Hi,
I would be reaching Paris around 8:30 am and planning to take a train to La Motte-Picquet - Grenelle, which is RER B to Denfert-Rochereau and then M6 -> La Motte-Picquet - Grenelle. My hotel is very near to La Motte-Picquet - Grenelle.
We are family of 4 and woudl have 1 suitcase each. Would it be difficult to commute coz of crowd at this time or would it be a normal commutation.
Please help in this regard.
Thanks
Roby
That should work just fine. With 4 people, consider taking a taxi from CDG. The set rate is 55 Eu. RER plus Metro would cost 40 Eu for four people. Advantage of public transit is that traffic has very little effect. Advantage of taxi, nice views and much easier than hauling luggage thru CDG and onto RER and then transferring to Metro. The taxi will take you to the door of your hotel.
Swan is spot on. With that many people and luggage a taxi, in my opinion, is the only way to go.
It is nuts to take the train at a cost of 40 Euro and carry luggage up and down stairs and subject yourself to pickpockets who love people traveling with their hands full and with all their stuff when a taxi to the door will cost 55 Euro. At Denfert Rochereau my husband was surrounded on the stairs by 3 men who frisked him -- he had a suitcase in each hand and I had gotten out too far ahead of him with the messenger bags. We didn't lose anything because he didn't have a wallet in his pockets but if he had, it would have been gone. This is unusually aggressive, usually pick pockets work stealthily but they do love tourists exhausted from travel with lots of bags. If you do take the train be sure to use money belts or other under clothing holders for your valuables.
Here's another vote for taking a taxi.
There have been times when those 15 additional euros for the taxi would have been prohibitive for me, so I can appreciate it if that's where you are.
But aside from that, the taxi wins hands down. Pickpockets are always a concern, but also consider that you might be arriving jet-lagged (you don't say where you're coming from), and will have to negotiate the transit system with all your luggage. The metro and RER are relatively easy to navigate, but if it's your first time there will be a learning curve and some of the train changes can involve quite a bit of walking.
For a family of 4, 15 euros can easily get gobbled up in an expensive city like Paris. I'm not sure you could even all get an ice cream cone for that amount. So you could look at it as missing a small treat in favor of a much smoother, much more hassle-free arrival. You'll be glad if you take the taxi.
