Just a heads up for people that want to use this train station. I watched the RS video on how "easy" it is to get a train ticket in Europe a few times. I thought I was prepared and eagerly accepted the challenge. What a nightmare. We decided to walk to the train station as it was 1.5 miles from our hotel. We had a little difficulty getting directions from locals (they were willing to help but didn't really understand us since our french pronunciations were very poor) but we eventually got there. We went into the station and found a kiosk. It wasn't intuitive and even after figuring it out there was no "Chartres" destination. There was a "Chattresse" destination but we weren't sure it was the same thing so we went to a line. After waiting 15 minutes while the ticket seller argued with a french woman we were told by a nice french woman that we were in the wrong line and we had to go upstairs. We went upstairs and had the same problem at the kiosk. We found a train station worker (not an easy task) and were directed to the correct ticket office. There was a 15 minute wait. We finally got our tickets. Our train was leaving in 8 minutes. In our haste, I barely heard the ticket salesman say to remember to validate your tickets. On the way to the train, I saw that the validation machine for our train was out of order. On the train, the conductor threatened us with a 20 Euro each fine but let us off if we could prove we were not french citizens. I thought it was pretty obvious but we had to show her our driver licenses. I suggest that Rick Steve's does another video which is specific to the Pare Montparnesse station since it's a big station and not so simple - Walla!
Posted by
Western Canada
3483 posts
When I went to Chartres from Gare de Montparnasse last year, I researched it in advance, got to the right ticket desk with an attendant, got my ticket and got on board.
I didn't think it was difficult at all; so I'm sorry you had a hassle Jim.
(But did you enjoy Chartres?!)
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10622 posts
Indeed, it can be pretty overwhelming, probably the largest and most confusing of all the Paris stations, really several stations with one name. And getting to the right metro exits from the several lines running through there can be a 15-minute hike up and down stairs, carrying suitcases. And Montparnasse has at least five parking structures. It’s not an easy station. This should be a warning to people to allow a lot of extra time.
I’m curious why you weren’t allowed to buy your ticket at the ground floor ticket window where I bought mine last year. ??
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis
58 posts
Yes we enjoyed Chartres very much. After staying at a 4 star hotel in Paris, the Timhotel was a bit of a let down but we didn't spend much time in the room so it really didn't matter much.
Our adventure at Gare Montparnasse was part of the experience. We laugh about it now and it makes for a good story. Parisians probably got a kick out of our futile attempts at pronouncing Chartres. My wife finally decided to write the name on an envelope which helped a lot. I thought I'd share so that others could learn from our adventure. We were told that we couldn't buy the ticket on the first floor because the first floor ticket counter was for the Paris Pass which was different than a trip to Chartres or other destinations outside Paris. The signs were all in french so we didn't know where we should go.
Posted by
Folsom
2734 posts
The signs were all in french so we didn't know where we should go.
Imagine that....seriously, why do American travelers still have difficulty coping with this? I’m monolingual and get along fine with my iPhone and Google translate, which will even teach me how to pronounce Chartres!
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis
58 posts
We did use Google translate for signs at times. However, it wasn't very good unless you have the right angle, light, distance and the sign was flat. Too often it didn't work, so we gave up using it. Also, we could not use the pronunciation or voice app without the internet or cell phone connection and we are a little cheap so we didn't want to pay data or roaming charges. Our French guide finally corrected our pronunciation. I am pretty good and somewhat fluent with Spanish but French, even though it is also a Latin language, gave me fits. Imagine that!
Posted by
Berkeley CA
1321 posts
Last year my friend and I also couldn't navigate the kiosks at Montparnasse.
We did wait in line about 25 minutes to buy them from a clerk but she was lovely and helpful.
Last Spring the area around the station was all torn up with construction, so figuring that out took a bit of extra time as well.
But Chartres was a wonderful day trip!
Posted by
Washington DC
28073 posts
Even in countries whose language I have studied, I've learned that it's safest to block-print the name of my destination in my little notebook, along with the travel date and the desired departure time (24-hour-clock format). The ticket sellers spot me as a tourist (it's probably the hat) before I open my mouth, and they visibly relax when I show them what I've written down. The ticket sellers don't want to sell an incorrect ticket any more than the traveler wants to buy one. We need to make it as easy as possible for them.
It definitely gets trickier when there are decisions to be made and communicated at the ticket window, so I try to do all my train and bus research online before heading to the station. In some countries you may find bargain tickets online than cannot be purchased at the station.
Posted by
New York, NY
4071 posts
Well, Jim, you've got a great cocktail party story. :-) Things can always happen and at least there was no hellish experience. One can get lost/confused even if there is no language barrier; I see it often with tourists transiting through Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal. Not all European train stations are as easy as Amsterdam Centraal which is where I think Rick Steves speaks the most about the ease of rail travel. For those who don't commute by rail on a daily basis, twice per day but rather do it all by car, it isn't always intuitive.
May I assume your trip back to Gare Montparnasse from Chartres was a lot smoother? :-)
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis
58 posts
May I assume your trip back to Gare Montparnasse from Chartres was a lot smoother? :-)
You know the old saying, don't assume any thing because... I think the return would have been smoother since the station at Chartres is very small but instead of returning we headed south by bus with the RS tour.
Our 3 weeks in France ended with another adventure at the Nice Airport. Finding the right place was easy enough but again, as the Irish say, there were the "troubles". Just a taste..1. We had checked in online and had boarding passes with seat assignments but they said we were assigned seats that we were not entitled to for our trip from Paris to the US. I know I paid extra but I didn't have a receipt so we spent 20 minutes waiting while they figured out what to do (we were downgraded and moved to the back of the plane); 2. They checked our bags but had to "uncheck" them because we were 10 minutes early (I guess they have a rule that no one can check their bags more than 2 hours prior to their flight); 3. Because we were 10 minutes early we had to go back to the end of a really long line and start again (suffice to say, we were not even close to being early after the wait in line); 4. When we finally got back to the bag check counter there were more problems to solve because the agent had inadvertently checked our bags in too early and unchecked them so they had problems with the computer in rechecking in our bags again (another wait as another supervisor was called to fix it). I thought for sure it was the last time I was going to see our luggage but surprisingly the luggage made it to our destination. Just goes to show you, get to the airport plenty early (unless there is a rule against it?) just to make sure you make your plane.