Transportation/Paris
 

Our family is flying into Charles De Gaulle<BR>from the USA in August..what would be the<BR>best way to arrive at our hotel,<BR> The Opera<BR>Cadet located in the 9th district near<BR>the Lourve? Does anyone recomend any<BR>places to eat in this area?<BR>I did ask our travel agent but her answer<BR>from the airport is a $75 airport shuttle.<BR>Thanks for your replies.<BR>Susie [email protected]

Hmmmmmm ... depends on how many of you there are .... and whether you are carrying a lot of luggage and are more than 3 people. I took the Roissybus to Place Opera last time and thought it was great! It was 8 Euro and worked well. You could probably snag a cab or cabs from there if you wished. There is also the RER to Chatelet or??? which might be closer -- the problem is that taxis in Paris won't always take 4 people -- so if you are a larger group -- well maybe an arrange limo would work best in both time and money.

If your travel agent's best (and only) suggestion is $75 in from the airport, I hope you have a large family.

The RoissyBus goes directly from CDG to Op&eacute;ra, and I assume your hotel is close by, so that might be the most economical way to go. Otherwise, a taxi will cost you about $30-$40, depending on traffic, or you can take the RER, which I don't recommend after an all-night flight because it's just too much of a pain in the neck. There are plenty of taxis in Paris now that take 4 people - a Taxi Parisien guy will direct you to a station wagon or van if you have more than three people.<BR>The Op&eacute;ra area is not the best for restaurants - it's a bustling commercial area full of stores, banks, offices, etc. There are sandwich places and small caf&eacute;s, but for bistros, brasseries, restaurants, etc., you'll need to head just a bit farther away in any direction - no problem at all on foot or with the m&eacute;tro or buses.

That hotel is near the Cadet metro stop which isn't near the Louvre, nor that near the Opera, actually. It's around the corner from the Folies Bergere. I would suggest you take a taxi straight from CDG, given the location. I guess the $75 shuttle means you have 4 people? A taxi is cheaper, and I don't think it will be worth the trouble to take the bus to the Opera and then have to find a cab from there.<BR><BR>I don't know that area real well for restaurants, at least not over near the Cadet stop -- I would suggest for a budget working class restaurant (an old Parisian classic), you try Chartier at 7 rue du fbg Montmartre, it is only a few blocks.