Paris Metro

Take the No 4 to Odeon and change to the No 10 to Cardinal Lemoine.

the official route map is RATP.fr. punch in your beginning and ending stations and it will give you route options and time.

Citymapper also works well and google maps usually works in Paris.

And in every metro station you can request a free paper metro map at the information booth and figure the process out yourself.

Ok yes I have the Paris Metro app and one of the options was line 4 to 10 Odeon. Google maps as well gives that route. Just trying to be as prepared as possible! Thank you

Why would you not take the RER B to St Michel, connect to métro 10, exit Cardinal Lemoine? Simpler and faster.

Ok I saw this as an option on the metro app and google maps. I saw somewhere St Michel station isn’t the best? Safest? Opinions on that?

Safety not a concern. Perhaps a lot of stairs? The RER B line is just coming up from a deep crossing under the Seine, but it has been an age since I was last at that station and I do not recall any particulars. It is an underground passage from St Michel-Notre Dame station to Cluny-La Sorbonne station to get the No 10 line.

So I just found another hotel that is a straight shot line 4 Gare Du Nord to Saint-Germain-des Pres. I'm considering this for simplicity although it is more expensive

A connection through St Michel is perfectly safe. There is an escalator at the departure end of the RER B quai, and a moving sidewalk that shortens the walking distance to métro 10, and it definitely eliminates an unnecessary connection from 4 to 10.

One of the reasons I never use googlemaps for public transportation information.

So it looks like I’m going to take line 4 from Gare Du Nord to St Germaine de Pres. Is finding the metro line 4 in Gare Du Nord coming from London pretty straightforward?

I did not find Chatelet overly confusing, always exited via Exit 1 because there are.... ESCALATORS!

Yes, follow the Metro signs which will show a round "4" with a purple background.

If you've been in London and can handle the Tube, you can handle the Metro. Or any other city's mass transit. Look at the map and head off.

Thank you, I admit I am overthinking. I am not an experienced traveler, but I am confident I can navigate, I really do want to see Paris!
If there is a walking tour that you can recommend let me know

I'm looking at Paris Walks

I took two Paris Walks, one of the Marais and one of Montmartre - both were excellent!

I did the Montemartre walk with Peter in October 2022. There were about 15 of us in the group. Unless things have changed, you will need cash to pay at the end of the tour.

And you'll be fine navigating the metro. Download the Citymapper app. It will give you instructions down to which cars of the metro to board and what exit to use leaving the station.

Ok great thank you for the encouragement. I have City Mapper and I've been playing around with it already. I also downloaded the Paris Metro App. The tour that will be going on the day I am there is The Marais which is close to where I'll be in the St Germain area

Citymapper has all the detail found with the RATP Bonjour app or the IDF Mobilités app, plus it can be configured for many other locations. Citymapper is the one public transportation app that everyone should download.

Great! It looks good for walking directions as well
is that right?

Does Citymapper work for walking directions once inside the Paris Metro? Like to find exits? I have to go through Chatelet which I know may be confusing

Yes, citymapper works everywhere; there is a map for the Chatelet exits btw, I prefer #1 because of the escalators. https://www.pariswayout.com/chatelet-les-halles.phphttps://www.pariswayout.com/chatelet-les-halles.php

"Does Citymapper work for walking directions once inside the Paris Metro? Like to find exits? I have to go through Chatelet which I know may be confusing"
Do you mean can Citymapper tell where you are in the station and give directions to the exit? No, it cannot but it can tell you which exit to take and you would then follow the signs. The RATP app does that as well and will tell you which section of the train (front, middle, or back) will be best for you. If you put in the exact address of your destination as opposed to just the closest metro station, the apps will tell you which exit is best and give you better directions. I like the RATP app better for the directions it offers for after one exits the metro.
For moving through Chatelet-les-Halles, I found that it helps to think of it as three stations connected by long walks. The best map that I have ever seen of the complex is this one. It helps to remember the three secteurs: Seine, Rivoli, and Forum. So, if you are connecting between Lines 7 and 11, pas de problem: it's a short walk because both are in the same secteur but if you are connecting from Line 7 to the RER trains, you have a bit of a walk. Similarly if you enter the complex at the corner of Rue Rambuteau trying to catch a train on Line 7, you will have approximately a 15-minute walk and unless you know the route, you will be following the signs for Line 7 the entire time.

