Charles DeGaulle Airport & Metro

[oshawa]

My grandson is backpacking through Europe with a friend and will be arriving at the airport in Paris on May 20th. Of course they have limited funds and will be taking the Metro to their hotel (one night only) then on to hostels and camping for the majority of their six week trip. Is it difficult to navigate the airport terminal to the Metro? Are there signs in English everywhere to indicate how to find the Metro.They will have various foreign language books with them to assist.

 

Anyone had any experience in going to the Normandy beaches say by bus or Train since they are unable to afford a guided tour?

 

Any info would be appreciated.

[Hlitner]

My grandson is backpacking through Europe with a friend and will be arriving at the airport in Paris on May 20th. Of course they have limited funds and will be taking the Metro to their hotel (one night only) then on to hostels and camping for the majority of their six week trip. Is it difficult to navigate the airport terminal to the Metro? Are there signs in English everywhere to indicate how to find the Metro.They will have various foreign language books with them to assist.

 

Anyone had any experience in going to the Normandy beaches say by bus or Train since they are unable to afford a guided tour?

 

Any info would be appreciated.

 

First off, the Metro does not go to CDG....but the airport is serviced by the RER line which is a local commuter train line that connects to the Metro in Paris. And yes, there are plenty of signs in English which point the way. Your Grandson will find that many folks in France (especially those who work in the travel/tourist industry) speak English...although it is always a good idea to greet anyone with a friendly Bonjour before asking if they speak English. In fact we find many prefer if you ask "Parlez vous Anglais" since this shows some respect for the French language...which is important to many French.

 

As to Normandy, although it is possible to get to the Normandy area on a train, you really need a car or a bus tour to get around. The part of Normandy near the D-Day beaches is very rural and not well-served by any public transportation. They would probably be better off booking a day tour/trip with a Paris company such as GrayLine. I just took a look and they have a day tour to the Normandy beaches for about 85 Euros per person. Your Grandson will quickly learn that everything is relatively expensive in France (and Europe) due to their high taxes (about 20% VAT included in everything) and the very weak US dollar (thank our government for that issue).

 

Hank

[rebeccalouiseagain]

My son and his friends were in Paris and had no trouble with the RER train. I was in CDG last January and they have a help desk right outside of baggage and the man encouraged me to use the RER and was helpful. In my case I was headed for Versailles and took a taxi because I didn't want to haul luggage all over the French metro system. Turns out it is a pain and there are many steps. But young bucks will be able to handle it.

 

Go to Hostelworld if you haven't already and try to get them a place close to the where the RER lets off because they are going to be tired.

[KirkNC]

You also might consider the Roissybus, that is what we are using next month when we have to go from CDG to Rue de Cler area.

 

Kirk

[Arubamoose]

We are 50 somethings and found getting on the RER to Paris with two large and two small suitcases between us no trouble. We even transferred to the Metro at the St Michel train station which had LOTS of stairs.

 

They may run into trouble if they try to purchase tickets through a kiosk using a credit card. They use a chip and pin system that does not accept US cards. They will need to wait on line at the ticket booth.

 

Otherwise it is really easy....even for non-French speakers.

[wcook]

LOL - If they are doing the 6 week backpacking thing, finding the RER at the Paris airport will be the least of their travel problems.

 

If it's the boy and not the grandparent who is worried, he's going to learn a lot of this trip. And have an amazing time while doing it.

[-Lew-]

 

We even transferred to the Metro at the St Michel train station which had LOTS of stairs.

Sorry to learn that...

 

We'll be in Paris next month for ten days and was hoping Saint-Michel had escalators or an elevator to street level. We're taking the TGV from Avignon to Gare de Lyon then the Metro to Saint-Michel.

 

Guess we'll just have to buck it up with our luggage as we've done in Civitavecchia and Mestre. Thought the French were a bit more civilized... :rolleyes:

 

Lew

[moyaroo]

Civilized? Yes. Modern, not in the older stations. Line 14 for instance which features modern cars and rubber wheels has it all, but the older lines and stations are, older.

[KirkNC]

We are 50 somethings and found getting on the RER to Paris with two large and two small suitcases between us no trouble. We even transferred to the Metro at the St Michel train station which had LOTS of stairs.

 

They may run into trouble if they try to purchase tickets through a kiosk using a credit card. They use a chip and pin system that does not accept US cards. They will need to wait on line at the ticket booth.

 

Otherwise it is really easy....even for non-French speakers.

 

 

Is that true that US cards can't work for the kiosks? I am aware of the chip/pin system but had not heard it was used in the metro. I guess it will take euros correct?

 

Kirk

[-Lew-]

 

Is that true that US cards can't work for the kiosks? I am aware of the chip/pin system but had not heard it was used in the metro. I guess it will take euros correct?

Kirk...

 

From what I understand, many unattended vending machines require a chip & pin card. However, in the Metro and other locations purchases can be made with a regular mag stripe card if there is a manned ticket window.

