Is there a Paris Metro Trip Planner

There are iPhone apps, but IMO the best way is to just use the Metro map as I found the apps don't work well. (And reading the map is easy once you learn how.) 3pm is not the start of rush hour. And the metro trainsn run every 1-3 minutes, so timing isn't critical.

Does the hotel's website offer location and transportation information? Often the website tells which Metro station is nearest the hotel. Use this color coded Metro map (http://mappery.com/maps/Paris-Metro-Map.gif) to determine which color line is your hotel Metro stop. Then, determine if one of the several Metro lines from Gare du Nord is the same color. If not, just follow both color lines until they intersect. The + symbol enlarges the specific areas you need. Note that you will be dragging your luggage up and down stairs usually and escalators if you are lucky. The Metro lines are layered underground. Since there are so many at Gare du Nord, you will often find intersections with "spokes" going off in all directions. At these intersections, you must have additional information to choose which "spoke" to take. It is important to know the name of the Metro station at the end of the line (the direction you want to go), since obviously the color of the line will not give enough info. Hope this is clear. Also, you can purchase a Paris map from one of the bookstores or on line. These usually include a Metro map. These folding maps will not be detailed enough if you are going to spend any length of time in Paris. You will need a booklet map which has every street and also has a search by street section. Although I have not seen this Arrondissement map guide in booklet form, I have used similar ones there. It will also have a Metro Map as well as Metro stops in the regular maps. Michelin Paris by Arrondissements (saddle-stitched) No. 62, 1e (Maps/City (Michelin)) at Amazon. 2010 edition. Even the Parisians carry something similar with them!

Suzann - Unfortunatly there is major construction going on Metro line 4 and the Strasbourg-Saint-Denis station is closed on Subway Line 4 to Tuesday, May 3, 2011. (The station is served by lines 8 and 9).This is according to the RATP website. The work around they suggest is walk to Poissonniere – Métro station. Take Metro Line 7 direction Mairie d'Ivry from Poissonniere up to Opera. Change at Opera Métro station to Metro Line 8 direction Balard from Opera up to Ecole Militaire. Hopefully Ed will see this post and respond. He is very knowledgable about getting around Paris.

I ain't knowledgable, just been lost in Paris since before they invented the rer (but not the metro). What Joel said will work fine.

ratp.fr also suggests taking the metro from Gare du Nord... From Gare du Nord: take metro line 5 Dir: Place d'Italie to Republique, then transferring to line 8 Dir: Balard to whichever stop is best for you (La Tour Maubourg, Ecole Militaire). It says this route has less walking than the one listed above...duh. They take about the same time, travel-wise. They alternate back and forth every few minutes (so it depends on which time you used with the planner on ratp.fr - a few minutes earlier or later meant the 'other' route). Taking this route may - or may not - involve more stairs and walking than the 'Opera' route...I did this a few years ago, but don't remember anything about it. You 'can' walk from Gare du Nord to the Bonne Nouvelle station on metro line 8, and go straight on to your hotel, but that probably involves more walking than you're looking for ;-) Definitely don't attempt it without a good map! 3:00pm is getting busy, but not the same as later on in the day...To me, the 'rush hour' in Paris is different - more drawn-out, more people after work NOT going straight home, for instance, but walking to a cafe or shopping. You say you're doing this "on Monday"; is this on Apr 11, or just 'on A Monday'? If so, then if you're traveling after May 3rd, the station you'd normally take will - in theory - have re-opened by then; you'd take metro line 4 Dir: Porte d'Orleans from Gare du Nord, then transfer ('correspondance') at Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, then take metro line 8 Dir: Balard to your stop... If you don't already have a good metro map, be sure to get one when you purchase your metro tickets! You want the most up-to-date map you can get.

We like to use iMetro. Here's a link with more info: http://metro.nanika.net/iMetro-en.html

check out www.parisbytrain.com - extensive info on RER and Metro, schedules, maps etc. There are pictures and description of how to use the self-service ticket machines.

I use the RATP Route planner:
http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ratp/recherche-avancee

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses. It looks like I should get a good metro map and not depend on the maps in my guidebooks. The Monday I arrive in Paris is the 23rd so hopefully the delays will be over. Also, my husband and I will have one rolling bag each and one backpack, do you think this will cause too much hassel with changes and going thorough the metro itself?

Suzann, I'm extending an invitation to you to attend the next Sacto Area Helpline gathering on Sat the 16th...many of us have been to Paris several times each and can answer all of your questions! (I have a brazillion metro maps around here; if I know you're coming I can bring one to give you). Please go to the "General Europe" section of the Helpline and look for the thread titled "Sacramento Area Helpline Get-Together" for the time and place. To answer your last question, if you can manage carrying your rolling luggage up and down flights of stairs you'll be OK in the metro. Don't try to keep up with everybody else; they aren't carrying luggage, and they are trying to catch the very next connection...you can wait the 3-5 minutes for the next train...Now, getting through the turnstiles with luggage - esp. wearing backpacks - at the metro CAN get exciting...;-)...but definitely doable. And the delays on that Line 4 will still be in force, but no biggie; just take one of the other two routes mentioned. I hope to see you (and your husband) on Sat the 16th!

One note about luggage - you do have to step quickly to get through if wearing a backpack. If this is an issue, you'll want to take it off and carry it in front of you. Some stations (St. Michel/Notre Dame, if memory serves) had 'pass-throughs' for you to slide your luggage in and then go through the turnstile and snag the bag on the other side...just make sure you remember to push the luggage forward before going through, so you can reach it on the other side!

First off, I agree 100% with Liz' comment about the exits. If you have a backpack, it can get caught in the danged things after you have passed through and getting it back is not easy and not without some embarassment. er....so I have heard. Take it off and put it in front of you. As for the Metro's, the Paris Metro is one of our favorites. But you can plan how you have to use to long before you get to Paris, which I always do. You will be tired and focused on just getting to your hotel and finishing with the "getting there" part of the trip. So find the route on a combo Metro/Paris plan and write down the lines. the end destination, the transfer stations, etc. We prepare a "practical tips" sheets in a booklet for things like this before we leave on our trips, which includes the hotel and contact information for it, transportation information, a nearby restaurant (we usually do not feel like going far the first night to eat) - things that you generally do not what to think to hard about upon arrival. Oh - THEN USE IT, once you get there. We had friends who took our advice on this, then forgot to refer to it and got lost and ended up taking a taxi to the wrong hotel at the other side of Rome from where they had booked a room.