and you may not get on that day - but depends what class - first class pass much better - probably but you could wait in line long time to do it. Do the necessary reservation in Montpellier at the station or any other French station - and if can leave more time between trains.

And to economize with a 1st class pass you can go second class and pay a much lower supplement/reservation fee. 1st class costs much more but also includes a fairly nice meal, at least bu judging in my experience - wine and all.

The RER D will indeed get you between the two station in less than 10 minutes for a grand total of 1.40 euros. The RER is extremely luggage-and-handicapped friendly with escalators and elevators in every station.

All train stations have excellent signage as well as information desks.

&lt;The RER is extremely luggage-and-handicapped friendly with escalators and elevators in every station.&gt;

not RER E and St Lazare - no escalators when i took the link - several small flights of stairs. Station renovations may change this

No part of the public transportation system is &quot;extremely luggage-and-handicapped friendly.&quot; There are some provisions for luggage in many RER stations (if the luggage is something like a carry-on), and there are some stations with elevators, but that's it.

In general, public transportation in Paris is for people without luggage or mobility problems. The subway system in particular is filled with stairs and turnstiles.

I was talking exclusively about the RER, not metro connections to it. Every RER station has elevators that go all the way to the surface and others that go all the way to the platform. If there is any complaint to be expressed regarding this, it is because the elevators are not always where you would want them to be. In the case of Haussmann-Saint Lazare, for example, the elevators are nowhere near the train station. Gare du Nord, on the other hand, has two different elevator banks inside the train station to connect to the RER.