taxi or metro from Gare du Nord to hotel (on Rue Cler)

The men running the taxi rank at Gare du Nord will get you a large taxi or van for five when you arrive at the front of the line. A normal taxi to just about anywhere in central Paris is around 25 Euros plus 1 Euro for each piece of luggage. Not sure about a van for five. We always take a taxi from Gare du Nord even though we know the metro and go to Paris every year. The ride across central Paris, crossing the Seine, with all those famous monuments in sight is worth the cost of the ride. Being delivered to the front door, or nearly so, by a taxi beats hauling luggage on the metro. We always print off the home page with the name and address of our hotel to hand to the taxi driver even though we can speak a little French. We always get some Euros to pay for taxis and incidentals prior to leaving the US, then use ATM's for cash while there. There is an ATM nearly across the street from your hotel. The taxi can get you to within 30-40 yards of the hotel front door driving on Rue de Grenelle, which intersects with the pedestrian portion of Rue Cler. The nearest metro stops are La Tour-Mauberg and Ecole Militaire, both 3-4 blocks from your hotel. Pay the little extra, avoid the stairs and hauling luggage on and off the metro, and enjoy your arrival in Paris.

I can't say what a taxi costs, but the métro (t+ ticket) is €1.70 per person.
As far as I can see, the nearest métro is "La Tour Maubourg" on line 8, which would involve a change coming from Gare du Nord. Map: http://www.ratp.fr/informer/pdf/orienter/f_plan.php

I would say it if you only have hand luggage, you might as well use the métro, as that would be your best transport for your travels round Paris.
You would need Euros for the ticket machine at the métro (or for the taxi), but you can get those at a cash machine at Gare du Nord, or they do sell métro tickets on the Eurostar trains. Alternatively you could exchange enough money to get you to your hotel at St Pancras station before getting on the train.

With four people to guard you and your luggage, you should be able to safely retrieve and store some cash from an ATM in the train station. Although I love the metro, taxi is a worthwhile convenience for multiple people with luggage, especially since the metro route has a connection. I can't imagine the taxi fare coming out any higher than George's estimate. If you like the price you get, you may decide to take a few more taxis during your stay.

The closest metro is Ecolie Militaire, but I would take a cab....the cab can pull up in front of the hotel Champ de Mars on rue champ de Mars... The street dead ends there right at the intersection of Rue Cler and Champ de Mars. Your hotel is right around the corner on Rue Cler . You can get some euros before you go at AAA. You will love the area.

There are now ATMS at St Pancras International station in London that dispense your choice of British Pounds or European euro.

They are not Travelex, rather Raphael Bank. I can't speak for the rate but I think it is standard interbank. They give me Pounds on my Pound card, and they give me euro on my euro card, both at face value.

You did not ask this and I don't want to cause you undue anxiety, but would like to offer a warning for when you and particularly your kids walk thru Gare du Nord.

I had an encounter with one of the gypsy petition girls while waiting for a friend to come in on Eurostar. She did not approach me, but did approach a gentleman who was not really paying attention to his surroundings. She pushed a clipboard with a petition on it stating she was deaf and mute and asking for signatures for something. Behind her back I said to him, "be careful, it's a scam" because I thought she might also try to get her hand in the bag he had slung over his shoulder. She wheeled around, glared at me and stomped off. He was shocked and said "I guess she is not deaf". Then she stomped back and screamed "B#itch in my face.

My point with this is that there is always a crush when people get off that train and the less savory characters use that to their advantage. If possible, have your family step to the far side of the platform out of people's way, regroup, count luggage and noses, then as a group move down the platform and head for the taxi rank with every one alert to their surroundings. There is really no rush to get to the taxi rank, there will be a constant supply of them.

I also agree with taking a taxi. I am in the camp of getting some Euro before I go if I don't have a stash from the previous trip. While I don't want to give money away with a poor exchange rate, I will take a small hit by getting from a local bank before I leave. Nigel's suggestion is excellent as well. I will look for those ATMs next time I take the Eurostar.

Sorry for the unsolicited advice!

I don't know the cost, but I would take a taxi from the airport. Taxis do stop in front of Hotel Leveque. (I've boarded one there and they are a common sight on that street, along with delivery trucks and lost tourist vehicles). Some of the taxis have two rows of seats for passengers and should be large enough.

In your situation I would definitely take a taxi.

Linda,

I normally travel by Metro as it's the cheapest way to get around and I'm comfortable using it. I'm going to differ from the majority here and suggest that you might consider Metro. Here are my thoughts on the subject......

