Transportation In and Around Paris

What 4 days will you be there; that matters for a pass as the only pass worth getting runs from Mon-Sun of a week and so if your 4 days are over a weekend, it is not available to you.

A taxi to Montorgeuil for CDG is 50 Euro for 4 persons and luggage. (it is 10.30 each on the train but if you can get a Navigo Decouverte pass, it is covered -- but again that is only available for a trip that falls within Mon-Sun of a week.

This will easily answer all your questions - https://parisbytrain.com/

You're in the right place for specific questions about Paris and elsewhere in France. As Janet suggests, you have two basic choices to get between CDG and Montorgueil:

(1) The RER "B" train from the airport to Chatelet-Les Halles, which is near rue Montorgueil. This will cost 10.30 euros per adult. It's fast and reliable, may be crowded, and requires attention to your possessions. Paris by Train tells you all you want to know about this option.

(2) A taxi from the terminal to your apartment, which will cost 50 euros for up to four people. There will be a lineup of taxis outside the terminal, follow the signs, don't go with anyone inside the termninal who offers a ride. This may take longer than the RER depending on traffic, but will be much easier if you have much luggage, and worth the additional cost if you have enough people.

Metro and buses are probably your best option (besides walking) for traveling around the city. The Paris by Train website has lots of info about the Metro system. Buses use the same tickets. Just this month they introduced a Navigo Easy card, which seems to work the same way as a London Oyster Card or the Metrocards used in the New York and DC subways -- you load money into it and swipe on entry. I look forward to trying it out on my next trip.

EDIT -- Or, more briefly, what Steven said above@! ;-)

Hello Are2, this is the best place for Paris questions.

The two best options for getting into Paris from CDG are taxi - fixed price 50 or 55 euros for right or left bank - or take the RER B train at about 10 euros a person. The RER B train stops at the Châtelet - Les Halles stop which is right in your neighborhood. You could switch to the metro for a stop or two to closer depending on where you're staying. Which one you want to do probably depends on your travel style and budget. Châtelet - Les Halles is a notoriously large and busy station and depending on your how much luggage you have and whether the convenience is worth 35ish euros (for two) to you. If you're more than two the taxi starts to make more sense.

The metro in Paris is great, easy to navigate and gets you most places. Paris is also very much a walking city since so much of it pretty to look at and distances are generally short. For 4 days in the past I would have just recommended a carnet - which is a discounted book of 10 tickets that work on the metro or the bus - and this is still a good option. But Paris has finally gotten on the rechargeable magnetic card bandwagon - which they call Navigo Easy - and you can now just put money on a card and tap it on the appropriate turnstile to use public transport.

The only reason I'd still say you should use the metro tickets is because of the 2 euro charge (maybe technically a deposit) on the card itself. I'd still say grab a carnet of tickets, grab a second one if you need one or switch to individual tickets as you get closer to leaving. NOTE: If you use tickets - run them through the turnstile, grab them when the pop up further on and keep them until you exit the metro and then throw them away. You can be stopped in the metro and asked for a valid ticket. The plastic card does eliminate this issue.

This site explains the various tickets and passes:
https://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/paris-metro-tickets.htm

Have a great trip, Paris is an amazing city,
=Tod

Google: tomsguidetoparis for lots of info.

Thanks everyone for your prompt responses.
We're thinking that a taxi from the airport to our apartment sounds like the best option for us. Although there will just be the two of us, it seems worth the cost since we will have some luggage to tend to, and there's the convenience of being dropped off nearly right at the front door...we hope.

Janet...Actually, we will be arriving on Monday and departing on Friday. So perhaps the "Navigo Easy" card would work for us. I suspect that the two of us should each purchase our own card...correct? Or is there a single card for two adults traveling together?

Steven...Thanks for the link!

Dick...Thank You for the information and the links as well.

Hiredman...Thank You for your thoughts and the link you provided. We chose the Montorgueil neighborhood based on it's appearance, at least in pictures, of walkability. We are hoping to be able to walk to most of the places we choose for dinners, but we wouldn't hesitate to use the Metro or a bus to get to a recommended spot.

Which leads me to another question...and maybe I should post this in another thread, (please advise) but here goes.
Is there another forum board or are there links that discuss dining "should not miss" spots, or "hidden gems" in specific arrondissements?

The metro is ridiculously easy to use and convenient. There is a a RATP metro app that will make routes for you and it works pretty well but will try and put you on the RER which should be avoided. If it puts you on the RER double check because there's a probably a better all metro route. The only place to take the RER within the core of Paris is to the Musee de Orsay if you want to get right there. Google maps public transport doesn't do a great job with the metro in Paris but can be used to double check the RATP if you want a second opinion.

You should create another thread with an appropriate title so you get the attention for attractions rather than transportation.