This map is so helpful! Thank you so much. I can see the 3 sections you described. One of my routes will be line 4 coming from St. Germain to transfer to line 1 at Chatelet. How come line 4 is showing in 2 different sections? Is it just going through 2 sections? My route is St. Germaine des Pres line 4 to Chatelet transfer to line 1 towards Chateau de Vincennes to destination Saint Paul (Le Marais)

Line 4 has two. stops in the complex: one called Chatelet and one called Les Halles. The Chatelet stop is in the Rivoli secteur and the Les Halles stop is in the Forum secteur.

One thing to note is to not get too hung up in thinking that you have to take the metro. Paris has an excellent bus system. You could, for example, take eastbound Bus 87 if you are staying near the Saint Germain des Pres Metro station and get off at the Cardinal Lemoine stop and walk about 15 minutes across Isle St Louis to Saint Paul. It will take a little longer (like 5 to 6 minutes, probably) than taking the metro but you will not be underground. It really depends on where you are going. If you are going to the north side of Saint Paul, maybe the walk is too much but if you are going on the south side of Saint Paul, the bus could be faster than the metro.

I remember standing on the No 4 platform at Les Halles and looking down the tracks and seeing people standing on the platform at the Chatelet platform. They are close together, but the Les Halles platform is very convenient if you are transferring to/from the RER.

Good point Sam and the Les Halles stop is also very convenient if you are going to Eglise St Eustache or Rue Rambuteau.

The app is showing line 4 to Chatelet so I will be going to Rivoli secteur and changing to line 1 which is in the same secteur so should be an easier transfer, correct?

Correct; you will have to follow the signs but it will be easier. Ride in a car closer to the back of the Line 4 metro for the easiest transfer.

Thank you, this definitely helps me feel more confident going through Chatelet!

I ditto this, "Why would you not take the RER B to St Michel, connect to métro 10, exit Cardinal Lemoine? Simpler and faster."
But I would add, if you are flying in with luggage, tired and just want to get to your room, take the RER B to the Luxembourg station, exit and get an Uber to your Hotel. Get rid of the luggage and go explore the Metro system. Always use a letter Train, A, B, C... over the Metro number trains if you can. I bought a 4-day pass for all the trains and buses, so worth it if you are going all over the city.

I was seeing posts about the RER being confusing. I'm only going to be in Paris for 2 nights so wanted to stick to learning one transit system. I do see on the Chatelet map that the RER is in the same forum as line 4 as a previous poster pointed out. However the RATP app does not suggest RER. I realize it won't give all the suggestions and I believe you that RER is an option for my route. I am staying close to my hotel while I'm there and plan to walk to most sites and only use the metro from Gare du Nord and maybe a couple other instances like this one to get to Le Marais on my second day. The walk to Le Marais is less than 30 minutes which I am also considering.

If your hotel is not booked already, or is able to be cancelled and you are only in Paris for two nights, perhaps try and find a hotel within walking distance of an RER B station to simplify your trip and your worry about transport.
One train trip only then.
Luxembourg area is fine and walkable to the major sites.
I’ve stayed near that station on purpose my last two trips to Paris.
Not in a hotel though…in an apartment no longer offered.

Paris Walks are wonderful with trained guides.

Thank you but I’d rather not cancel and look for another hotel at this point I like the hotel I booked. The area I’m staying in is very walkable and I could easily take a taxi from Gare du Nord (I’m aware of the taxi situation there) and walk everywhere else if I want to avoid the metro all together. Walking isn’t an issue for me. Im not too worried about transportation, just nice to get input from people on this forum. Thanks again!

The RER is not too confusing. Things are labeled and you will have Google maps/people around who can help, so if you ignore the noise and focus on where you need to go you will be fine. Have fun!

“Always use a letter Train, A, B, C... over the Metro number trains if you can.”

Just wondering why is was suggested to use letter trains oner Metro number trains ?