Does anyone know a "rule of thumb" for estimating the time between Metro stops in Paris? I know the "rule" in London is about 3 minutes per stop... but I didn't find any "rule" for Paris to get a general estimate. (I have heard that RER lines run faster than regular Metro lines and that RER C can be slow and crowded sometimes.) Any help is appreciated!
Not that I know of. Most of the metro stations are pretty close together so its generally only a few minutes but it depends on the metro and which two stops you are traveling between. There is definitely a schedule for the RER lines as these are more "trainlike" rather than the metro which is more of a true "subway".
I believe the RATP website has a station to station calculator which will tell you time between any two points, but not necessarily between every two stations.
The metro trains run often enough, it shouldn't be a problem.
I was on the RATP site last night doing some planning for our metro rides and they have a wonderful trip planner. You plug in the 2 stations you want to go from/to (or places and addresses) and the approximate times and it will give you a step by step route plan. Looking at a few of the trips I put in, when I requested an earlier or later time than the one I had put in, it had an option 5 minutes later.
This was great practice for me as I plugged in the route and then looked at the actual maps of the metro system and followed the lines. Good introduction prior to actually being there and figuring it out!