skatterfly

Hi everyone,
Can someone give me ballpark taxi fares for taxis leaving Gare du Nord to get roughly to the St Chappelle or Odeon neighborhood?

Our appartment manager recommends a taxi/limo service that will be about 70 EU door to door (including baggage), which sounds ABSURDLY expensive compared to a metro ticket. BUT, we're 4 adults, travelling with a baby (and stroller, and backpack carrier) even though our individual bags are fairly light carryons.

If we were to just grab a taxi(s) when we get there, we'd likely need 2 taxis, or 1 if we were lucky enough to get a van... but we're not bringing our carseat and I'm reluctant to do this. The limo service would guarantee a car seat.

We've all been to Paris before pre-baby so I am completely comfortable on the Metro, but perhaps not with all the baby gear and luggage. We'll be arriving by Eurstar around 2-3 pm on a Monday... what's the usage like at that time?

Anyway, I guess I'm trying to understand the price differential between hiring the taxi service, or having one couple go ahead with all the luggage and hopping on the metro with my baby and husband, hoping we all arrive around the same time.

What do you think?

Thanks,
Kat

WillTravel

I am a little confused by the title, since neither Ste-Chappelle nor Odeon is in the 7th.

I think it would work okay to have your parents take all the luggage in a taxi while you, husband, and baby went by metro.

skatterfly

Ooops, duh... I literally am so tired (it's bedtime here in California) and I must have Saint Chappelle on the brian. I meant St Sulpice/Odeon. I actually was drifting off to sleep and realized my mistake, then had to get up to make the correction.

Sorry about that confusion, and thanks for posting so quickly.

So, do you know the rough fare for that route on taxi?

Then of course I have this new thing I'm curious about... I've read all these "theft" warnings here on Fodors about bands of people on mopeds targeting taxis (of course from CDG). Of course this wasn't even a second thought when I went to Paris just 3 years ago, but some of those posts here even have me a little concerned that someone could hit the taxi my folks are in and make off with something important. Geez... it's really time to go to bed.

Thanks,
Kat

skatterfly

And Will, isn't Odeon metro stop in the 7th? Oops, I guess not. I'm staying right on the edge of the 7th by the 6th and these two metro stations are good landmarks and walking distance to where we're staying.

Sorry for any further confusion... I mean Odeon or St Sulpice METRO stations.

Thanks,
Kat

ira

Hi skatterfly,

Both Odeon and St. Sulpice stops are in the 6th.

Just where are you staying? A pair of cabs might be the most convenient way, even if the cost is higher.

They take you to your door.

Flyboy

The cost of two cabs from Gare du Nord to Odeon metro station would not even begin to approach anything close to the 70 Euros for limo service and I agree that it would be absurdly expensive for the service involved.

WillTravel

But skatterfly doesn't want to take a cab due to not having a car seat, which seems quite reasonable. In that case, I think the cab for her parents and metro for skatterfly, husband, and daughter would work fine.

skatterfly

Thanks for the feedback, folks. I am glad to hear that 70EU does sound absurdly expensive to others.

Just to clarify, I'm staying about 100 meters from St Sulpice metro station, though I included the Odeon station in case more people were familiar with that one.

If anyone has an idea what a taxi to this neighborhood, I'd love to hear it. But I'm pretty convinced not to set up the private car service, even if it's a bit complicated to split up the party. I just don't want to get in a cab without a carseat.

Thanks,
Kat

Travelnut

We once took a cab from Gare du Nord to Place Monge in the 5th, which should be about equidistant to your area. The fare for 2 + 2 bags was under 15E. There will be a small add'l charge for each bag, and the stroller, not sure if there is an extra per-person charge.

I'm not clear on your statements though...if you won't take a taxi w/o a car seat, why are you asking for fare estimates..? unless you plan to take the suggestion to send part of your party by cab, and take baby via metro?..
BTW, St Sulpice and Odeon are on Line 4 which has a connection inside Gare du Nord. Do not accept offers of "help" from anyone in Gare du Nord for buying metro tickets(scam) - go to the billets window and buy them. You disembark your train, start walking away from the tracks, veering toward the left.. look for "Billets" window in a kind of open area. If you are facing the billets window, the entrance to metro Line 4 is behind you. At least, this is how I recall it from a few months ago.. The taxi ranks are outside; everything is signposted.

Christina

I'm all for safety with babies in cars, but don't think getting from Gare du Nord to your place by metro with a baby is going to be safer than by taxi w/o a car seat. I imagine there are just as many or more accidents in the metro system than taxi crashes each day. I don't mean the trains crashing, but people falling or getting pushed etc.

I don't see a lot of people carrying babies in the metro cars.