• As your children are all teenagers, they can handle their own luggage which will make things easier for you (they can also help you with your luggage). That also provides more "eyes" to keep watch for scammers.
• As you'll likely be using the Metro frequently during your stay in Paris, your trip from Gare du Nord to Ecole Militaire would be a good opportunity to provide a tutorial to your children on how to use the Metro. You didn't state their ages, but perhaps they'll be taking a few trips on their own?
• Travel by Metro will be considerably cheaper than by Taxi. As a parent that also has three children (now grown), I suspect that you may be interested in keeping expenses down?
• A Metro trip may be more of an "adventure" for your group.

The trip from Gare du Nord is very straight forward. If you decide to use this option, you might just buy a Carnet (10 tickets), as I'm sure you'll be using them during the trip. Be sure to hang onto your tickets until you exit the system! One important tip to mention when travelling the Metro with luggage - make sure you and your luggage get through the fare gates quickly when they open, as they're only open for a few short seconds. As you have a group, another option would be for the first person to go through without luggage, and then wait by the wheelchair access gate. Pass all your luggage to that person and then each of you can make it through the gates quickly without luggage. If there's an attendant there, I've found that they will often just open the wheelchair gate and let me walk through with my gear. You'll have to "play it by ear".

The route I'd use is Metro Line 4 (direction Mairie de Montrouge) to Strasbourg Saint-Denis and then transfer to Metro Line 8 (direction Balard) to Ecole Militaire. It's an easy walk from Ecole Militaire to the hotel, but you may want to take a photo copy of the map in the guidebook so that you can get your bearings when you come out of the Metro stop (I sometimes use a GPS).

While Taxi would certainly be more convenient, it will be more expensive. As a previous reply mentioned, Taxi's can access Rue Cler for dropping off fares. I've been picked up by Shuttles there on several occasions.

I think a carnet now costs with the Jan 1 increase 14.10 -- so it is about 1.40 a person by metro -- by cab you pay 3 Euro for the 4th and 5th passenger and a Euro for each bag in the trunk. I'd guess 25 is a fair estimate. From the airport I'd definitely take a cab -- it would cost around 50 Euro for your group from CDG by train and probably about 65 by cab. But from Nord, you will be at your hotel before you get to the head of the taxi queue when the Eurostar comes in.

The main thing is you must be pickpocket proof whenever you ride the metro. This means no wallets in pockets including front pockets (front pockets are easy pickings for pros) and no wallets in backpacks. I use a money belt in transit and then lock stuff in the hotel safe. A cross body purse with your arm on top of it or inner pockets like those in Scottevest.com shirts, jackets etc or even one of those around the neck under shirt carriers will make it hard for thieves to steal your papers or valuables. A big family with luggage and slightly clueless in a new city is an obvious target for pickpockets. If you do make yourself pickpocket proof then I'd take the train for the speed of getting there.

To address some concerns about the length of the taxi rank at Gare du Nord, one can select the seats and coach number when you purchase your tickets on the Eurostar. It's a very long train and if you choose the highest numbered coach for second class, usually behind #18, you will arrive nearest the departure point at Paris. That means you will have a long hike to board the Eurostar in London but a short hike upon arrival. The taxi rank at Gare du Nord can be quite long since the Eurostar runs nearly fully loaded most of the time. Look up the seating plan for the Eurostar on their website so you can select seats facing forward, if riding facing backwards is a problem for some in your group. The first coach (#18) or maybe two are designated first class and we always select our seats in the second class coach nearest coach #18 to arrive at the taxi rank before the rest of the passengers disembark, if that is an issue about deciding on using the metro or a taxi.

Five people schlepping luggage on the Metro - with all the stairs to get down and back up? Get a taxi, enjoy the ride. Trust me.

Hi,
Great replies. The majority seem to think taxi. In the past I have tried too hard to save a little money at the expense of enjoyment. I don't want to do that this trip.

As far as the wait for the taxi, I wasn't planning to rush out of Gare du Nord anyway. I planned to find the tourism office and grab some info/maps maybe buy the museum passes and also purchase a packet of metro tickets for future use and maybe the unlimited weekend young person's metro passes for Sunday for my 3 teens. Does this sound like a reasonable plan?

Also one poster suggested my teens might want to travel on the metro on their own. We are way too small town for that. My daughters are 15 and my son is 18. I just can't imagine sending them across a foreign big city by themselves. None of them remember ever traveling by city bus or subway even in the US. We haven't traveled that much since they were 7 years old.

Also feeling bad for the Parisians today with the terrorist attack.

Thanks