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Subject: First Time Visitor

Question: Three ladies (40 to 60) travelling to Paris for five days. Staying at Yllen Eifel Hotel near Montparnasse Station (1/2 mile away). Wondering if we will have transportation problems getting around. Anything we should look out for. Anyone know this hotel? What is the best way to get to our hotel from Chas. DeG. Airport? Any suggestions welcome. Thanx

Answer: You should have no problems getting around Paris, as it has one of the best public transport systems in Europe. Once you get the hang of the Paris Métro(Subway) it is very easy to get around.

The best and the most adventuresome way for you to get from Charles De Gaulle to your hotel is to take the RER(Type of commuter train.) to Paris. Once you leave customs at Charles De Gaulle you go out into the main hall, as I remember it you want to turn right once in the main hall and look for signs that say train station. Once at the train station you can buy your tickets either by machine(And in English!) or at the ticket counter(And in French. Trois billets à Paris, s'il vous plait, is how you say “Three tickets to Paris please.”) Once you have your tickets you will need to go down one flight to the RER train platform, you will have to pass through a gate, using your tickets to do this. Don’t worry about what way to go as it is the end of the line and all trains go to Paris. Have a look at http://www.paris.org/Metro/ as it has maps and other info that might help you. You could also take a taxi(The least adventures way to get to Paris and the most expensive.)or a bus, Air France has buses that go from Charles De Gaulle to Montparnasse Station. If you do take the RER you will need to transfer at St. Michel and take the subway line 4, direction Porte d’Orléans, to Montparnasse Station and then walk to you hotel. The actual subway stop of your hotel is Volontaires, line 12, direction Mairie d’Issy but using this subway stop would mean doing another transfer and it only a ten minute walk from Montparnasse to your hotel, so says its web site, http://www.paris-tourism.com/yllen-eiffel/homeus.html.

As for what to look out for, most museums are closed on Monday except for the Louve, that is closed on Tuesday and jammed on Monday. Don’t miss the Musée d'Orsay museums, as it has a very good Van Gogh collection.

If the weather permits, you might think about going to Pére Lachaise cemetery (metro lines 2, direction Nation or 3, direction Gelliéni get off at Pére Lachaise), it is really interesting to walk around in, and free! Lots of famous people are buried there, Frédéric Chopin, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, to name just a few. But if you go don’t just go there for that, in the back of Pére Lachaise are very beautiful memorials, some for the Jews killed during WWII others for the French resistance. I found it very moving.


Rick Steves' Paris 2002
cover

Eyewitness Travel Guide to Paris...

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