Paris Gare du Nord to rue Cler

Your hotel is on rue L'Exposition. Your metro would be #8 at Ecole Militaire stop which would involve at least one change from Gare du Nord. If you decide to take a taxi, it's easy to make a mistake at the Gare du Nord and use a "scam" taxi. Other posters will tell you how to avoid this.

Edit: Be warned. The directions in the post below require a lot of big suitcase schlepping and one change more than the metro.

I always use the metro system because it is cheap, easy to use and fast:

1) At Gare du Nore Station take the Blue or B RCR to St. Michael/Notre Dame station (Your end point will be Saint Rimey)
2) Next go to the Yellow or C RCR metro to Invalides Station (end point will be Versalles)
3) Finally take the #8 metro to Ecole Militaire stop and ext to street. (end point Ballard)
4) You are now 3-4 blocks from the hotel, walk up Ave. Bosquet (north) for two blocks and turn left Rue de Grenelle , go 1/2 block and turn right on Rue Augereau and you will find Hotel de la Tour Effiel on the right near the end of the street.

(by end point I mean the direction you want to travel on that metro line to get to your destination)

I'm assuming that you haven't used the Paris Metro system before so if I went into to much detail forgive me.

Depending on what time you are travelling, you might find it too stressful trying to navigate a large suitcase through the RER and Metro, and then again up out of Metro station and walking to your hotel. Although I generally prefer public transport, this is one time when I would splurge for an Uber or cab.

I would just take a taxi from the official rank. You can figure out the metro later without luggage

Actually, I think the directions in donseery's post are to the Hotel Londres Eiffel on Rue d'Augereau which Rick's tours use a lot. As mentioned by 75020 the hotel you indicate is 2 streets over on Rue de l'Exposition. You'd still walk down Rue de la Bourdonnais and take a right on Rue de Grenelle, you'd just continue a few streets before you take a left on Rue de l'Exposition.

With a large suitcase, I'd go for a taxi from the official rank. If you do take the Metro to the Ecole Militaire stop, look for Exit 3 when you get off the train. It's about 1/2 way along the platform and it has an escalator which works some of the time. Otherwise you've got 2 flights of steps to exit. One from the platform up to the ticket area, one from there up to street level.

There is another option from the Gare du Nord to your hotel: Bus 42 which starts its route at the Gare du Nord city bus depot (lower Level of the Gare) You will be among the first to board, so can arrange your suitcase out of the aisle, sit back and enjoy a tour of Paris. I've done this with a large suitcase, and the driver has never objected. The Rapp/Bourdonnais stop is about 3 blocks from your hotel.

As others have pointed out, the metro route requires a change of trains:and as I remember, there are at least 4 sets of stairs to negotiate from one platform to the other. A lot of lifting! Bus 42 is now my preferred way to the Rue Cler area from the Gare du Nord. I use the Metro when I'm traveling very light.

Have a great trip, Andrew!

Barbara, I wanted to recommend the No. 42 as well, but I could not remember which stop would be right for rue Cler. Certainly much better than using the metro with two changes, lugging a large suitcase. Of course, a taxi would be the best of all.

We decided a couple of years ago that to/from stations with luggage we will use taxis in large cities. I can tell you that fare will run about Euro 25.00 as we've done it several times. If traffic is light, maybe Euro 20.00. No tip required. :-)

Just take a taxi from the stand outside Gare du Nord.

If you have a really heavy suitcase, no use wrenching your back, either.

No use using Uber - they don't have access to the dedicated bus lines and can't pick you up at Gare du Nord.

It's a good idea to print your hotel address and the Postal Code and hand it to the driver, and no luggage fees.

I would not use the Metro - there are stairs everywhere.

I suppose the choice comes down to whether you want to pay more for the ease of a taxi or save money and feel more like a real Parisian. The price is going to be about 25euro or 2euro, and the time seems about the same. I'd personally take the metro, but I also don't travel with overly large suitcases, so I don't have a problem navigating metros with them. You know how well you'd do carrying a suitcase up/down stairs if needed. I want to point out though that there is no need to use the RER--both the 4 and 5 metros connect at Gare du Nord and transfer to the 8. At least at GdN here are escalators/elevators, so that cuts your potential stairs down. If I were traveling with my friends, we'd do the metro (and I always make my college students choose that option). However, if I were with my mom, we'd opt for the bus (she has substantially more trouble with stairs + suitcase). I don't typically take taxis just because I prefer public transport, but if you're tired or it's raining and it's worth it to you since you're on vacation, taxi away! (I think what I'm saying in a very long-winded way is that all your options are fine, it just depends on what you're in the mood for). Keep in mind too that the Paris public transport system is well connected to Google maps, so you can get accurate and clear directions to help navigate it if needed.

Chexbres, why would they leave Paris and go out to the airport to catch a cab?

Oh you're so smart, Carol, you caught him!

Obviously it was an error. The original poster asked about Gare du Nord, and he responded about CDG. Big deal. The answer is just as valid.

is it just me, or is this board becoming much more snarky and antisocial than it used to be?

One other option might be to pack less and take a smaller suitcase. I use the same one for a weekend or for three weeks. You have to be willing to burn precious vacation time doing laundry or burn precious vacation dollars having it done for you (however you saved those dollars by not taking a taxi). In my opinion for any trip with multiple destinations you'll be glad you brought a smaller case. There are tips for packing light here: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light

Thanks for the tips! I'm actually already in Europe and will be traveling with a travel backpack. My girlfriend is coming to visit and is already en route. She'll be the one with the suitcase. We'll definitely make use of the metro during our stay in Paris, but we'll most likely take a taxi to our hotel. We'll be arriving mid-day, mid-week.

EDIT: Nevermind, I just looked up Bus 42. That looks like the winning choice. Thanks, Barbara!

"Obviously it's an Error" Error? Misunderstanding? Misreading? Please tell me how is the reader supposed to know? Most respond to what is written. Reading minds is difficult and dangerous at best.

So dear fellow correspondents why not give the benefit of the doubt? And keep in mind that some may be writing in a second language. Something I am sure not all of could do. We all have a slip of the tongue and the trip od the keyboars d at times.

As for me I think I would just take a taxi. But keep in mind OP that there are some here that hate all things Uber and AirBnb and take that along with the grain of salt that one needs to navigate the landscape of the digital universe.

Bus 42 sounds good too but is hampered by traffic.