State the month and days you're in Paris, what your interests are - art, museums, food, architecture, fashion, whatever - and ask people if they have any tips. The more specific you are about what interests you the better advice you're likely to get. Keep track of things you need to buy tickets for in advance and make a plan. Don't plan too much your first day to allow for jet lag and cultural adjustment.

For instance Atelier des Lumieres has been a big recent hit and I recommend it if it's your kind of thing.
https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en/home

Hope that helps,
=Tod

No NO No not the Navigo Easy -- that is just a card that you can put local Paris t+ tickets on -- it won't work from the airport or to Versailles or other out of town spots.

What you want is the Navigo Decouverte which will cover any transport in the Ile de France. Even taking a taxi from the airport, you will still find the ND convenient and probably at least break even. If you do a day trip like Disney, Versailles, Provins, Fontanebleau -- whatever, it will pay for itself.

You need a 25/30 mm head shot for the card. You can get it at the airport and use it into Paris or at any metro station if you take a cab.

I knew the ridiculous naming of the 'Navigo Easy' would be confusing since the other two Navigo products are both passes for unlimited rides. i.e. the Navigo or the Navigo Decouverte.

To add to Jane's info. . . the photos for the Navigo can be in color or B/W. The easiest is to photocopy your driver's license or passport photo and crop it. You can buy it at most metro stations in Paris when there's a cashier present - best not to buy it during rush hour. It costs about €6 each. While it may not save you any money, it's worth it for the convenience.

Thanks Again everyone!
We're using the information and links you've all provided to do our research.
We will certainly follow up with any additional questions if necessary.

pretty much no metro station has a cashier; they have information officers who will send you back to the machines where you buy the ND and then take the receipt to the info window to get the kit and then back to the machine to put the pass on it. The clerk CAN charge it up for you with a credit card and might if you have trouble with the machine or she is in a good mood. They no longer sell at metro stations except by machines and don't handle money, but they will help out with a credit card if there are machine problems. Be sure to assemble the pass before using it; using it without having affixed the photo and printed your name and inserting it into the holder will incur a 50 Euro fine if inspectors check your ticket.

Thanks Janet!
Will we be able to purchase the ND passes at the airport when we arrive? Or are they only available at the Metro ad RER stations?
Is there a limit on the amount of € that can be loaded on the cards?
Also, in regard to the required photo. Is that a passport size or smaller?

They would not have taken the 50 because they don't deal in money and are not cashiers. They will help out a fumbling tourist who can't use the machines (including me once) and they will in a pinch take a credit card; they don't deal in cash. Their booths state 'information'; in the old days there were separate vending windows with people who sold tickets and passes for cash.

Regarding the ND --- you don't load cash on it; you load a pass; it can be a day pass for X number of zones, it can be a weekly pass which if it includes Paris includes all 5 zones; it can be a month which if it includes Paris includes all 5 zones. For weekly passes it can be loaded for the current M-S week up until Wednesday 11:59 -- after that the pass will be for the next week starting Monday. You put the passes on at a machine, but you have to get the physical kit to assemble the card at a window.

You can buy this or any other product at the vending window at the RER station at CDG. Once assembled the pass can then be used to go into Paris. The clerk might assemble it for you but probably won't as there will be a long line.

The Navigo Easy on the other hand can be loaded with day passes, ticket jeune day passes, or carnet or individual t+ tickets. I assume you can load several carnet. It doesn't load money, it loads tickets and it does not load the weekly or monthly passes. And they should have named it something other than 'Navigo' as it confuses people who know the ND and N for passes. Everyone needs their own card whether it is an ND or the new Navigo Easy (used only to load tickets or day passes not week passes)

Since you have to go to the window to get the kit anyway I would not bother going to the machine at all; the window at CDG is a sales window not just an information window. I would just buy the kits and have the clerk load them with the pass. Each transaction will be a different credit card transaction (e.g. if there are 3 of you, they will do three transactions). If the clerk does not assemble the card then you take the now charged card and assemble it printing your name and attaching the picture (so bring a pen) before using it. There is a gummed transparent flap that goes over the front with the picture. You CAN use the car without assembling but you must not as if stopped for ticket check you would not be traveling with a valid card and would be fined.

If you did this at a metro station, you would get the receipt from the machine, collect the kit from the information clerk and assemble the card and then go back to the machine and put the pass on the card following the instructions in English on the machine. There is a pink swirly patch on the machine where you lay the card for this transaction and don't pick up the card till it tells you to. Keep the receipt in case the charge failed and then the information clerk can do it for you.

Thanks again for your response.
Just to follow up, the cards are accepted for taxi service from and to the airport as well?

No, the cards are not accepted for taxis. Taxis are not part of the mass transit system. You need cash or a credit card to pay for a taxi. Check first to be sure your driver’s credit card machine is “working.”