RER in Paris
 

We arrive at Gare de Nord from London on the Eurostar. I have been looking into how to get to our hotel, HenriIV Rive Gauche. Was thinking taxi to avoid stairs, but last night thought I'd look into RER, which I had read about on other posts here, but really didn't investigate further.
It seems I could get the RER at the train station and get off at the ST. Michel/Notre Dame station and be fairly close to our hotel.
Can someone confirm that this would cost the same fare as a metro ride?(we would buy a carnet of tickets at the station before boarding) I assume this is an above ground train, and we would therefore have minimal stairs when boarding and arriving at St. Michel, is this correct? And do the RER trains run as frequently as a subway?, can't seem to find that info on the website.
Thanks for any help.

no, it isn't correct, the RER is entirely underground in the center of Paris. Do you think they'd have a train above ground running right by Notre Dame? well, they don't.

It's not too far, though, from that hotel -- about two blocks, it's not bad.

Within central Paris, the RER does cost the same as a metro ticket and uses the same tickets. They may not be quite as frequent as the metro, but pretty much in the center during the day, so don't worry about that.

Or you could avoid climbing down into the ground altogether, and take the scenic route - the RATP bus.

At Gare du Nord, take Ligne 65 (Direction Gare de Lyon) to Gare de Lyon-Diderot.

Board Ligne 63 (Direction Porte de la Muette) to Monge-Mutualité.

Here's a map of where you wind up (one minute walk from your hotel): tinyurl.com/yshfz7

So Christina. do you know if there is stairs, or do they have escalators at the RER stations/
Also, would you trust the RER to get you to CDG, or would you use a shuttle?
The website tells me it would take 45 mins to get there on RER, so if I allowed 1.5 hours, do you think we'd be okay? I just think the RER wouldn't have traffic problems, while a shuttle might.
Thanks again for any info.

The RER is at least as reliable as surface transport (offsetting train delays with traffic jams), and if RATP says it's 45 minutes, it's 45 minutes.

You could ride bus N° 47 (Direction Châtelet) from Rue Monge to the Notre Dame-Quai de Montebello stop and walk 4 minutes to the RER at St-Michel Notre-Dame.

Here is a great site for the information you're lookiing for: http://www.tiny.cc/qezoK

If you have a lot of luggage and don't want to do the stairs, go to a taxi stand and take a taxi. There are very few, if any, escalators and/or elevators at any of the Metro stations, so plan on taking lots of stairs if you choose the Metro/RER.

Also, make sure to give yourself lots of time at CDG to get through security - numerous passport checks and inspection stations. I had given myself two and a half hours and just made my flight to Canada.

Thre are some escalotors at the St Michel station but you do have a short flight of stairs to get up to the street.

If there are 3 or more of you , I'd book a shuttle service.

If taking the bus, it might be easier to take the #38 from the Gare du Nord to St. Michel or whichever stop on the Boulevard St. Michel is the closest to your hotel.

I have used the RER when arriving and I know for a fact the there is an elevator!!At least there is between Les Halle and Chatelet..We have taken the luggage up the stairs and we are not spring chickens.It seems the worst part was getting it thru the turnstiles where is was caught halfway thru.The RER runs just about as frequently and I think the stairs are less hassle than the transportation you are considering...Just take your time...

The N° 38 bus from Gare du Nord should only be contemplated if your luggage is extremely manageable. It's about 500 meters (Five Football Fields) from the Rue des Écoles stop on Bd. St-Michel to Rue des Bernardins.

The RER drops you several blocks from the hotel, too. See tinyurl.com/yshfz7 and zoom out until an RER symbol appears and you'll see what I mean.

Having said that - if you <u>do</u> decide to take the train, the ticket barriers in every RER station I've been through lately had a special gate at one end where plenty of room for luggage is provided.

tropicalkerry:

Inside Paris the RER is built on a much deeper level than the metro, so there are escalators and lifts at all stations. Many stations, however, do not offer escalators/lits for the last 20 or so steps.

In addition: keep in mind that the RER can get VERY crowded during rush hours, especially at a transfer station like Gare du Nord.

If not during rush hour, just take it. I took it from Gare du Nord to Luxembourg and back in July (22' trolley, 31 lbs :-) )

Enjoy your trip

Phil.

According to the RATP website..there are elevators in all RER stations (and none in metro lines except line 14)

I just did this exact journey 10 days ago from Nord to Henri IV Rive Gauche. I too had same questions as you...taxi via RER. I'd have strong recommendation for taxi. We opted for Taxi (actually needed two as there were 6 of us). It was very easy to get taxi's out of Nord--signs very clear. Less than 5 minute wait. Cost of taxi was 11.40 euro.(each taxi had same fare) Took RER from St michel station during my time there. Enormously long flight of stairs and then escalator as well as well as much walking within station to get from platform to street. Then 2-3 block walk to get to hotel assuming you pick the correct exit from this station---which is difficult first time in station.

thanks to all but especially esg...great to know how much the taxi cost, and since we'll have 2 large and 2 small suitcases, stairs were of concern. I don't wanna tire mysef out on day 1!!!

