Gard du Nord to DLP?

[kizzabel]

Hey everyone

We (Dfi and I) are wedding planning this week and we have the wedding bit pretty much sorted so as the flights will soon be opening up for our honeymoon flights (getting wed May 1st next year and off on honeymoon on the 4th) Id like to ask for some help as regards getting to DLP.

We normally just fly direct from Dublin to CDG but for our honeymoon we're flying from Dublin to Amsterdam for 3 days and then getting the Thalys train from Amsterdam to Gard du Nord in Paris. We will be arriving on Monday 7th May and fingers crossed for some wonderful offers we will be spending 3 nights/ 4 days in DLH or HNY. From DLP we leave on Thursday 10th May and we fly to Spain for 5 days.
So Im kind of on uncertain territory as regards traveling/getting around.

So my questions :

1 - How do we get from Gard du Nord to DLP?
2 - Do we need to change station / trains?
3 - Has anyone got an approximate price?
4 - Is it fool proof? Ive a great sense of direction but Dfi not so much.
5 - About how long would it take?
6 - Would it be a drag with two heavy suitcases? Would it be better to get a taxi and if so how expensive would this be?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. All help, tips and advice are welcomed with open arms as we're really flying blind on this one (and I am quite particular about having everything planned to within an inch of its life). Thanks again

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Hey everyone

We (Dfi and I) are wedding planning this week and we have the wedding bit pretty much sorted so as the flights will soon be opening up for our honeymoon flights (getting wed May 1st next year and off on honeymoon on the 4th) Id like to ask for some help as regards getting to DLP.

We normally just fly direct from Dublin to CDG but for our honeymoon we're flying from Dublin to Amsterdam for 3 days and then getting the Thalys train from Amsterdam to Gard du Nord in Paris. We will be arriving on Monday 7th May and fingers crossed for some wonderful offers we will be spending 3 nights/ 4 days in DLH or HNY. From DLP we leave on Thursday 10th May and we fly to Spain for 5 days.
So Im kind of on uncertain territory as regards traveling/getting around.

So my questions :

1 - How do we get from Gard du Nord to DLP?
2 - Do we need to change station / trains?
3 - Has anyone got an approximate price?
4 - Is it fool proof? Ive a great sense of direction but Dfi not so much.
5 - About how long would it take?
6 - Would it be a drag with two heavy suitcases? Would it be better to get a taxi and if so how expensive would this be?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. All help, tips and advice are welcomed with open arms as we're really flying blind on this one (and I am quite particular about having everything planned to within an inch of its life). Thanks again

Hello

1 - How do we get from Gard du Nord to DLP?

-Either - Once off the train
a - Follow the signs to the metro, it's in the station, and take Line 4 direction Porte d'Orleans, change at Les Halles (6 stops) onto the RER A direction Marne La Vallée-Chessy and go right to the end of the line.

b- Follow the signs to the RER/Suburban trains and take RER B or RER D one stop to Les Halles and change plateform onto the RER A direction Marne La Vallée-Chessy and go right to the end of the line.

Basically RER B and D both go through Gare du Nord (Magenta) one stop down is Chatelet-Les Halles and it's there that you get the RER A

2 - Do we need to change station / trains?
See above

3 - Has anyone got an approximate price?
-Today it is 6,70€ pp one way . It will increase on the 1st of July but not by a huge amount

4 - Is it fool proof? Ive a great sense of direction but Dfi not so much.
-Yes It is clearly sign posted and the Paris transport system is very easy to use

5 - About how long would it take?
-Depending on the time of day under an hour. It's 40 minutes from Chatelet-Les Halles to MLV-Chessy so you can add on 10-15 minutes from Gare du Nord to the final plateform.

6 - Would it be a drag with two heavy suitcases? Would it be better to get a taxi and if so how expensive would this be?
Not if they are on wheels. I always used to come back from CDG on public transport with my case on me own no bother. Now I have OH and the car but if I go to London I come back home using the train no bother with loads of stuff

Taxi would be very dear. I can have a look for you and will update in a bit

Edit - Depending on time of day and if weekend etc it would start around 70€ one way and could take much much longer than the train due to traffic

 

[ThBa]

We travelled from Gard Du Nord to DLP in January this year and it was easy to use.

But beware of the rush hour !!!

It was a horrible trip with the Metro to the DLP and I guess watch out to take the RER and not the Metro !!!

