Paris Strike

You can use Google Maps to determine the walking distance from the precise address of your hotel (which we do not know) to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

We only really know what Eee is asking specifically.

will I be able to walk to The Louvre and Eiffel Tower ?

Probably but the ET will take 30 minutes to walk, maybe more.

Also flying into CDG should I book a car service to my hotel?

Either use a taxi from the official taxi queue - fixed fare at 55€ or take the RER B (if it is running) to St Michel, change to Métro 10, exit St Germain des Prés (10,30€), Do not accept ride offers from clandestine taxi drivers.

St Germain does not have an e at the end.

St Germaine would be a woman; St. Germain was a man. A car service is generally more expensive and less reliable than a cab. Just go to the official taxi queue which is well signed, do not allow any scam cabbies to divert you - they will try - and take a cab when it is your turn. Make sure the meter reads 55 when you pull out. There are not additional charges and tips not necessary. If the ride is long because of strike related traffic I would tip 5 Euros, but only then.

From St. Germain the central sites e.g. Tuilleries, Louvre, Notre Dame, Ste. Chapelle, Orangerie, D'Orsay, Champs Elysees, Luxembourg Gardens, Pantheon etc are all easily walkable. Whether you consider the Eiffel Tower walkable is up to you. On a nice day, it is a pretty walk. Google maps is terrible for public transport in foreign cities but is fine for checking out walking routes and distances. The 1 metro is automated and would get you a little closer to the ET, but if you can walk it that is the best way to see and experience Paris.

Hope the strike is resolved before you get there; we are coming in a couple of months and are beginning to wonder about that ourselves.

Hi ,

Thank you for the info everyone . I’m staying near 53TER Quai Des Grands Augustin. Yes I hope the strike is over by then as well. I’ll keep watching and reading for more updates .

With that location you are right across the river from the Louvre. Googlemaps gives a walk time of 15 minutes to the Louvre Pyramid. I could and have walked from that area to the ET area. Googlemaps gives it about 53 minutes so I'd say about an hour. I've never timed it and to be honest I stop a lot on the way because I love to walk along the river!

There have been some posts on this forum in the last 6 months regarding people getting caught in the "bird poo scam" walking along the river near the Eiffel Tower and Orangerie. You are not in danger but your wallet is. Make sure you are pickpocket proof by wearing a money belt and only having "day money" in your purse. Be aware of what this scam is - fake bird poo is squirted on you and "helpful" people are there to assist you with baby wipes to remove it, while they use that as a distraction to pickpocket you.

This is a good location for a solo traveler! My favorite fast food is in the Saint-Germain area!

As recommended, do take an official taxi from the airport taxi queue. Do not pay any attention to anyone who comes up to you in the airport terminal and asks if you want a taxi. Follow the signs to the official taxi line right outside the doors. I type out the address of my hotel and tape it to a 3x5 card so I can hand it to the taxi driver to put into their GPS. I also have 55 Euro written beside the address so he knows I know what the official fare is. If you need to use a credit card just say "credit card OK?" and show him your card.

I arrived in Paris yesterday at 10 am with my two nephews 16 and 21. We are staying in Montparnasse. We used Le Bus Direct to get from the airport. We did about 3 hours walking the first day covering the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph and caught the sunset from the top of the Tour Montparnasse. Today we got out at 1 pm walked to the Catacombs and then to the Madeline. We took a packed bus 95 back from there.

As long as you are in normal health and have a map or smartphone map (this is better because it tells you what bus to take based on where you are located at any given time) you should be able to walk to those places. A good plan is to walk and ride the bus back from the farthest point.

The Metro line 10 is one that is not running
When you get here hopefully if the strike is ongoing you will see it was nothing to be concerned about.

Your lodging looks closer to Odeon station, which is on both the 4 and 10 lines.

To the OP:
You are at the Citadines and I frequently stay there, the location is excellent.
You are very close to Saint Michel metro station.
You are right by Pont Neuf and it is a very quick, easy walk to the Louvre from your hotel. The Eiffel Tower is further, but it is walkable.
Citadines has an excellent car service to/from airport if you are interested in that. Citadines front desk is very helpful and you can email them directly about transportation .
There is a taxi stand at Place Saint Michel, however, when I was there 2 weeks ago there were never any taxis.
You will really like the location, right by the Seine.

Wow thank you thank you for all the information everyone. You guys rock.!! I’m feeling a bit relieved now . I was in pure panic mode a lil bit lol.

I am going to Paris next week, staying near Rue Cler. Normally I would buy a Navigo for the week and take RER and Metro but that doesn't seem to work or make sense economically with the strike. I understand the 55e from CDG but how does it work the other way? I am leaving CDG Sunday morning at 11:00 am. Also, I've accepted the walking part but are all the museums open?

Currently the buses are easy to board without a ticket but not all the métros nor the RERs. I noticed recently that the turnstiles at St Lazare required a ticket to enter for the métro 14 which still operates normally as does métro 1 as these lines are fully automated. If you are coming from CDG and wanting to take the RER, I would charge my Navigo Découverte card for the week.

Most museums are open but staying near rue Cler means a lot of walking with a limited number of buses serving the area and practically no service on métro 8 for Ecole Militaire.

I would download and use Citymapper for public transportation information and download apps for VTCs such as Lecab, Snapcar, Kaptan, and Bolt. Uber has been using not only surge pricing but dynamic surge pricing meaning the actual price may not be known until you get your final bill.

Fares between CDG and Paris are fixed at 50€/55€ for the Right/Left Bank respectively. If you call for pickup, there is a 4€ upcharge. The additional charge for a next day reservation is 7€ but there are no other fees (for up to 4 passengers) when using taxis. From the 7th arrondissement to CDG, calling in advance for pickup at a later time, the fixed cost is 62€ (55€ + 7€).

For the Taxi G7 English language dispatcher: 01 41 27 66 99 -or- +331 41 27 66 99

Most museums are open, but often with shortened hours (although there have been a few exceptional days when sites such as the Eiffel Tower haven’t opened at all).

See Ashley’s separate post here on the France forum on the strike effect on museums and cultural sites, and/or follow Elodie’s Paris on Twitter for updates.

The bus 95 that runs north to south from Montmarte to the Montparnasse was a nightmare crowded slow today.