PNWTripper

I'm researching our July visit to Paris and wondering about
the concerns presented here, and on numerous other forums, regarding
two, 60ish year old, relatively fit adults, each toting a 22-inch roller bag (pushed
in front of us through Metro gates or finding a suitcase turnstile), doing the following:

1) Taking the RER-B, from CDG (arriving Air France, Terminal 2E, from Boston, which I understand
is the closest terminal to the RER-B station) to Chatelet les Halles and taking the escalator to the
interchange level.
2) Walking through the tunnel to the Chatelet Metro station
3) Using the same 10-Euro tickets we bought at CDG for the RER-B, hopping
(we can't help ourselves, we're finally in Paris!), on the Yellow, Line-1, Metro and exiting at the
Saint-Paul stop (with an escalator to the street level), which is 500-feet from our rented apartment.

Based on my research, my questions are:
1) Is the RER-B considered an "express train" that thiefs
don't often frequent because there's quite a bit of distance between stops for them to exit with their booty?
2) Considering our arrival is 0910am, on a Friday morning,
how crowded would you expect the RER-B to be? I've read that having hand
luggage is a huge impediment to taking the RER-B.
3) How long of a walk is it from the RER-B stop at Chatelet Les Halles to the
Metro, Yellow, Line 1 at the Chatelet Metro terminal? I haven't had any luck finding a map that makes
any sense to me.
4) Is there other information you believe is important to making the decision between taking my proposed
transport over a taxi?

As always, Thank you in advance for your time, consideration and assistance.

Michael

RATP and RER tickets within Paris are not the same price as tickets from the suburbs to Paris. You will need to purchase a separate RER ticket as the carnet has tickets valid only within the city limits of Paris for the RER and to the end of all metro lines. Your RER ticket purchased at the airport to go to Paris is also valid on subway lines as long as there is a proper <i>correspondence</i>.

We seniors generally use the RER to and from CDG, but I have avoided the Chatelet station and cannot advise you in that regard.

jpie

Some thoughts on your questions:

Since you will be starting from CDG, the trains will be less empty and then start to fill up as you get closer in. So you should be able to sit and keep your bag close to you without too much issue. You might get some dirty looks from commuters since many will be coming into town to work about then. I lived and worked in Paris quite a few years and people do tend to get to work a bit later arriving around 10AM after dropping kids at school etc.

Unfortunately, this line is sort of known for pick pockets, and purse snatching kind of stuff-mostly starting at the gare du nord stop. At that point it has both folks from CDG and the trains on board-so more efficient I suppose I have made this trip many times with no problems, but my French sister-in-law has lost phone and wallet in two different incidents, so you do need to pay attention although it should be safe.

Another thing to know is that the Chatelet station is very large and you can walk long distances changing between the RER and the metro. You might consider getting out at Chatelet and walking from there since St. Paul is a straight shot down Rue de Rivoli and ggogle maps show it as 1 KM. or .6mile. It may be shorter than the transfer between lines and you can always stop for a coffee and croissant along the way!

I am not commenting on the turnstile issue since it has been a couple of years since I have taken the metro from CDG. I always splurge now and take a cab or the Air France Bus depending on where I am going. I am getting too old and lazy for the stairs and luggage hassles in the metro after a 10+hour flight since I never sleep

FrenchMystiqueTours

I answered on your Trip Advisor thread.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi....html#73668936

There is a difference between Châtelet, which is a métro stop, and Châtelet-les-Halles, which is an RER station and where the RER B will arrive from CDG. There is no métro at CDG, only the RER B and pickpockets are never an issue if your valuables are secure. You certainly won't be the only person coming from CDG into Paris with luggage. But I've covered all this info in my other response.

You can look at the overhead signs at CDG on the platform for the RER B to see if a train is direct to Gare du Nord or not. Châtelet-les-Halles is the next stop after Gare du Nord. At CDG, and all RER stations, when looking at the overhead signs those stops that have a light lit up next to them indicate all the stops the next train will make. If you must take a direct train to Gare du Nord then you can look at the following links for schedules:

Monday-Friday:

http://www.transilien.com/contents/f..._15_D61_LV.pdf

Weekends and holidays:

http://www.transilien.com/contents/f..._15_D61_SD.pdf

But the RER B train that is at the platform when you are standing there is always the fastest one and if you wait for a direct train to Gare du Nord it will take longer to get into Paris.

When you arrive at Châtelet-les-Halles just follow signs for métro 1 in the direction of Château de Vincennes and the correspondence is about 5 minutes from RER B to métro 1, which will be the stop called Châtelet. Hence the confusion many folks have about métro Châtelet and the RER at Châtelet-les-Halles. There is also the métro stop Les Halles but I won't get into that.

DebitNM

We have done this twice in each direction; it can be a bit hairy.

We only went 1 stop on the Yellow, 1 line the first time. Each time after [we stayed in the same apartment both times] that, we walked from and to Chatelet as it was simply easier.

"Saint-Paul stop (with an escalator to the street level)"
keep in mind that escalators on the metro may or may not be working...

Our last to visits to Paris, we took the train in so we didn't use the RER. BUT, we opted to use a car service for the trip to CDG; it was easier for sure.

yestravel

We do this on our trips to Paris and have never had any problems. I do dislike the Chatelet RER and metro stop there, but it's doable. I agree that it may be simpler and not much longer to just walk to St. Paul.

We are generally on the RER around 8ish and as mentioned it's not crowded at CDG. Never had any issues with our luggage on the RER. We just pull it in close to us.

Have a great trip!

kerouac

It's an easy trip.

