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Scenario-What to expect
arriving at CDG
Grocery store at the airport
Shopping mall close to CDG
The village "Roissy" close to the CDG airport
What to expect
On the plane when I am returning home from work, that is
my most frequently asked question.
Jet lag is about to slap you in the face while you are
leaving the comfort of the aluminum tube. Your first view of Paris is
either little vehicles scampering about the tarmac or bunny rabbits in
the grass.
Heads of hair and backs with extending arms pulling
suitcases and hands holding yellow landing cards are waiting in the
passport inspection line.
Ignore all of that. Colleen is going to get you through
the bewilderment of travel into Paris.
In order to avoid confusion, I am going to use one
airline that arrives and departs from Terminal 2A as an example. The
transportation information will be related to its terminal.
If your airline uses another terminal, the airport
website has a map to help you locate it in relation to the buses and the
train.
Begin here
The questions you have to answer to begin
your journey are:
-
How many people are in your party?
-
How much luggage do you have?
-
In what area of town is your hotel
located?
-
Did you bring euros with you or do you
need to get cash?
My routine
My routine is as follows after passport control:
-
Arrive Terminal 2A, near door 5
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Walk to the RER station at the end of Terminal 2C
-
Already have a carnet of RER tickets
-
Check which of the two trains goes directly to Gare du
Nord -- take that one
-
Jump
on my metro (line 5) toward Bastille,
walk two blocks.
-
Takes 45 minutes to one hour, and I am
home.
A typical tourist
One day, however, I decided to slow down
my routine and go along with someone. It enabled me to see what her
needs were and what obstacles she ran into.
We ran into a problem right away upon
entering the main hall after customs. The ATM machine was inoperative.
We walked to the next terminal (2C) – a
couple of minutes – which was also out of service. It had a note
attached that instructed users to go to the ATM at the bank above the
RER/TGV station – less than 10 minutes away.
When she received her money, we waited in
a fast moving line at the TGV ticket office for a ticket into Paris (By
the way, this ticket is also good for a transfer onto the metro system).
At the time, she thought that taking the Air
France coach would have been a better idea. Let's see:.
Travel scenarios
This visitor’s hotel was in the 6th
arrondissement just off
Boulevard St. Germain-des-Prés
near rue de Rennes.
Alternative 1 – RER:
Take the RER B to Châtelet-Les
Halles, then metro line 4 in the direction Porte d’Orleans to
Saint-Germain des Pres – this metro stop is practically across the street –
and the journey takes about 50 minutes. Ticket includes metro transfer.
Alternative 2 – Air France coach:
Take the Air France coach (Terminal 2C, door 2) to Montparnasse – Stops first at Gare de Lyon, travel time unavailable –
most likely one hour.
Once at the Montparnasse tower (rue du Commandant Mouchotte) take
the metro line 4 at Montparnasse-Bienvenue, direction Porte de
Clignancourt until St. Germain-des-Prés
– metro stop practically across the street. Travel time is approximately 15
minutes.
Alternative 3 – Roissy bus – not
on the left bank.
Alternative 4 – Taxi – You are
dependent upon the driver’s choice of routes.
Cost: I estimate 50 euros; the airport
website estimates minimum 38 euros from Charles de Gaulle/Roissy to the
center of Paris. The driver may charge you for each bag.
Transportation options
Your options to get there are the Air
France coach, the Roissybus, RER B, TGV, car rental, limousine, or taxi,
for example.
If you are two to four consider a taxi or
a limousine service.
If you are one or two, you do not have
more than one medium-size suitcase on wheels (rollerboard) and a
carry-on and feel pretty good, consider one of the other public
transportation options.
Once you leave the airport property, your
options narrow down to the metro and walking or taking a taxi the rest
of the way. Consider the “travel scenarios” above.
Hotel decision
In what general area or arrondissement is
your hotel located?
-- Opera, Gare de Lyon, Eiffel Tower, Arc de
Triomphe, Porte Maillot, Montparnasse, Châtelet/Les
Halles, Saint Michel, Invalides, St. Germaine-des-Prés,
etc. --
Before you leave home, check the metro
website’s “route finder” at the top of the page and
"maps" (great maps!). You will have a better idea of your location if
you fill in the blanks on route finder -- it is in English.
The RATP (metro-bus system) provides
great maps with street names to help with your Paris activities.
This site is extremely helpful to
familiarize yourself with the costs of tickets, answering questions
about museum passes, renting bikes, sightseeing buses, etc.
Be sure to click on the circle of photos
for additional, useful information.
Euros and you are Paris
bound:
If the ATM in Terminal 2A works or you
change your money right there at the exchange window, then you can do
one of the following:
Jump on the Air France bus at door 5,
Terminal 2A, buy your ticket on the bus, or
Jump on the Roissybus at door 9, Terminal
2A, buy your ticket on the bus, or
Jump on the airport (ADP) bus (Number 3 –
blue sign) that stops outside door 8, Terminal 2A, and get off at the RER/TGV station
(it is announced), and buy your ticket at the ticket office. You will
also find kiosks where you can use either euros or your credit card to
buy a ticket on the RER to Paris.
