My husband and I will be taking a train from Zurich to Paris in June. We will have luggage. I have heard that the taxi drivers don't take the direct route to your destinations and can't be trusted. Does anybody out there have anything positive to say about the taxi drivers in Paris? We will be staying at the Le Littre Hotel (I think in the 6th Arrond.) It sounds like we will have to bite the bullet and use the taxi afterall. Thank you.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
Show the written address of your hotel to the taxi driver. You should have no problem. Taxi drivers may not understand English or your French, so it is best to have the address written down. I have used a taxi only once in Paris; we went directly to the train station from my hotel. I haven't heard any stories about problems with Parisian cabbies. My guess is that the fare would be under 20 Eu, unless you run into a lot of traffic.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
An alternative to a taxi would be the Metro. You can see the map here: http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan_ang.php?loc=reseaux&nompdf=metro&fm=gif
If you will be arriving at the Gare L'Est - most trains from Zurich do - there is a direct line to a stop near your hotel.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9220 posts
The best thing to do is to contact the hotel and ask them for either the amount that it costs to take a taxi from the train station to their hotel, or, explicit instructions for getting there with the Metro. Utilize the front desk, they are there to help you. This way you have the information that you need and can be confidant in either situation.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1863 posts
Our Paris taxi driver was charming. We arrived early evening on the Eurostar (Gare du Nord?), waited half an hour in the taxi queue, and got a driver who spoke no English but went out of his way to be friendly and helpful. Our small hotel was a on a one block street opposite Notre Dame. The street is so short it isn't even on a map. I was able to show him about where it should be on a Google map I had printed and with my very broken French ( dans rive gauche) we managed to find the hotel. He pointed out sights along the way and definitely took the shortest route. The fare was reasonable and he even tried to give back part of our five euro tip (two large suitcases). We were thrilled to finally be back in Paris after twenty years and I think the driver picked up on our "happy vibes."
Posted by
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
Used 4 taxis during our Paris stay in May (train to hotel, twice between sights, and hotel to train). Had my small mapbook discretely in my lap, checked our route from time to time, chatted with the drivers in my poor french enroute and know we didn't get ripped off. We always went to the nearest taxi stand rather than phone/flag down and found the drivers professional and the fares very reasonable.