I agree the 70 euro is preposterous. It would be expensive from the airport, but about what I'd expect for a limo, but not from Gare du Nord. There might be some minimum payment for a limo, however. I'd bet on 15-20 euro for a taxi from there.

clairobscur

A taxi should be in the 10-15 € range...

kerouac

The RER from CDG to Gare du Nord, including the metro transfer to Odéon costs 7.85 euros per adult.
CDG>Gare du Nord is maximum 25 minutes (and sometimes as little as 12 minutes if you get a non-stop train), and Gare du Nord to Odéon on line 4 is another 10 minutes.
To take a taxi from Gare du Nord, not only will you have to wait, but you will also have to pay an extra fee for leaving from a train station, plus a fee for each piece of baggage put in the trunk, plus the amount of the fare which is likely to be a rip off if you don't know the route.

kerouac

Oops, sorry, I missed the Eurostar part. But the part about the taxi rip off still goes.

skatterfly

Thanks everyone, this was the kind of info I wanted to compare... just to know that 2 taxis would cost about 30-40EU and the limo/taxi would be 70EU...

but...

Christina, I'm alarmed by your reply. I hadn't heard that babies aren't essentially "safe" on the metro because of falls or being pushed. Are the pickpockets so out of hand they're pushing down people with babies? What exactly do you mean by this, and is it your recommendation that we ride buses instead? (I mean this seriously... not sarcastically, as sometimes a series of questions "sounds" online.) thanks!

~kat

marcy_

Kat,
I can't answer for Christina, but what I think she's saying is that there is risk involved with any form of transportation.

No one can say that riding the metro is perfectly safe, or the buses, or a taxi without a car seat. Even as a pedestrian you run a certain degree of risk every time you cross a street.

I'm a big believer in carseats for kids, but probably in your situation I would take 2 cabs and buckle my toddler in a seatbelt.

Is this ideal? -- No, but I would probably feel comfortable with that amount of risk in this situation.

If you're not comfortable with doing that, that's fine. I just wouldn't kid yourself that the other modes of transportation are risk-free.

Christina

I didn't mean to alarm you, but underground systems are difficult in any city with crowds, and all the walking around, stairs, etc. You've been on them, so you can judge as well as I how comfortable you are with the general atmosphere. If you think they seem fine, I don't know anything special. My reference wasn't to pickpockets at all, just how crowded things can get at times, and how you'll have to manoeuver around turnstiles, up and down stairs, etc. If the cars are crowded (which they can often be), you have to sort of fight to get your way on and off.

This isn't on my radar screen that much as I don't travel with an infant, I'm just saying that I don't recall seeing very many people with infants on metro cars. I do see people with toddlers occasionally.

Don't gree with kerouac about the potential for being ripped off in taxis. I'm sure it happens as with any taxi in any city, but I've never had it happen to me and I've been to Paris and taken taxis there more than a few times. Paris doesn't have any reputation for a large number of bad taxi drivers that I know of.

I don't think it's impossible, I just wouldn't plan on it being that easy to take a baby on the metro. I personally would think a taxi a lot easier.

taggie

I don't think Christina meant you'd be "attacked" with your baby. She meant the same thing that I was thinking... that sometimes the metro is crowded, people push when getting on and off.... sometimes there are sudden stops and people stumble and can fall, or fall into other passengers. And people are often in a rush getting to the trains, so walking while holding on to a toddler could put you in the way of foot traffic. If someone's intent on getting to where they need to go they might not be as careful as you'd wish them to be.

Although the taxi w/out a car seat isn't ideal, I do think it would be the easiest and safest in your case.

skatterfly

Thanks for the clarification, Christina. I certainly didn't mean to imply you thought I'd be attacked or anything... and I completely respect and trust the kind of advice you always give here at Fodors. Yes, I know how the metro can be, and didn't want to use it exclusively... but on those times we need to cover large ground it seems a good thing.

Here where I live in the Bay Area we have bart, which my daughter actually enjoys, but it's much more civil and orderly than any metro I've been on. So it's a good reminder how crowded and pushy they all get.

I'm still not sure how I feel about baby without a carseat... since they drill it in your head never even go anywhere without one. I wonder what people in NYC do when taking taxis with baby. Hmmm... gonna go find out.

~kat

Travelnut

Aren't you flying without a separate 'car seat' on the plane? I thought I had read that you were considering holding child on your lap...so perhaps this last trip is an extension of that..?

ealing_calling

Hi again . . .

OK here's another thought. Your métro stop is on the pink #4 line, direct from GduN. Give everyone else all the luggage for the taxi * ) Then just you and babe hit the subway . . .

The #4 has a separate entrance from the other métro and RER lines -- very close to the stairwell down from the main concourse. You're not arriving during rush hour & don't have any hairy correspondances. Only 8 stops, and you're there.

Speaking as a small girl who loooooved trains (& still do), getting to go on 2 trains in 1 day will be really exciting for your babe & she'll be fine in arms on the métro. Let the others schlep the heavy stuff and just have some fun to start off the Paris leg of the trip. You're in a great neighborhood!

(And, don't miss Café de la Mairie right on St-Sulpice square, and Café Bonaparte just by St-Germain-des-Pres) . . . HTH!