CDG to City

Greg, After a long flight, some jet lag, not being familiar with the area, there is nothing better than having your private driver meet you inside the terminal and whisk you to your apartment. No fending off the rouge cabs, waiting in the regular taxi line, having to deal with luggage on the RER and the Metro, or just having a "lost" feeling. It is not the cheapest way, but it is definitely the best. One advantage over a regular cab is that the price is fixed in advance and doesn't skyrocket because of traffic jams. We don't throw money away, but this is one "indulgence" that we feel is money well spent. We can not recommend a particular service since out hotel just arranges it for us. I think the RS Paris and/or France book recommends a service for private shuttles. You might also ask on the board for recommendations if you decide to go that route. There are some services you can prepay, some you can use a credit card with, and some you must pay in Euros. TC

You do not need to buy a separate Metro ticket for the ride from St Michel to Pont d'Alma. Its a free transfer, so that cost is 19.50 euro for 2. You'll just need to scan your ticket to exit the Pont d'Alma station.

Greg, can you please tell me the name of the shuttle service where you got a quote of $65? (about 52 euro, right?) Sounds very reasonable. We'll also need transportation from CDG to the 7th, next June, and I've been mulling over the options. Private shuttle for just over 50 euro sounds great (though we'll have 3 people, so perhaps it will be a bit more). Thanks!

We used the Roissybus in 2013 and it was very easy [though we were coming from within Europe so no sleep deprivation or jetlag issues]. The one problem was that it was pouring rain when we got to the Opera, and whereas if you are on the Metro you can hang out inside for a few minutes to let the worst pass, we just had to get off the bus into the weather. We were soaked long before we could get to the Metro for the next leg of our trip. So next time I'll have an umbrella handy!

Ooops, went back and looked - shuttle quote was 65 euro for 1-3. Good point about rain - we've been caught by that a couple of times this trip - once outbound in Venice, no choice there gotta go; and once on arrival in Milan where we just holed up in the station. If I had known at the time tho we could have taken the underground shopping / passage to within a 100ft of the hotel. The economic balance is tilting to Roissy with this info. Since we've been here for some time, jet lag won't be an issue but do think I'll check the forecast. Thanks.

I'm not sure which is best. I can tell you that if you take RER B to St. Michel, the sortie (exit) marked Notre Dame takes you by escalator right up onto Ile de la Cite. Turn the corner, and, voila, there is Notre Dame. Great intro into Paris. There's a taxi stand right there on the left side of the cathedral.

We were also in the 7th and took a taxi. The bus to Opera, then Metro, then trying to find our apartment sounded like a nightmare, as did the RER option. Had we been closer to Opera or required less connections via public transportation, we might have tried it after a long flight, but no thanks. There was no line for the taxi, and the cost was less than 60 euro for 4 of us and luggage. I would do it again. If someone has a reputable private driver, I would consider that, too, but I didn't get any good recommendations beforehand. I am very frugal but was thankful for the no fuss of taking the taxi.

We used SuperShuttle a few years ago. A quick look at their website, CDG to a hotel in the 7th is 27€ for the first person, 16€ for each addition person for a shared van.
This past trip we used the RER to CDG for the first time (from St Michel). We had 2 rolling duffles, a rolling carry on and backpack. Very easy

There are times on your trip to save, and times to spend .......

It is absurd to pay 65 Euro for this trip when a taxi that whips you privately from door to door is likely to be close to 55 Euro. A shuttle is pretty much the worst of both worlds. You don't save much money if any (none in this case) and they are often unreliable. This is not a big issue beyond annoyance coming into the city, but I would never take a shuttle TO the airport when failure to show or long stops picking people up can mean a missed flight. We have taken taxis from the airport many times -- we have averaged about 45 Euro from CDG and about 30 from Orly. We have never paid as much as 60 Euro from CDG; occasionally depending on time of day and distance it has been 55.

I would just get in the official taxi queue and take a cab. We sometimes take the train with costs about 20 Euro for two but that does mean being prepared to walk up and down stairs with the luggage and it also means being travel savy enough that you are not a walking buffet for pick pockets. Tired people with luggage are obvious targets so be sure you don't have a wallet in a pocket or backpack.

Although the OP is likely in Paris now, we used http://www.airport-shuttle.com. It has good reviews and it was easy and inexpensive to book. Even though you have to call upon arrival (you can use a public phone for free to do this) the driver was waiting for us in baggage claim with a sign. Less than €40 for 2 with door to door service and maybe one or two other riders. We're going to use them again for our return. PS - they serve all Paris airports including Beauvais and also Disneyland.

Thanks, I'll file that one away for future reference. We elected to take the apartment service shuttle. Very nice if pricey - driver did the coordination for the apartment greeter. Since it was raining when we got in and later in the trip when we got up by Opera we saw how busy it was we were just as glad we didn't wind up wheeling our suitcases through the crowds in the rain.

Outbound we departed Orly using the Air France bus picking it up at a stop just 15 minutes for us and bags and that worked well.