lemidi,

Just checked the site - are you taking about the VIP service instead of the shuttle service? The VIP service mentioned that they meet you on arrival(no need to call them) and the price seems good.

In terms of the RER question, it is an absolutely straight shot with no transfers. And if you can get one of the 'non-stop to Paris' trains, the RER will only stop 3 times after the airport -- Gare du Nord, Châtelet, and Saint Michel. In that case, the trip won't even take 30 minutes.

As pleasant as a private shuttle may be, I would say you are engaging in a trip of at least 90 minutes if you try to go by road.

kerouac,

You mentioned that we should look into the "non-stop to paris" routes - do they come by often, or just a couple times in the hour?

Also, the RER station we would get off at is St. Michel Norte Dame? Is it a metro station as well as an RER station?

I saw discussions of escalators/elevators - would we have a difficult time at both CDG and St. Michel with our luggage? Lots of stairs and longs walks?

I was checking the RER timetable and learned something I didn't know. The non-stop trains are at certain times of the day only. For example, there are non-stops at 15:25, 15:40 & 15:55 and then there are no more non-stops until 19:13, 19:28, 19:43, 19:58, 20:13, 20:28, etc.

For the time period of interest to you, the trains do make a few stops in the suburbs -- probably mostly for the benefit of airport employees who are finishing their shifts.

Here are some schedules for trains leaving CDG 2 with the arrival time at Saint Michel-Notre Dame:
16:48>17:28
16:55>17:34
17:03>17:43
17:10>17:46
17:18>17:58
17:25>18:01
You can count on a train about every 10 minutes or less.
Escalators and elevators at the airport, of course. At Saint Michel-Notre Dame, you would take the exit at the end of the train, which is a succession of 3 long escalators, followed by the last short one that takes you right up to the sidewalk in front of Notre Dame. Your problems wouldn't start until there, if your luggage is unwieldy, because it's true that you might not find a taxi for such a short distance. If your suitcases all have wheels, you will survive with no problem -- just walk along the left hand side of Notre Dame and keep going.

<i>For the time period of interest to you, the trains do make a few stops in the suburbs -- probably mostly for the benefit of airport employees who are finishing their shifts.</i>

Not really, although that is also a factor. You will note that at peak hours there are no more uptown direct trains either.

At peak-hours, there may be up to 6 trains per 15 minutes on the northern trunk of the RER B (from Gare du Nord to Aulnay). Shoving non-stopping trains in this pattern is

<i>For the time period of interest to you, the trains do make a few stops in the suburbs -- probably mostly for the benefit of airport employees who are finishing their shifts.</i>

Not really, although that is also a factor. You will note that at peak hours there are no more uptown direct trains either.

At peak-hours, there may be up to 6 trains per 15 minutes on the northern trunk of the RER B (from Gare du Nord to Aulnay). Shoving non-stopping trains in this pattern is quite difficult, so they are dropped.

Besides, at peak hours, a 20% drop in capacity is hard to cope with.

Even at &quot;normal&quot; times, the path of direct trains is drawn in the least conflictuous way : 60 km/h all the way, two blocks behind a stopping train.

When Roissy-Rail was launched in 1976 with shuttles to/from Gare du Nord, the journey time between GdN (ground station) and CDG was ... 17 minutes !

The increase in service brought by the RER B has led to much more &quot;relaxed&quot; train paths.

19 minutes in 1979. I was being too optimistic.

Anna: By &quot;carryon&quot;, do you mean a small overnight type bag? Or is it another suitcase (19&quot;)? If two suitcases, I would take a shuttle.

I ride the RER with a smallish 24&quot; wheeled suitcase and a little overnight (carryon) bag. The small bag has a band at the back which slips over the extended handle of the suitcase. At the airport, I put a luggage strap around both to keep the top bag from sliding around. Voila!...a stable, manageable bundle.

