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Transportation from CDG to hotel left bank

What's the easiest (and not too expensive) way to travel from the CDG airport to a hotel on the left bank? I'm a senior citizen and traveling with my young daughter, with luggage.

Posted by
200 posts

Others may tell you that taking the train is the most economical, however since you mention that you are a senior citizen with luggage, I suggest you take a taxi. It is by far the least stressful option after a long flight with luggage. I believe it is 58 Euro from CDG to the Left Bank. When you depart the baggage claim, follow signage or direction to the official taxi rank rather than following anybody who offers you a taxi or car service. A taxi will take you directly to your your hotel. Conversely, taking the train may leave you having to drag bags to your hotel or find a taxi or taking another metro train.

Posted by
870 posts

Go with the taxi…..so so so easy and you get to your front door with no trouble…..58 euros and worth every penny. My son and his wife took the train after I advised them against it…..they are young and brave….and ended up missing their stop because the line changed plans over an injury at their stop and they were exhausted once they got in……language barrier, lots of luggage to haul……make it easy on yourself!

Posted by
4025 posts

Everyone will tell you to deal only with the official airport queue for taxis, probably with a traffic controller. Touts have been known to coax passengers astray; ignore them and get the official rate.

Posted by
22 posts

Another advantage is the taxi's can use the bus lanes, Uber's cannot. Can be a great time saver.

Posted by
479 posts

We've done it different ways and I am strongly in favor of the taxi.
The only reason to take public transportation IMO is to save money, but you will end up paying differently - having to navigate the system, do a lot of walking and climbing stairs, haul your luggage, be an obvious tourist target for pickpockets and finally exit from the bus or metro with still more steps to your final destination.
Especially as a senior citizen myself, I would encourage you to take the taxi and be sure to get an official one from the airport, as noted by BJL.

Posted by
2 posts

We just left Paris on May 29th. We had purchased train tickets to CDG Airport as the train station was literally in our back door and also thought that by taking the train, we would not have to worry about traffic back ups. We were a party of four seniors, but pack light so wheeling our luggage in a train station is no big deal. What we did not know was that there is a problem with the tracks. We arrived at the train station no problem. Got on the train to change at Gard De Nore station. It was here that we found out that we would be taking the train about three stops away then boarding a bus. We had allowed four hours so again no problem. We boarded the bus and they waited 25 minutes until the bus was full before we left. Again, not a problem since we had allowed four hours. There was a traffic back up and it took us over two hours to get to the airport. We had to make a mad dash to make our plane that was already boarding before we got to the gate. We had tried to do all of our research before hand to find out the best way to get to the airport and also the one with the least likelihood of a problem. We were wrong and when we purchased our tickets were never told of the problem.

Posted by
288 posts

Bonjour! I am in Paris now..for 3 weeks have used the G7 app..fantastic service and professional drivers. I am with someone who cannot walk far..wonderful! I too would just get a taxi from Cdg to hotel..happy travels!

Posted by
2537 posts

In this case, I would simply proceed directly to the official taxi queue, hand the driver a paper with your destination address, include the arrondissement which will flag the 58€ fixed fare. Taxi drivers are not tipped, but I usually round up to 60€.

In reference to the RER B, there has been work on the line just south of CDG for some time now. Almost nightly, after 22h45, there are replacement buses until the end of service, generally around 01h30. There have also been a few days in the month operating entirely with replacement buses. This information is posted at the stations and online here. When buses replace the train, I automatically plan a 2-hour en route time to CDG.

The Roissybus to/from Opéra is an alternative.

Posted by
103 posts

OP, I second (or third) the taxi. I'm in my late 50s and in good shape. During my early trips to Paris, I patted myself on the back for taking the RER and Metro in. About 10 years ago, I shifted to the taxi, and just budgeted that money in (so, maybe, one less fancy lunch for myself). It's so much nicer to arrive and not feel like you've been through hell -- especially if it's a hot day, when the Metro is hotter.

As folks noted, you want to prepare for things not going as they are supposed to. This just happened to me in the South of France -- my guy, who was staying on for an extra week, accompanied me to the train station to help haul my fairly heavy bag (loaded with candy, spices, soap, etc.) to the upper level of the TGV car for me. I was pleased I didn't have to do the hauling -- until I realized I was on the wrong TGV (still going to Paris, but via a different route and without my seat reservation). At the next stop, where I could jump on the correct train, I had to haul the bag down the narrow flight of stairs, run down the platform, and lug the bag up the train stairs AGAIN. So much for best laid plans. :)

Posted by
1156 posts

Most definitely taxi. Once we did the RER and never again. Never. Taxi is the way to go. And here's a helpful hint- got this from a fellow forum member Pam from Idaho - write down your hotel name and address on a notecard, and hand it to the driver when you get in the car. Sure makes it easy and nothing is lost in translation. We did this for every hotel we stayed at and the drivers also appreciated the card as it made their drive easier. They simply handed me back the card once they plugged in the address to their GPS.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! We will take a taxi, and get on the official line to get one. Merci!

Posted by
4324 posts

RER is OK when you're young and your bag isn't heavy, otherwise taxi. You can make up for the cost, if it's a problem, later in the trip by using the metro all the time. You might also ask your hotel to recommend a town car and find out what the cost is, we splurged for that on arrival and man was it simple.

Just keep in mind, any form of transport can have issues. Not just trains, but traffic. Our drive into town from CDG was endless and I was about to give up hope when ... suddenly they popped out alongside the Seine and we could see the buildings of Paris.

Posted by
32 posts

BTW, we’ve opted for taxis the last few CDG-Paris rides. Last week our taxi ride to Left Bank took two hours. Traffic was horrendous. I was sweating bullets about how much extra it might cost. But, no extra charge, just the regulated 58€ charge. I was so elated I gave our driver an extra 5€

Posted by
2094 posts

Agree with taking a taxi. It cost us $58 (rounded up to $60) to get to our hotel on the left bank. Return cost with G7 was $65. Not sure if extra cost was because we pre-arranged it through the hotel the night before or if the driver added his own tip.