Paris transport
 

Good morning to all - we leave in 2 days for a whirlwind tour that includes 3 days in Paris - we will arrive by train from Amsterdam and our hotle is Hotel Residence Monge.
Hotel instructions say Metro: Cardinal Lemoine(line 10), Place Monge & Jussieu(line 17) - RER:St. Michael - Bus 47.
My question is I am so unfamiliar with public transportation that I am totally unclear whic of those would be the best route?
What is the RER?
If there is 2 lines listed under metro do I take both?
And would I jsut exit at Rue Monge from bus 47 and would that likely be easiest?
Thanks, I thought I had done so good researching, but as the time gets closer I am having mini-panic attacks-help please.
Thanks, Leslie

See

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/carterer.php

The RER is a regional railway service (the metro serves just central Paris), which goes out into the suburbs.

What the hotel is saying is that those are the nearest stations to them. Since you'll be arriving at the gare du Nord, you need the route from there. They all involve changing somewhere. The simplest looks to me to be to take metro line 4 to Odeon and change there to line 10 to go to Cardinal Lemoine or Jussieu.

But others here have stayed at your hotel and could no doubt give more expert advice.

The easiest way (one change) would be to ride Métro Ligne 5 to Place d'Italie, then change to Ligne 7 to Place Monge. Your hotel is 100 yards north of the Métro station.

You could also ride RER B (the suburban train) to Châtelet, then Métro Ligne 7 to Place Monge - but be warned: the change at Châtelet could be rigorous.

I would not recommend changing at RER St-Michel for Ligne 10, because the distance between them is many hundred of yards.

To make your own mini-transport guide centered on your hotel, see here: fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?tid=34987572

Leslie,

I think the easiest, which would involve only one transfer, is to take the RER to Saint-Michel, transfer to line 10 (direction Gare d'Austerlitz) and take it to Cardinal Lemoine. The Cardinal Lemoine station is right at the intersection of rue du Cardinal Lemoine and rue Monge. It is a short walk to your hotel, which will be on the other side of the street.

Enjoy your stay!

Thanks so much for all the great advice, as always, you guys are wonderful.
Leslie