After an overnight flight from the east coast(MTL) I will be arriving at PARIS CDG at about noon Paris time. Our rental apt is close to Chatelel Les Halles..right by Eglise St Eustache.The RER seems real close to the rental, my question is, is it a good idea to take the RER or should we cab it...
You can try www.mappy.fr (it does pretty much the same as viamichelin) to have an idea of the distances and how complicated it is to get to your destination.
We are packing light, just one suitcase each and from the mappy.fr site, from our rental to Chatelet-Les Halles RER, seems like a real short distance. From T3 at CDG, it also seems real close to RER station. I guess we will decide when we get there, we will have to judge how tired we are.
We found the RER very easy to take from the airport. We each just had one backpack so getting on and off was not an issue. Like you say, judge it when you arrive, but it is certainly doable.
BC Brenda
Posts: 326 | Location: Vancouver Island, BC | Registered: 26 December 2006
Like a taxi they drop each passenger at their door without a hassle. Recommend that you book in advance. On ours a young woman approached the driver and negotiated passage from CDG to her hotel. Lucky for her our shuttle/minivan was not full.
À votre santé !
Posts: 168 | Location: Connecticut, USA | Registered: 08 March 2006
RER was sooooooooooo easy for us and we had a transfer to make. Unless I am with the kids or taking more luggage than I should, I will always take the RER in from now on.
Posts: 307 | Location: Waco, Texas USA | Registered: 31 January 2006
Another fan of the RER here. We were staying at a hotel on Rue des Ecoles (left bank, near Notre Dame) and found it very easy even as "elders" to use the RER, including changing trains. We arrived around 10:30 from Boston,with almost no overnight sleep,and it was fine. We did travel light, just one wheeled carry-on each.
Posts: 172 | Location: Bangor, Maine | Registered: 02 March 2006
I'll add my vote for the RER - I researched it carefully before I left home, and printed out all of my directions, from the RER and mappy, too. It was seamless and easy. And cheap.
Of course, there are many talks out there about how to deal with jetlag, but this recently came across the internet pipes, which I may try on my upcoming trip across the pond.
Thanks for the replies, I think I may be doing the RER, I am leaning towards that. It all depends how tired we are. I need some solutions to get sleep on the plane from MTL to Paris. Its an overnighter, they do not serve food usually, so I am not sure about that fasting thing, I will try to eat light during the day.
Some people can sleep like babies on a plane, some can't. I'm one who usually can't.
If your flight is long enough, Ambien or other sleep meds may help. I use a sleep mask and noise-cancelling headset with quiet and soothing music on my iPOD. Your own small pillow and blanket and a window seat if possible may help. I'm sure first class would be a big help, but I've never had the good fortune to be able to test that theory.
I may try that sleep mask and some music on my Mp3 player to see if that helps.I was speaking to someone on the weekend who was telling that they are lights out even before the plane takes off. I wished I was like that, because the first day overseas is usually rough for me.
I will have to put some classic or easy jazz on my MP3 player, hopefully that will help. Last time I did an overnight to Europe, I think I managed to get 2 hours, and we managed to stay awake till 9PM Rome time.
RER - saves more than a few Euros, pretty quick into Paris, and you should be in reasonable shape flying from Montreal (6.5 hours the last two times we've done it). But Chatelet can be a bit of a challenge.
... and of course, my advice may be worth exactly what you're paying for it.
Just to add, if you don't have a "smart" credit card and choose the train option, you'll need to buy RER tickets from the ticket window. Depending on the season, the day and time your flight arrives, this could mean a wait in line of 10 to 15 minutes, particularly at Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2. (Terminal 1 has its own RER station) Not an eternity but an annoyance on top of jet lag.
Thanks for the replies..everyone... I guess we will have to judge how tired we are. As Doug was saying the flight overnight from MTL is 6 hrs and 45 minutes...if we manage to sleep a bit we should be able to pull off the RER OK, we will see...
We always do RER and we fly from the West Coast (usually with a change). I've been caught in suburban Paris traffic before and so even though it usually means hauling bags up and down Metro stairs (depending on where we're staying), I appreciate how fast the train is. We've never waited long at the ticket window, by the way.
I've never been able to sleep on planes, but I've found that with a neck pillow (the u shaped kind) and earplugs, I can get into sort of a half-sleep, very relaxed state that really does make a difference the next day. Next time I'll bring an eye mask.
Originally posted by Christy319: We always do RER and we fly from the West Coast (usually with a change). I've been caught in suburban Paris traffic before and so even though it usually means hauling bags up and down Metro stairs (depending on where we're staying), I appreciate how fast the train is. We've never waited long at the ticket window, by the way.
I've never been able to sleep on planes, but I've found that with a neck pillow (the u shaped kind) and earplugs, I can get into sort of a half-sleep, very relaxed state that really does make a difference the next day. Next time I'll bring an eye mask.
Yes I agree coming from the West Coast as well. Actually lines were long at those ticket window but I bought our tickets from the machine! It was kind of nice to be able to relax on the train and our stop was just two shortish blocks from our apartment...easy peasy.
Posts: 1375 | Location: Seattle - next is Isla Mujeres,MX in December, then its Paris in March, then hopefully England! | Registered: 02 May 2005
Hello All.. I am back... I had a good trip but I finally took the taxi... We did not sleep a wink(OK maybe one wink) on the plane, so we decided the taxi was best. There was not much much traffic and we were quickly at our rental.. Ciao Gino
Not that these ideas are comprehensive, but a few years back, Pauline, Jane and I all contributed our thoughts about jet leg to this article, which might be worth reading.