 

You might be interested in this post concerning the Travelex Chip & Pin card.

 

Lew

[Hlitner]

Is that true that US cards can't work for the kiosks? I am aware of the chip/pin system but had not heard it was used in the metro. I guess it will take euros correct?

 

Kirk

 

I have written several posts on this subject (elsewhere on CC). It is true, that many vending type machines such as the ones that sell train tickets, take parking lot payments, or dispense gasoline will not usually work unless you have a European style Chip/PIN card. However, in most (not all) cases there are other options such as a ticket window, cash, etc. We travel a lot in Europe and the only time we ran into a real problem was at the Avignon TGV station when we could not get out of the parking lot and had about a dozen cars trapping us against the automatic gates. In the end we had to get all those other cars to back up so we could get away from the gate aisle. We evenutally found the office where they accepted cash and got us through the gate. As a basic travel rule we now try to always have enough Euros (or Pounds in the UK) to handle situations where our credit cards are useless.

 

As to Travelex, those cards are a real rip-off.

 

Hank

[KirkNC]

Yes I was aware of the chip/pin issue I had just not heard it applied to the Paris metro kiosks. I need to buy 3 carnets for our stay so I will either use cash or go to a window.

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

Kirk

[-Lew-]

 

As to Travelex, those cards are a real rip-off.

I agree, Hank, but what other choice do we have?

 

Lew

[Hlitner]

I agree, Hank, but what other choice do we have?

 

Lew

 

Grrrrrrrr! Am growling at our antiquated US credit card issuers and not at you Lew :) Having been growled at,,,,,I will say that with all of our international travel (and we are out of the country at least 5 months a year) we have never bought one of these Chip?PIN cards from Travelex because I refuse to let this company "rip me off" with their fees and exchange rates. To date, the only major problems we have had not having a Chip/PIN has been when driving a rental car (the TGV parking lot I mentioned and late night gas stations). The parking lot thing can be rectified by paying at the office before going to a car. The gas station problem is a pain because it means buying gas during normal business hours or finding a station that is staffed at night. For those who are curious about the gas thing, in some countries (especially Italy) it is possible to buy gas even after a station is closed. They have automatic pumps that work with a credit card...but usually it is only with a Chip/Pin type card.

 

Hank

[-Lew-]

From what I have read, VISA and MasterCard are ready to go on chip & pin. It's the banks that don't want to do it.

 

Okay, they don't want to provide everyone with a chip & pin card and go through the process of upgrading millions of card readers...for which retailers would certainly be required to pay. What I can't understand is why major institutions refuse to make chip & pin cards available for a fee to those who need them. If Travelex can do it, our banks can do it too!!

 

Lew

[joandian]

I'm a little confused so can someone please clarify? Is the Metro and RER two completely different modes of transport? Will a Metro card work on the RER or do other tickets need to be purchased? My friend bought me 2 x 3 day Metro passes for my birthday so we have those already.

 

We were tossing up whether to get a taxi to our hotel which is a short walk from the Luxembourg RER station or take the train.

 

Jo

[wcook]

Within central Paris, the Metro and the RER are essentiall interchangable. The important difference is that the RER lines extend beyond central Paris.

 

Your 3-day metro passes will be good for a certain number of zones. All passes include Zone 1 covering all metro lines and the RER stops in central Paris. For 99% of tourists, the only reasons to ventrue outside zone 1 are the airport, Disneyland and Versailles.

 

Most tourists find the Metro/RER system very easy to use. Me? I'd just take the train and short walk over a cab.

[joandian]

Within central Paris, the Metro and the RER are essentiall interchangable. The important difference is that the RER lines extend beyond central Paris.

 

Your 3-day metro passes will be good for a certain number of zones. All passes include Zone 1 covering all metro lines and the RER stops in central Paris. For 99% of tourists, the only reasons to ventrue outside zone 1 are the airport, Disneyland and Versailles.

 

Most tourists find the Metro/RER system very easy to use. Me? I'd just take the train and short walk over a cab.

 

Thanks for the information and we'll use the RER to get to the hotel. My friend did buy the zone 1-6 pass so we should be set.

[4774Papa]

We have plans to start an AMA river cruise tour from Paris. We will be bringing two large suitcases, both weighing 40-50lbs and a carryon plus a travel backpack. I can handle the two large suitcases and the backpack, but my Wife must handle one carryon. I have used the RER and Metro in Paris before, back in 91, and some of the steps that I had to negotiate were a challenge with a lot of baggage. Also, pickpockets pick on people stressed with the baggage.

 

I see from other posts that a taxi from the airport to central Paris is 50Euro. If we take the RER at 7.5 Euro each and a taxi from the station to hotel (likely another 10-15) we will be spending 25-30 Euro, so for convenience after a long flight, perhaps the taxi solution is not a bad one.

[moyaroo]

I find the Roissy bus to be less stressful than the RER for the reasons you mention, but when it is all said and done, a Taxi is a civilized way to arrive.