When you go to the ticket office, write down your destination and the number of tickets you wish to purchase. Just give it to the clerk. From there it's a short escalator down to the platform. Keep your ticket until you exit the system in Paris---you may need it to get out.

We board at the front of the train. When we get off in Paris, there's one short flight of stairs which bring us out at Blvd St Germain (the opposite end to what you want). I've never done this, but it's my understanding you should board at the back of the train in order to alight at the &quot;Notre Dame&quot; end of the arrival station. Others here can confirm or clarify that. Perhaps they can tell you exactly which &quot;sortie&quot; sign to look for: &quot;Notre Dame&quot;? &quot;Ile de la Cite&quot;? We roll our bags about 8 blocks to our hotel.

It is now my preferred mode. Nothing beats coming up out of the station to find Paris all around you!

Hi Anna
The service we used was the VIP service. The driver was waiting for us outside baggage claim with a sign with our name (misspelled though so I am glad I was able to guess he was there for us).
To book: We emailed them a request for a reservation, they e-mailed back a request for a credit card number only for a guarantee. We had to pay cash on arrival. This is why I had the driver stop at a debit machine in the city rather than worry about a debit machine in the airport. I never change money before I leave home.
Worked out great and very cheap for what we got. I would use them again.

Regarding the RER into Paris: If you do not take the nonstop train (I wish I knew there were nonstops this past summer) the train may make a stop at every town and suburb along the way (some of which you may have heard of on the news in the past year). When I took it there were about 7 stops before gare du Nord. And, sorry Kerouac but this is not only for the benefit of airport employess going home but also for the benefit of picking up passengers going into the city. And I mean many passengers and all kinds of passengers...So this could take longer than a taxi or shuttle and will not be as comfortable.

Regarding luggage and escalators the airport does have elevators going down to the RER so no problem but getting out of the metro just be aware that those escalators are steep so no one should try with luggage if they have any walking problems or blanace/health issues.

The trains that make intermediate stops don't take significantly longer to get to Gare du Nord than the nonstops. The 8h48 that makes 7 stops arrives at 9h23, and the nonstop 8h55 arrives at 9h26.

Look up the schedules (<i>horaires</i>) at ratp.fr if you want to know the actual times of any trip. The idea that the RER can take longer than a taxi or shuttle is pure horsefeathers.

lemidi, obviously the RER picks up passengers going into Paris at the other stops, but I was referring to the majority of passengers at that particular time of day -- between 4:30 and 6 p.m.

Kerouac, respectfully, I was only mentioning the pick up/drop off bit because I did see many more passengers getting on than off and it became very congested. If it is NOT nonstop it is less of an airport shuttle train than a local transport system for the entire city it seemed and can be a bit disconcerting for one recently arriving off a flight. Not good/not bad just a fact. There is a reason Anna mentioned that they do not want to take the RER originally.

The reason Anna mentioned was &quot;One person in our party is really against the RER, but I don't think she(nor I) knew that we could get off at the RER station on Ile de Cite.&quot;

One glance at an RER map would have cured their ignorance.

lemidi,

You mentioned that if it isn't a non-stop train to Paris, we would hit some stops in the suburbs, and actually go through some of the stops that we talked about during the riots.

I know this is probably false, but I was nervous about going through those areas also.

I was excited when I was on the RER and saw the names of suburbs that have only recently come to the attention of most Americans since the riots -- I had no idea of the lay-out until I was on the train and saw Courneuve and Saint Denis, (sp?) on the map. It was interesting to get a glimpse/reference of Paris that isn't just part of our packaged tourist cliches. If you're afraid or intimidated by the presence of any Black youth, then maybe stay off public transportation. I'm not trying to be snide or inflammatory -- just be honest with yourself about what makes you uncomfortable.

BTW, taking the Eurostar from London into Paris is so much easier and plesant than dealing with either of those horrid airports. Something to consider if people want to check out London a couple days before moving on.

Wow, there is a huge difference between black youth and rioting youth. I am sure most black you would resent any implication that where there are black youth there are riots.