If you do take the RER, keep your ticket until you're back above ground. I don't know if it applies at all stations, but you usually need your ticket to get OUT through the turnstiles.

Here's a little secret for what you want to do if you decide to stick to the RER. When you get off at the St.Michel stop, follow the signs to the Cluny exit. There are escalators and a long flat hallway, then about 12 steps only out to the street. You come out on St. Germaine just to the east of St. Michel, so it is a bit further to walk to your hotel, but actually far less congested and easier than fighting your way through the crowds from the St. Michel stop. We stay at Rue St. Severin and discovered that it was FAR easier to do this than to get to the RER by entering at the actual St. Michel steps.

Thank you Neopatrick...I finally am doing more research , and looked at maps, and I thank you for the hint on avoiding crowds. My first choice will be a cab, but if none available, I have a Plan B now!

By the way, tropicalkerry, we arrived at Gare de Nord this summer (coming from Amsterdam) and took a taxi from there to our apartment which is right by St. Michel. We paid 15 euro including a nice tip. Traffic was fairly heavy -- mid afternoon. So it's not outrageous if you want to take the &quot;easy way out&quot;.

I think it's important to note that just because a station has an escalator, one cannot assume it will be working when you are there! Can't tell you how disappointing it is when loaded down with luggage and back pack and you find the escalator is dead. It's a real struggle for me at 5'3 and 120 lbs. to struggle up several flights of stairs.

I have a question in regards to this if you wouldn't mind a little more 411. I am staying at the Hotel Du Commerce and the hotel advised me to take the train RER line B and stop in Notre Dame St Michel.

I will be flying into CDG airport.

How does one get to the RER train station from the airport?

How much are train tickets and where do you buy them?

If our plane leaves the next day at 9am what time should I leave our hotel to make the flight. Some recommended getting to the airport 2 1/2 hours prior so leave at 6am?

Thanks
Ann

There are two RER stations, one in Terminal 1 and another in Terminal 2. The ticket windows are upstairs from the platforms - but if you have 8,20&euro; in your pocket, you can buy your ticket from a machine and save a long wait.

For your departure, your airline will tell you how far in advance they want you there, so just add a half hour to know when to be at the RER station.

&lt;According to the RATP website..there are elevators in all RER stations (and none in metro lines except line 14)&gt;

I can't imagine that the RATP website said that last part, because I can think of elevators at Saint Michel, Cit&eacute;, Saint Fargeau, Abbesses, Lamarck-Caulaincourt, Porte des Lilas, to name just a few elevator stations not on line 14.

I usually walk or take the metro. But, I would definately suggest that you take a taxi to your room from Gare de Nord. It's not expensive and it will get your vacation off to a good start.

Merci to all!

On the other hand, negotiating the RATP network will get you to your hotel with a keener sense of where you are and how to get places than if a taxi simply deposits you at your front door.

The complete list of elevators (<i>acenseurs</i>) is at http://www.ratp.info/informer/reseau_ferre.php. If it says <i>avec agent</i>, it means that an RATP employee has to operate the elevator, otherwise they're self-service.

&quot;On the other hand, negotiating the RATP network will get you to your hotel with a keener sense of where you are and how to get places than if a taxi simply deposits you at your front door.&quot;

Funny you should say that. I suppose if you took busses, that might be true, but one thing about taking the RER and/or metro is that you arrive in a neighborhood with no sense of where you are, what direction things are located, and how far other places are from you. Arriving by taxi and passing Notre Dame, the Louvre, seeing the Eiffel Tower in the distance, crossing the Seine, etc. really gives one a much better &quot;sense&quot; of the city than arriving underground.

I don't think simply following directions for how to get to the RER station at CDG and then riding it gives one THAT much knowledge of getting around -- and plenty of time to do that later when you aren't also encumbered with luggage or still being jet lagged.

That's all true about tunnels - but if you have to locate your hotel on a map with respect to the train stop before you can put down your suitcase, you already know a lot more than &quot;the Eiffel Tower is that way&quot; and &quot;oooh, look - there's the Louvre&quot; (which 99% of people wouldn't recognize anyway unless they saw Pei's pyramid).

I don't have trouble negotiating directions in the various subway systems of the world that I have used. When in unfamiliar territory, the first thing I check on a map is N-E-W-S. If I am coming from the north (like CDG) and going south, I keep in mind at all times that the front of the train is the south and the back of the train is the north. When exiting, I try to continue to retain this information while noting what left turns or right turns are doing to the direction. Yes, this is tricky sometimes. Nevertheless, I would say that in 90% of modern transport systems, there is a neighborhood map at the exit for you to get your precise bearings.

However, I do know that some people have absolutely no sense of direction, and I would tend to assume that it is these people who are the most militant for taxi use or any other imaginable excuse to support being deposited in front of their destination's door.

Sorry, Kerouac, that was my mistake, I was talking about elevators for wheelchair users (which is the list Robespierre provided later), I should have clarified that :)