See my trip report here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2632027



Thorsten

 

[Carrie_Cat]

We travelled from Gard Du Nord to DLP in January this year and it was easy to use.

But beware of the rush hour !!!

It was a horrible trip with the Metro to the DLP and I guess watch out to take the RER and not the Metro !!!

See my trip report here:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2632027



Thorsten

You can't get the metro out to DLP The metro stops in zone 2.

The RER is the only way to get beyond zone 2 unless you take the bus and it takes forever

 

[ThBa]

Hmmmm ??

But it was really a train like the metro and not like the RER we took on our trip to DLP ??

This was the train to DLP:



and this the train back to Paris:



The train back was bigger with more space in it....



Thorsten

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Hmmmm ??

But it was really a train like the metro and not like the RER we took on our trip to DLP ??


The train back was bigger with more space in it....



Thorsten

I see where the confusion lies now

You get single level RER trains, they are very rare on that line but do exist, the majority are double deckers especially in rush hour

Would have been like this one

But that metro train in your picture will stop at the Portes de Paris. The furthest a metro line goes out that way is either Chateau de Vincennes (end of line 1) or Mairie de Montreuil(end of line 9) and they are both in zone 2

 

[ThBa]

Well.....thanks for the info.

It was a nightmare to travel with the single level train in the rush hour and with my 2 little daughters.

But I plan to travel with the RER again, because it´s a very cheap way to get to DLP.

Any advice to avoid the nightmare again ?



Thorsten

 

[kizzabel]

Thanks so much for the info guys

Am printing it for the planner

It looks complex but when you simplified it to taking RER B or D to Halles and RER A to MLV it seems easier. Thanks Carrie

 

[kizzabel]

Oh sorry, Ive one more question about buyiny the train/metro tickets..

Is there one ticket that would cover the two train journeys?
Where do I buy these tickets/ticket?
Can I buy online?
I hate being disorientated/lost/unable to speak the native language and clueless to boot

 

[Carrie_Cat]

Oh sorry, Ive one more question about buyiny the train/metro tickets..

Is there one ticket that would cover the two train journeys?
Where do I buy these tickets/ticket?
Can I buy online?
I hate being disorientated/lost/unable to speak the native language and clueless to boot

When you get to the metro/RER entrance there are turnstiles and a ticket window. You can ask there for a ticket to MLV-Chessy (2 billets pour MLV s'il vous plait or you can say Disneyland as they know where it is ) If you are just going one way it's an aller and if you can coming back it's an aller/retour

If you don't want to speak to anyone (can't blame you ) or the queue is too long you have ticket machines and you can choose your language so it's even easier than above

On the machine you choose the station you are going to and how many you want plus if it's one way or return. Then pay either by card or cash.

When you go through the turnstills you validate your ticket and you hang on to it until you have come out of the station at MLV (you will validate again to leave the station).

If you like next time I'm off into Paris (about 10 days) I'll take some pictures of the machines as it's loads easier than my descriptions make out no doubt

So it's 1 ticket for the whole journey.
Ticket purchasing as above
AFAIK you can't buy RER/Metro tickets in advance only the travel pass ones

Found you a travel guide with pictures

http://www.ratp.fr/en/upload/docs/application/pdf/2010-12/mode_emploi_touristes.pdf

 

[ThBa]

We used the ticket window and it was very easy to get the tickets to DLP...no problem...even with my horrible English.

I found the ticket machines very complicated....

@Carrie_Cat:

Can you give me some tips to avoid the rush hour again ?



Thorsten

 

[Carrie_Cat]

We used the ticket window and it was very easy to get the tickets to DLP...no problem...even with my horrible English.

I found the ticket machines very complicated....

@Carrie_Cat:

Can you give me some tips to avoid the rush hour again ?



Thorsten

Hello Thorsten

The morning rush hour is from 7.30 to 9.30 though the worst of it is in the middle of that.

In the evening it's from 16.45-18.45 again the worst part is in the middle

The RER A carries more than 1.2 million passengers a day so there can be other problems with it that can create back log and carriages really full even out of rushhour periods.

I take it every Tuesday and Thursday, but around 9.30/9.45 and 15.30/15.45, and I'm always seated and there's lots of room.

Hope that next time you have a smooth, pleasant journey as it is very quick, convient and cheap