Although fishee, I know you did not mean it that way, the statement that wasn't supposed to be inflammatory inflammed me so here I am again. It was not the color of the people that were getting on and off the RER, most of whom were caucasian as a matter of fact, but the behaviour of some of the characters. When I was on the line I did not even realize we were passing through &quot;those&quot; suburbs. It was not until I returned home and found people on this site repeatedly questioning the safety of the RER line B into Paris that I realized where we passed.
I admit I was a little nervous at night on that line but make no mistake it was not because of black youth. I know you understand the feeling fishee, like your last night in Paris when the man was following you. As the waiters said he was not a criminal.

Yes, but so many people don't make any distinctions at all and are just afraid or intimidated by all Black kids.

Non-white urban kids are constructed as criminals.

sorry lemidi, we're posting at the same time... I totally missed the anecdote you're referring to so I wasn't making any comment in relation to specific posts about this.

I was just responding to the OP who seemed to be articulating some general discomfort about going through particular suburbs. I may have missed some context here.

I think you are confusing a lot of issues, lemidi. She wasn't referring to that particular route or the suburbs about black youth, but public transportation, in general. In fact, those suburbs have a different demographic in the majority.

Regarding the stalker, waiters cannot know whether someone is or is not dangerous or criminal, and having been at the receiving end of a couple (one in Paris, one elsewhere), guys who act that way often are dangerous and disturbed, because they have no sense of what is correct behavior and they don't care what the person wants and the person they are pursuing is often not a real person to them. It isn't cute nor funny nor harmless, those kind of guys can be mentally deranged and can harm people. A waiter has no omniscient knowledge of that. I am rather less polite about these things than fishee was, as I get rid of them but I have called the police to remove one (luckily, the police just happened to be nearby for other reasons, but it worked). I don't engage in conversation with them as much as fishee did, though, as it doesn't matter what you say, talking to them at all is encouraging because you are interacting with them. Professionals tell you this, also, you don't converse with them.

I prefer the direct RERs that make their first stop at Gare du Nord for comfort. The RERs that stop in all the burbs fill up quickly and at rush hour you can count on being a human sandwich for 40 minutes.

I am typically in favor of the RER but since there is not direct one at your time I am going to have to cast my vote for taxi.

Morganb,

Thanks for the info - I was wondering if it would get extra crowded around rush hour, especially since we wouldn't have the luxury of a non-stop to Paris

I agree that it sounds like the OP will be more comfortable all around with a cab and shuttle.

Once the questions go from logistical concerns (stairs, escalators) to social/demographic concerns, it just seems like public transportation might not be the best option for some.

And christina, i agree with you, as it's easy for men who have probably never been stalked, to be quite dismissive about such things.

Anna, Once you are situated in Paris, over any jetlag and without luggage do be sure to take the metro most anywhere. It is economical and convenient and as safe as any other mode of transportation.
Let us know how things work out if you use the paris airport shuttle service.

lemidi,

I'll let you know if we go with that company, since it looks like we might be using them.

By the way, did you use that company both leaving CDG and going back to the airport also? Do you have any delays in picking up bags, or in security that the company had to wait for you? Were you charged extra for the wait? Were they waiting for you without you having to call them?

Anna, We did not have to call the company. It was prearranged that the driver would be waiting for us outside baggage claim and there he was. That is part of the VIP service. No calling, they are there waiting.

I do not recall that we had any unusual delays upon arrival so there were no extra charges. That is a good question that you can ask them when you make a reservation via e-amil: Are there any extra charges for a late arrival or delay? I don't think there would be though because they always reconfirm flight arrival times before going to the airport and besides a late flight they should be prepared for any type of customs delay and not charge you for it. You are not being charged by the hour, it is a flat fee. For any unusual delay you could give the driver a larger tip.

We did not return to the airport from Paris. We actually took a taxi to the train station for a trip South.

&gt;&gt; I know this is probably false, but I was nervous about going through those areas also. &lt;&lt;

You will go through them nonetheless, even if it's on a motorway !

