Will be going from Gare de Lyon to our hotel near Ecole Militaire on a Sunday afternoon dragging a couple of carryons. The hotel gives directions as Metro 1 to Metro 8 transfer Concorde. But, the RATP planner would have me do an RER to metro or a Metro 14 to Metro 8 transfer Madeleine pretty consistently even moving departure times some.
Is there any reason to prefer one or the other of these? More straightforward, less confusing, less walking, fewer level changes???
Don't use the RER for this. The RER serves the banlieus or suburbs so the little ticket a little more
You can take the M14 transfer at Madeline to the M8:
Paris Gare de Lyon Line M14 direction Gare St Lazare
6 min (3 stops)
Get off at Madeleine Transfer to Line M8 direction Balard
6 min (4 stops)
École Militaire
Or M1 to M8 also works maybe faster depends when you take it
RATP favors Line 14 because it is faster and is the most modern line and is more direct for your trip. If you take Line 1 you gave to go 8 stops on line 1 and then get off at the 3rd stop on Line 8. If you take Line 14, you go three stops to Madeleine and then it is only 4 stops to Ecole Militaire. I favor Line 14 as well but that is mainly to avoid pickpockets. BTW, you can take Bus 87 -- even less walking and no transfers.
I recommend getting the Paris Metro app for your smart phone, I use mine whenever I’m in Paris, it will show exactly where to go and which lines to take.
Definitely don't go for the RER option. Either 14 or 1 to the 8 are fine -- some walking to be done to change lines but nothing horrible.
Someone above did make the point which I think is correct that pickpockets seem to be less prevalent on the 14 than the 1, so that could be a good deciding factor.
The stations for the 14 do have an odd moldy smell though!!!
The No 14 line has elevator and/or escalators at all stations since it is deep underground. That makes it a lot easier with luggage.
Thanks all. Have the app. We don't mind at all taking city buses to get around. But unless they are built for the purpose, they don't work all that well for hauling luggage, even just carryon.
If you want to take the bus here are your options:
Bus 63 - about 40 minutes plus 13 minutes' walking time.
Bus 63 - then Bus 92 - plus 2 minutes' walking time.
Many people carry luggage - if you are only carrying one piece of luggage apiece, you'll be fine on the bus, getting in on the front door, and leaving by the back door.
Beware that Sunday hours are in effect, and buses will be slower than usual.
If you want to take the bus, take bus 87 that I mentioned above. There are people with luggage on it all the time. I mean why wouldn’t there be such? It goes past a train station.
Buses won't be slower than usual, buy they will run less frequently.
Bus 87 does not stop on Sundays or on holidays between Champs de Mars and Porte de Reuilly.
That's why I suggested an alternative.
My apologies for suggesting Bus 87. It passes right in front of my apartment in Paris and I use it to get to Gare de Lyon or to the Left Bank and completely forgot that it does not run on Sundays.
Giving that your hauling your carryons, you might want to give serious consideration to getting an UBER or a taxi instead of taking the Metro. My wife and I stayed one stop up on Line 8, and took UBER to Gare Lyon a few weeks ago. So very convenient and hassle-free.
RATP will base it's choice on when you ask the question and factors in connection times. If you ask at a different time, it will give a different answer. I have mine set up for least connections because I'd rather have fewer connections even if it takes a few minutes longer. I always check walking distance from connections too. Sometimes, you're close enough to get out and walk rather than catch a connection for a marginally shorter walk.
If you have too many bags, just take a regular Parisien taxi from Gare de Lyon.
Estimated Parisien taxi fare is around 25 EU, should take about 30 minutes. No fees for luggage.
Uber can only pick up passengers at train stations if you have already paid for their services by using their app. And they are not allowed to use the dedicated bus lanes that other Parisien taxi can, so will be much slower.
