I am travelling from Amsterdam to the Ile d'Yeu, off the Vendee coast of France. I will be taking the train from Amsterdam to Nantes. From my research, it appears I have to change train stations in Paris from the Gare du Nord (North Station) to the Gare Montparnasse (Montparnasse Station). If I book my ticket straight through, it allows less than an hour to change stations. This seems as if I might be cutting it too close. How long should I allow to get from one station to the next? Also, if you know, is there a Metro between the stations or is it necessary to take the bus or a taxi? Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
You can probably make the run between the two stations in half an hour...Metro line 4 runs from Gare du Nord to Montparnasse-Bienvenue...and it's only a couple of minutes' walk from there to the station. The Paris transport system has an excellent travel planner and maps of the Metro and RER at http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais. Since SNCF is listing these as complementary routes, they must feel there's enough time to make the connection. The only solution, if you're nervous, is to take the 6:56 am Thalys out of Amsterdam (arriving at 11:05 am), then take the 2 pm train from Paris to Nantes.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
223 posts
Thank you for your response and the useful website link. This is really fantastic. The trip from Amsterdam to Ile d'Yeu already going to be so long that I think I'll try to make the shorter connection. Hopefully I'll have enough time to grab a "jambon-beurre" from a boulangerie before getting on the train at noon. Happy traveling!