Since the CDG2 RER station is a terminus, all trains go to Paris, so it is impossible to get on the wrong one. There is a train about every 8 minutes.

The Châtelet-Les Halles station is a bit of a mess since renovation will not be completed until next year, but it has big new signs everywhere indicating where to find the connecting lines. The control point between the RER and the metro system has glass panels that swing open now, so there is no getting caught in a turnstile.

A moving walkway will take you from Châtelet-Les Halles to Châtelet, and line 1 is right at the end of it. Stand on the right or Parisians will run you down.

Whathello

I agree on what has been said.
I dislike Chatelet les Halles - I was there again last week and I'm always surprised at the time it takes me to reach an exit. (rue Rivoli ths time). But yes, at least signage is back.

powhatangal

I know you haven't asked for alternatives for getting into Paris, but you might want to look at Easy Bus which leaves from Terminal 2 and goes direct to Palais Royale - Louvre. I take a taxi from there to wherever I'm staying - there's a taxi stand right there with ample waiting taxis.

I've used Easy Bus twice now to get into Paris and just used it a couple of weeks ago. The Easy Bus fare (which I had booked a couple of months earlier) was $1.65. The taxi to my hotel in the 5th was 7,80€.

jpie

I think powhatangal has a great idea. I would definitely consider easy bus-if I have time I love taking the buses into Paris over the RER. And from Paris Louvre you can also catch the metro 1 line down 4 stops to Saint Paul and then avoid the change at Chatelet.

http://www.easybus.com/en/paris-cdg-.../cdg-stop-info

http://www.easybus.com/en/paris-cdg-...ice-comparison

Ackislander

I'm researching our July visit to Paris and wondering about
the concerns presented here, and on numerous other forums, regarding
two, 60ish year old, relatively fit adults, each toting a 22-inch roller bag (pushed
in front of us through Metro gates or finding a suitcase turnstile), doing the following:

1) Taking the RER-B, from CDG (arriving Air France, Terminal 2E, from Boston, which I understand
is the closest terminal to the RER-B station) to Chatelet les Halles and taking the escalator to the
interchange level.
2) Walking through the tunnel to the Chatelet Metro station
3) Using the same 10-Euro tickets we bought at CDG for the RER-B, hopping
(we can't help ourselves, we're finally in Paris!), on the Yellow, Line-1, Metro and exiting at the
Saint-Paul stop (with an escalator to the street level), which is 500-feet from our rented apartment.

Based on my research, my questions are:
1) Is the RER-B considered an "express train" that thiefs
don't often frequent because there's quite a bit of distance between stops for them to exit with their booty?

No, it makes a lot of stops, more as you get into areas closer to the city. Plenty of places for bad guys to get on and get off the train but most of the people are just going to work.

2) Considering our arrival is 0910am, on a Friday morning, how crowded would you expect the RER-B to be? I've read that having hand luggage is a huge impediment to taking the RER-B.

It may be crowded, but it will be less crowded the longer it takes you to go through immigration. It is one of the rare times when "later is better." Commuting hours are later in Paris than in most US cities. On some trains you have to stand at the end of the car with luggage, and you absolutely should if people on the way to work need the space occupied by your bag. I don't remember any overhead racks.

3) How long of a walk is it from the RER-B stop at Chatelet Les Halles to the
Metro, Yellow, Line 1 at the Chatelet Metro terminal? I haven't had any luck finding a map that makes any sense to me.

Don't think of line 1 as "the yellow line" like the Green Line in Boston. It is that color on the map, but it is Line 1. Nobody will know what you are talking about if you refer to the color. It is a pain in the rear getting across the stations to the line 1 "Correspondance" (where you can transfer from one line or system to another). Good luck finding an escalator. Maybe the new signs will help.

4) Is there other information you believe is important to making the decision between taking my proposed transport over a taxi?

It's much cheaper (good news) but line 1 between Gare de Lyon and Louvre probably has more pickpockets than any other line in Paris (bad news).

The St Paul elevator has always worked when I was staing in the neighborhood. I'm older than you and have done it plenty of times, but then I'm cheap. If I had bigger bags than yours, I would get off at Gare du Nord and take a taxi. With the new fixed prices I might take a taxi the whole way.

As always, Thank you in advance for your time, consideration and assistance.

aliced

We have ten years on you two, and for our last two trips to Paris, last of which was Sept 2015, we take the RER B. No issues with 24" roller + large tote + large purse, and 22" roller + backpack. The line was very busy, we had our luggage near us, and fortunately had to make no changes as our hotel was at Luxembourg Gardens which is an RER B stop. Chatelet is a huge, sprawling stop and perhaps it is easier to exit the RER and continue on the street as suggested above. We bought the pass at CDG which requires 1x1" photo (we did it ourselves at home beforehand) which is valid on the RER and the Metro & buses, very handy. You can do it, no problem.

aliced

One additional thought, you can see the distance between Chatelet RER & Metro stops in a handy little book, Plan de Paris par Arrondissement (Arrondissement map). Handy. Every street is indexed there. Check at Boston libraries and bookshops? Had ours for probably 30 years and never leave home without it.

Lois2

As I read these posts and knowing chat elect I would just take a taxi..

FrenchMystiqueTours

To clear up confusion, Châtelet is a métro stop and Châtelet-les-Halles is an RER stop and the two are interconnected. Then there is the Les Halles métro stop but enough about that. As I mentioned in your TA thread, there are direct RER trains from CDG to Gare du Nord that make no stops between the two stations but you may have to wait for them so the fastest way to Paris is to get on the RER that is at the platform when you arrive.