Step by step catching a GTV from Rennes, then train to Les Halles
 

I promise I have tried very hard to find this out for myself but I'm feeling confused about what seems to be three different train systems in Paris. What is the differnece between the Metro and the RER and how do the GTV trains fit into this?

Specifically, I am catching the GTV from Rennes to Paris (Gare Montparnasse) and I then need to go to Les Halles station. We will have all our luggage so I don't want to wander round and get lost. Do I catch an RER train or a metro one and do they both leave from Montparnasse. Would I be better to get a cab to the hotel and leave the trains for later?

Thanks very much
Judy

Hi J,

Within Paris, the RER suburban commuter trains operate as if they were part of the city's Metro system.

Go to www.ratp.fr
click "Station" and enter Montparnasse and Les Halles.

It's a straight shot on the no. 4 Metro line.

((I))

PS,

It's a TGV, not a GTV.

Hello,
RER stands for Réseau Express Régional - Regional Express Network. It's the network of suburban trains that cover the whole greater Paris region. As Ira says, within Paris they operate pretty much like the metro system. But in fact, there aren't any RER trains that stop at Montparnasse so that's one less thing for you to worry about!

TGV stands for Train à Grande Vitesse or High-speed train. These are the intercity main line trains that only stop at Paris's main railway stations. (trains going to different parts of France operate from different railway stations - e.g. Montparnasse for Brittany and the south-west, Gare de Lyon for the south-east, Gare de l'Est for the east, Gare du Nord for the north, etc.)

As Ira says, to get from Montparnasse station to Les Halles you can go direct on metro line 4. It's only a few stops and the journey takes about 10-15 minutes. However, the platform for line 4 is quite a walk from the main train station - there are moving walkways but it's still quite a distance and there are a few stairs, so if you'll have a lot of luggage it would be a bit of a hassle.

Les Halles station is pretty big too, and I've always found it rather confusing (I always seem to come out of the furthest possible exit from wherever it is I want to go.)

Although the metro system is easy to use, if I were you I'd take a taxi this time, unless you are carrying very little luggage. It really won't cost that much and it'll save you a lot of energy and worry!

Good luck :)

Or, perhaps more effortlessly, get off the TGV train at Paris's Massy-Palaiseau-TGV station and transfer in that station to RER Line B that will take you directly to Chatelet Les Halles RER station, which is connected to the Les Halles metro station. Make sure your train stops at Massy as some do not - this station is just a few minutes before the train arrives at Montparnasse. I haven't done this change at Massy to know if it's complicated or not but may be much easier than transferring at the busy Montparnasse station with the long walk to line 4 platform there.

Thanks everyone. That makes sense now. I think I might take hanl's advice and get a cab with all the luggage and use the trains the rest of the time.

Cheers,
Judy

Hanl gives sage advice. Any interconnection from mainline train station like Montparnasse to either RER or metro is no snap with much luggage - can walk what seems like forever - perhaps confusing signs to follow if a novice metro traveler and then having to get luggage to fit through magnetic turnstile and out and potentially crowded trains --- enough said.