Where is the ATM?
If the ATM machine does not work, don’t
hunt down the next one as we did.
Take the ADP bus number 3 or walk through
both Terminals 2A and 2C (about 10 minutes), and just go to the bank
across from the Sheraton Hotel and above the
RER/TGV station.
Toilets
Toilets are also located on the top two levels of the
RER/TGV terminal.
The nicest toilets are located at the end of Terminal 2C
and the food court. Take the escalator marked "Groups" downstairs.
RER B
The RER is located two floors below the
Sheraton Hotel.
When you arrive at the RER/TGV station,
the entrance closest to the little restaurant has a down escalator.
On the platform, look at the two departure boards. You
will notice little white dots next to train stops on the departure
boards.
One train goes directly to Gare du Nord.
It is the first stop after the airport terminals.
This direct train departs regularly. Wait
for it, and then once you are on, you will not have to worry about
moving for new passengers.
The reverse is true for returning to the
airport.
Note also that the RER may post the name of the train as
“Roissy-Rail”. If you depart from Gare du Nord on RER B, it usually departs from
“voie”/track 43.
Buses
Air France
Visit the
Air France website
(website in English - at the top of the page choose between French,
English, German, Italian and Spanish.)
Click on “lignes” and choose your
destination to or from Charles de Gaulle:
Click on the circle number for your
destination to find out which terminal door you will be leaving from
when you arrive in Paris and which terminal door you will be arriving at
when it is time to sadly say au revoir or
à
bientôt
to Paris.
|
 /Air France Buses |
| Orly and Montparnasse/Invalides |
6 a.m. to 11 p.m. leaves every 15 minutes and takes about 35 min |
8
euros one way-12 euros round
trip (aller retour) |
| CDG and Porte Maillot
(Bd Gouvion St-Cyr)/Arc de Triomphe (1, avenue Carnot) |
5:45 a.m. to 11 p.m. leaves every 15 minutes and takes about 45 min |
12 euros one way -18
euros round trip (aller retour)
6 euros 2-11 years |
| CDG and Orly |
6 a.m.
(7 a.m. weekends) to 11:30
p.m. every 30 minutes about
50 min |
16
euros one way
8 euros 2-11 years |
| CDG and Gare de Lyon
and Montparnasse |
7 a.m.
to 9 p.m.; leaves every 30 minutes and takes about 50 minutes |
12 euros one way - 18 euros
round trip (aller retour)
6 euros 2-11 years |
Roissybus
(Once on their site click on "accèss aéroport" then "Roissybus" for a
map.)
The Roissybus connects directly between
Charles de Gaulle airport and the Opéra
area.
Catch the Roissybus from Charles de
Gaulle door 9, Terminal 2A. Figure on between 45 and 60 minutes of travel time.
It arrives and departs across the street
from the Opéra
Garnier (at the angle of rue Scribe and rue Auber).
Every 15 minutes, the bus leaves for the
airport between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. and every 20 minutes between 7 p.m.
and 11 p.m.
The bus costs 8,30 euros one way and
serves Terminals 1, 2 and 3.
For information in English, their site is currently under
construction as of April 2005.
Taxi
For taxis, the
airport (ADP) website estimates that 38 euros should cover your cost between the airport and
the center of Paris. Plan on being charged per person and per bag.
Travel tips
Tip 1
– arrondissements – What are they?
Paris was divided into 20 districts
during
its 1860 renovation. This was a result of Haussmann’s task to renovate Paris was
to re-distribute the population and organize the traffic network.
If you see an address with a zip/postal
code, it will read 75011, for example. 75 is the French department number
and 11 is the arrondissement.
Follow the link for
a good rundown on the
arrondissement history.
Tip 2
- Maps and help are readily available on the internet at two locations:
RATP -
Metro map
RER map
Paris Tourist Office
Click on:
Tip 3
– Terminal map of Charles de Gaulle airport
Look under
"Services for maps, flight and airline information.
Tip 4 – If you use
the RER, follow signs for "Paris par train" (Paris by train)
The direct train from CDG airport to
Paris is KROL, runs every fifteen minutes (10, 25, 40, 55 after the
hour).
The
direct train from Paris to CDG airport is EKLI, runs every fifteen
minutes (00, 15, 30, 45 after the hour).
Tip 5 – A carnet is 10
tickets for the price of 8.
If you are a monthly or bi-monthly
user of the RER, buy a carnet in Paris at the metro ticket
office of the metro ticket dispensers.
Remember, your RER ticket has a metro transfer included.
Send me your questions before you
voyage and have a Bon
Voyage!
|
May 2008
