Are there taxi stands outside the train station that are easily accessible.
Posted by
Chicago
8554 posts
It is Gare du Nord. Gare is the French for train station and Nord for north.
There is an official taxi queue which is easy to find. Be sure you use it as there are lots of scam cabs trying to lure people out of the line or to a taxi. Get in line and take the cab offered when you get to the head of the line. Make sure the meter is on. (never had one not be on in Paris when I took an official cab)
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
When you get off the train, follow the crowd into the main part of the station, then turn right and go out the doors to the street. There will be signs for taxis. Outside there will be a lineup (probably) for the licensed, metered taxis you want. As Janet says, pay no attention to anyone inside the station offering to drive you somewhere.
On this map of Gare du Nord, the taxis are outside the doors on the lower left, near the information booth.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14738 posts
Also, when you are in the line for the licensed taxis, ignore people who come up to you in line, ask your destination and try to get you to get in one of their taxis. Just stay in the line and someone at the beginning of the queue will point you to a taxi when you get up there.
Posted by
St Louis, MO
150 posts
We were on our way to the taxi line last month at Gare Du Nord. Someone who looked official and spoke great English stopped us just before we got got the official taxi stand and told us that those taxis were only for people going outside of Paris. The line we wanted was downstairs. We were suspicious and even though I knew people run these taxi scams, we went inside and headed downstairs. We were intercepted by someone who told us that he could, for just 50 Euros, take us to where we wanted to go. We laughed and said no thanks. We'd walk the 1.5 miles for that price. Went back upstairs, went to the official taxi line and it cost us only 10 euros!
So moral of the story, don't let anyone stop you from getting in the official taxi line!
Happy Travels!
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
It's always a good idea to hand the driver the complete, printed address of where you're headed - including the Postal Code. That way, there won't be any confusion.
If you need to use a credit/debit card, show it to the driver before getting in the taxi. Some still can't accept them.
Metered fares are good for 4 passengers and there are no fees for luggage in the trunk.
If more than 4 passengers, each person will pay 4 EU in addition to the metered fare.
You don't have to tip the driver unless you want to, and he'll be happy with just a couple of euros.