Direct trains have been a demand from ADP (the authority that runs Paris airports) since the beginning. [ADP takes its share on the price of the ticket, more than 3&euro;]. The CDG rail service was launched in the late seventies as a CDG-Gare du Nord shuttle (the RER B tunnel between Lxembourg and Gare du Nord wasn't built yet).

Since in the late seventies there were less trains on the tracks between GdN and Aulnay, the directs were able to speed. Now, they have to be shoved into a busy pattern. There are 4 tracks between GdN and Aulnay, however, if you look carefully, there is a huge freight sorting facility at le Bourget/Drancy (*) that hinders the use of 2 tracks out of 4 for the RER.

At peak hours, the increase in the number of trains makes it simply unbearable technically to keep the directs. Plus, as kerouac says, the need to transfer workers to/from the airport.

I've been a teacher in the much defamed Seine St Denis, I've ridden many, many times this stretch of the RER, and never had a problem (save for the smell in the trains in summer...)

(*) On a side track of the sorting facility, there is a monument-wagon with a lot of grim and suffering in it. I could never part with the remembrance of the darkest times when going through Drancy.

There are plans, at least 10 years from now, for a new direct non-stop rail link from CDG to Gare de l'Est. Gare de l'Est would have flight check-in facilities and baggage would also be checked there.

Lemidi, so we can compare this kind of service to all the others available and suggested, what was the cost?

Here's a link to my website with pros/cons and travel tips for getting from CDG into the city.

http://www.parisescapes.com/paris_cdg_to_paris.html

I've always recommend like Kerouac taking the RER and don't find that taking an express vs. local makes that much of a time difference. But, I have on occasion taken cabs, Air France bus and Roissybus. I've never taken a private shuttle due to the cost and hassle factor. I would always take the RER, even if I had to struggle with my luggage, at rush hour because the traffic is a nightmare into the city.

Gretchen, This was my post ffrom 12/20 to Anna:

check out www.parisairportservice.com . I used them in 2004 and found them to be reliable and inexpensive with a very friendly driver who even stopped at a debit machine for me to withdraw funds away from the airport. For our group of 6 it cost only 80euros from CDG to city center and the driver was waiting for us outside customs.

I just checked their site and the prices are still the same. For your group of 3 it would cost only 65euros for a private car awaiting you upon arrival.
I think I may have gotten the name of this company from this site back then.

From today:
I agree that the RER is very convenient whether nonstop or not however for me after a long transatlantic flight and with alot of luggage I don't mind sitting back and resting while a driver navigates into the city and drops me off in front of my destintion (if the price is right).
In some circumstances and I've tried all methods, after alighting from Air France shuttle or the RER there is still a question of additional transport (and expense) to the hotel or apartment unless we can be lucky enough to be within a few blocks of the accommodation. All modes of transport work well for different situations.

That is a very good price for 6. it might not be particularly good for 3-4, but everyone has their own comfort level for this expenditure. A taxi is our &quot;gift&quot; to ourselves for an easy ride to our hotel. We have done the RER when travelling with our daughter so I know that method. I didn't like finding the right train to CDG from Gare du Nord--almost got on the wrong one. And luggage at rush hour IS a problem.

HI Gretchen
The shuttle prices vary by amount of passengers. I checked and for 3 it is 65euros which is not much more than a taxi amd this includes the driver waiting outside baggage claim.

I know, that is what you said. But a taxi--walking out to the queue--is usually about 45E for us. That's a meal.

May I remind everyone about the original question and the &quot;during rush hour&quot; aspect? How many people think that 2 hours in traffic is more delightful than 30 minutes by rail?

The worst traffic I have ever been in in my life from trying to get toward Paris from CDG in the middle of the day (nowhere near rush hour). The RER is so fast and easy compared to driving I will always only take that from now on.

Sorry Gretchen. I thought you were originally referring to the 80euros and didn't see the 65euros.