Metro questions and currency questions

[long4disney]

We will be in Paris in less than 2 weeks, and will be staying at a hotel near the Eiffel Tower. I believe the Metro green line 6 is near us. Is that the line we take to Disneyland Paris? I believe we have to connect to the RER red A line, but wasn't sure which way to go? Also, does your one way ticket cover the transfer to the RER line, or do we need to get another one?

We are nervous about getting lost, but from what we heard it is very easy to figure out. Is it also quite safe? Will we be ok bringing a small suit case with us for our 2 night stay in Disney? It is just my son and myself, so I'm feeling a little bit anxious.

Does anyone recommend getting single Metro tickets, or buying the Paris Visite card, and can you purchase this at the airport?

We are planning to bring Euros with us from the states, but they are in 100's. Are there plenty of places to exchange the 100's for smaller bills? Can we do this at the airport when we get there? If we have any Euros left before we come home, can we exchange them at the airport in France back to U.S. money?

Thank you to anyone who can help me with my questions!

 

[kassreese]

I am not an expert on Paris by any means, but my DH travels to Paris frequently for work and we just came back from a trip to Disneyland Paris and seeing the city sights.

We bought a 5 day visitor pass at the airport that allowed unlimited travel on the metro, RER and bus and it was very economical. You can find information on the Discover France website and a it has a link to Paris and transit information.

According to DH you will need to take the #6 toward Charles de Gaulle Etoile and transfer there to the RER A (the red line) to Marne-la-Vallee – Chessy. The Red RER A will take you directly to Disneyland. There are two RER A trains so be sure to check the monitors that are near the tracks to see which train is approaching. You want to get on the one that says Chessy and not the other one. One important thing is you will need your ticket to exit the RER as well as enter it.

Lots of people travel with suitcases on the train so you won’t have any problem with your bag.

I wouldn’t recommend exchanging currency at the airport as you usually get a less than favorable ate. You shouldn’t have any problems using your 100’s in most places. I would wait until you get back home to try to convert your Euros back to Dollars.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[R.S.Winters]

i would recommend the paris visite card. make sure you have the one that covers all zones up to and including marne la vallee chessy tho otherwise you will not find yourself at DLP!
they easily work out the easiest and cheapest way of travelling around paris IMO.
as for what line to take, yes the red line A as far as i remember takes u to DLP MLVC station. you need to just maje sure you are travelling east bound and that the destination station is MLVC.
i'm not an expert, but hope that helps!
D.

 

[ChipandDale429]

We are going on Sunday and were hoping to travel on the rer and metro both while in paris on first day and then to Disney the next morning. However my sister has told me not to use it and to stick to taxis as its dangerous and nobody in the right mind uses it (her words)???? Apparently its filled with down and outs.. Not sure wether to take her word for it as she tels fibs a lot!!!!! Im a bit wary now as travelling with a small child and suitcases.

Any comments would be great..
I purposely booked a hotel near A line to make it easier on the morning to get there as its my little boys birthday on the day so want to get there asap.

 

[R.S.Winters]

i have never had a problem with using the parisian metro system. indeed there CAN be at TIMES dodgy characters, but they are harmless. its no different or worse than using trains here. ti think the tube is worse TBH!!
thats just my opinion tho.

D.

 

[ChipandDale429]

thanks dan think il have a little peak in and see how it looks!!!!il let you know what i thought wen i get back fly in the morning to paris wooohooo 10.30am!!!

 

[bavaria]

If you are arriving on/near a Monday, do NOT buy an overpriced Paris Visite card - buy a Carte Orange for the week. If you buy all 5 zones (which you won't need most likely) it is 32 Euros for the week. Bring a photo to affix to the card. You can buy a Carte Orange for 1-2 zones for less, and add on the fare to DLRP when required, if you prefer. You can purchase these at the airport; fare into Paris is 8,20 Euros. Note that the machines will NOT take American credit cards, and the machines at the airport will NOT take bills. You could also buy a one day Carte Mobilis for the zones which you require - a five zone ticket is about 12 Euros.

Large bills are usually fine, but not always. Taxi drivers, smaller shops, and even DLRP sometimes grumble at large bills. Try and get some smaller bills from your bank, or withdraw from a machine in France. Bank of America for instance allows no charge withdrawals from BNP Parribas machines in France, and you will receive small bills with your withdrawal.

M6 is 'my' metro line when I am living/working in Paris, so I am very familiar with the line/stations. From the M6 you will need to take the RER A line to DLRP. M6 crosses RER A at CDG-Etoile (NOT the airport - Arc de Triomphe) and at Nation. Both of these are 'end of the line' for the M6; if you are near the Eiffel Tower it is best to head to CDG-Etoile. Also note that Bir Hakim station (M6 at Eiffel Tower) is closed until early next year. If that is 'your' stop by your hotel, you will need to use the Dupleix station instead.

The RER signs at CDG Etoile are marked with Disneyland Paris in brown; make sure that you take the train direction Marne la Vallee/Chessy, and make sure that this station is lit up on the board showing the next train. Otherwise your train will not head that way. The train gets VERY crowded during the day between CDG Etoile and Gare de Lyon; after that station it tends to empty out. The train may e a single level or a double level train; if double level you will need to take your suitcase up or down a few steps on to the train. If it is single level, expect to be very packed in for a few stops. Usually when I take this train around midday there is literally no room to squeeze on any more passengers, and I often need to get off and back on again at several stations to allow others to disembark. Weekends and off peak times are much easier.

I doubt that you can easily change back Euros at the airport - you MAY be able to do that instead at your home airport change counter (bills only). And be forewarned that every time I fly out of CDG I pass very very long lines for flights to America, including long passport and security lines. So you may not have time to change money there.

