Hello Intrepid Travelers (in Paris)!
Will be in Paris next week,( prior to joining a river cruise) and will only have a couple of days to explore the city on our own. Seem to remember that about 20 years ago we enjoyed traveling to the other end of the city via" Bato- Bus", and not so much on the Metro. Is there a travel pass that will be able to be used on both methods of travel, and where can we purchase them? Thanks to anyone who can give some advice on this! We are staying near the Chatelet-Les Halle metro stop, if that helps.
Also, is the RER the best option for getting to our hotel, or will it be difficult to navigate the 2 blocks from the RER station to the hotel, with our luggage? Has anyone used this method of getting to hotel from the airport, and how did it work out?? Thanks!
Posted by
Chicago
8035 posts
The Bato Bus is a river cruiser and has its own tickets. The metro -- for only two days there is no useful pass unless you will actually use it 6 or more times a day and then a Mobilis day pass would be appropriate. You can buy them from machines in the. metro and they are good on the metro, buses, trams and funicular on Montmartre and RER train in Paris only. The metro sometimes goes slightly outside of Paris e.g. to La Defense or St. Denis Basilica but a regular metro ticket or a pass for Paris zone 1 goes wherever the metro goes.
10 metro/bus tickets cost 14.90
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10204 posts
You can buy batobus tickets at some of the stops. They should definitely be available at the stop by the Eiffel Tower. You can check their website for information.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4037 posts
http://services.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris/
Plenty of advice here, including a route planner under Getting Around. The RER ticket allows a transfer to the Metro subway, but not to buses. You won't need to transfer since the RER train stops at Chatelet Les Halles. It is a big station so you can look at www.parisbytrain for the layout.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8340 posts
If there are two of you and you are worried about managing your luggage, why not just take a taxi in from the airport? I’m guessing you are packing a bit differently for a cruise than you might if you were changing hotels frequently or taking a great deal of public transport.
I’ve used RER and it worked fine, but then I also find the Metro quite convenient and you didn’t care for it.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
"Also, is the RER the best option for getting to our hotel, or will it be difficult to navigate the 2 blocks from the RER station to the hotel, with our luggage? Has anyone used this method of getting to hotel from the airport, and how did it work out?? Thanks!"
Many of us have used the RER in from the airport. But if you didn't like travel on the metro, you're not going to like the RER (it's basically a metro that runs deeper underground, makes fewer stops, and goes much further outside Paris than the regular metro). And if you're concerned about walking two blocks with your luggage, the RER is not for you.
Just take a taxi. It will be a fixed rate of €50 for the two of you. Just don't accept ANY offers of taxis from anyone in the terminal. Follow signs to the official taxi line, and show the driver the full hotel name and address, including the 5 digit post code that starts with 75.
Tickets for the Bato Bus are separate from the tickets for the metro.
Posted by
Green Bay
20023 posts
What hotel? The "Chatelet-Les Halles" RER/Metro station probably covers 5 or 6 city blocks underground, with a maze of tunnels going to the various Metro lines. In fact, the No 4 Metro has 2 stations there, from one end to the other, Les Halles and Chatelet. So give us the name of the hotel and we'll take a look as to how practical it is.
Posted by
Chicago
8035 posts
Chatelet and Chatelet Les Halles are the worst metro/RER stops in the city. e.g. the chatelet metro station has at least 20 exits and it matters which one you choose when trying to get to a hotel. The RER staton has several. With luggage and after an all night flight I'd take a cab for 50 Euro to the right bank.