Also note that there are often stairs and not so often escalators in the metro stations, so plan to carry those suitcases up/down stairs.

 

[bavaria]

We are going on Sunday and were hoping to travel on the rer and metro both while in paris on first day and then to Disney the next morning. However my sister has told me not to use it and to stick to taxis as its dangerous and nobody in the right mind uses it (her words)???? Apparently its filled with down and outs.. Not sure wether to take her word for it as she tels fibs a lot!!!!! Im a bit wary now as travelling with a small child and suitcases. :

Well, frankly I find the Metro and the RER system safer than in most cities in America and other places I have been around the world. I do occassionally use taxis in Paris, mostly when on business. They can be expensive and even more dangerous than the metro, as traffic is so bad in the city.

I have taken the Metro and the RER at night with no issues or concerns at all.

Apparently I am not 'in my right mind'

 

[Calleigh]

I agree Bavaria about the taxis : they ae not always good drivers, and always very expensive.

 

[Kristina]

If I may jump in here a moment, regarding the strike on the 14th? That wouldn't involve the shuttle bus from CDG would it? This is the first I've heard of a strike and we are arriving that day .

Sorry I can't otherwise contribute to the thread. I did visit Paris once a few years back with my Mom but she is a wheelchair user and we walked everywhere just about . We had a lovely time!

 

[Calleigh]

Hi Kristina,

For the strike, the only article I found in English :
http://www.easybourse.com/Website/dynamic/News.php?NewsID=336272&lang=fra&NewsRubrique=2

For the strike of the SNCF (RER, TGV...), look at here :
http://www.infolignes.com/sommaire.php3

Which shuttle bus are you taking ? The Orlyval ?

I think you should be careful, because these public transport strikes are always a big mess...

 

[Kristina]

Thanks for the links Calleigh, we are taking the VEA. I'm hoping it'll be alright!?

I'd have rather taken the TGV but if our flight got in on time, we would have to wait about for an hour. Seeing the link you provided I guess the TGV will be affected as well so the VEA may be very crowded..yay ! However if it is running then that's a sigh of relief for us all so I won't moan, promise!

 

[Calleigh]

Didn't know VEA shuttles, but I checked, it's a private company, so no strike to expect. But as you said, some people planning to take RER or TGV may take VEA, so you can expect crowed buses. In the other had, there will be less people in Disneyland (all the parisians taking the RER to go to Disney)

 

[Kristina]

In the other had, there will be less people in Disneyland (all the parisians taking the RER to go to Disney)

Less people! I hadn't thought of that! My cousin was actually going to travel to Paris and then meet up with us for a day in Disneyland. Good thing she couldn't make it in the end! Thank you Calleigh .

 

[miffy7]

you can walk from the eiffel tower to cdg etoile in about 15 or 20 minutes too - over the river, along the road that goes diagonally to the right as you come across the bridge and it gets you straight there. it's nations unies past the aquarium then av de iena. then you can marvel at l'arc de triomphe and peek at the shops on the champs de l'elysee.
we had no bad experiences on public transport but 10 years ago i was mugged in the mall in les halles. but i've been back loads and been fine.
keep your belongings close and other common sense stuff. people are mostly v friendly.

 

[long4disney]

Thank you to everyone who responded and for all your helpful information! The station that we are near is Cambronne. I didn't know if it would be better to go to Nation and connect to the RER A there, or if it is better to take the Metro to CDG-Etoile and connect to the RER A at that station?

Also am worried about the strike that someone posted is taking place on Wednesday. We arrive in Paris on Sunday. If it is going on and we cannot take the Metro/RER, should we just take a taxi from our hotel, and how much do you think it will cost to do so?

Thanks again!!!

 

[Calleigh]

About your question of going to CDG Etoile or nation, I think the lengh will be quite the same, maybe a bit shorter through Etoile. However, as far as I am concerned, I would choose Nation, because the line 6 is not always underground, so it allows you to have a look at different areas of Paris (for example the Minister of Economy) from the metro.

For the strike, if it is going on, it won't happen on Saturday or Sunday (never strikes on these days). Usually, the strickes take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Be careful with the 20th of November : a stricke of civil servants is expected, so maybe the public transports could join them.

For the taxi, it is expensive in France. I saw you'are fom the US, so I will ad, it is very expensive (compared to the US...)

 

[bavaria]

Thank you to everyone who responded and for all your helpful information! The station that we are near is Cambronne. I didn't know if it would be better to go to Nation and connect to the RER A there, or if it is better to take the Metro to CDG-Etoile and connect to the RER A at that station?

It is shorter to take the metro to Etoile from Cambronne. I would estimate a taxi to Etoile to be about 15 Euros but this can vary quite a bit depending on time and day of week.

I would just take the metro to Etoile rather than Nation; you will pass quite a few busy stops going to Nation and if you have luggage and are going on a busy day/time it may be uncomfortable.

 

[long4disney]

Calleigh,

We are traveling to Disney on Tuesday through Thursday, and also the 20th of November. Now I'm worried about this strike. Was does that mean to us? Is the only way we will be able to get to Disneyland Paris is by a taxi from our hotel near Cambronne?

How much would a taxi cost from Cambronne direct to Disneyland?

Thanks!

 

[Calleigh]

If I understand everything you will live next to the Cambronne Station and go to Disneyland on Tuesday (tomorow ?), Wednesday, Thursday and the 20 th ?

For the price I found that for you : http://www.taxisg7.fr/public/infospratiques/estimercourse/estimercourse.php.
I got that :

. Date et heure
Mercredi 14 novembre 2007 à 08:00

2. Prise en charge
Rue Cambronne à Paris- 15e Arrondissement (75)

3. Destination
CHESSY

Résultat :
Durée : de 55 à 80 minutes
Coût : entre 66 et 83 euros