Gare de Nord to Gare de Lyon

A snowHead

Best way with just an hour to get there.

Advice seems to be Taxi??

Pre-book? If so, any happy experiences and with whom?

Probably been covered in a previous topic but any advice appreciated. Going out 14th Dec. At Gare de Nord at 1447. Leaving Gare de Lyon 1549

A snowHead

Mark1863, if loads of luggage then taxi, otherwise it's one train and prob only 10-15 mins.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Plenty of taxis outside GdN.

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http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ratp/resultat-detaille/start/Gare+Du+Nord+%28METRO%29%2C+Paris/end/Gare+De+Lyon+%28METRO%29%2C+Paris/is_date_start/1/date/2012-12-14/time/15%3A00%3A00/route_type/plus_rapide

Here you go.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Metro, did it in 25 minutes, cut it very fine though in the summer.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Its 3 stops on the RER. Bit of a faff with luggage on the escalators/stairs but doable in 10 mins in a rushed panic (from personal experience with luggage but not skis, made the TGV with 1 min from 'composting le billet' to train pulls out the station) but allow 30 mins to cope with queues, carrying stuff and checking directions, getting a sandwich coffee etc and if its your first time.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

It's quite a distance - about 30 mins by road. I'd take the RER. That's what I've always done!

After all it is free

Thanks folks. I will have skis, a rucksack and probably a wheeled small bag with extendable handle. Boots, helmet, off piste kit etc inc so weighty. My left arm is effectively useless for carrying weight. Op after ski season hopefully. Off for a month but travel light. I am a one being worn, one in the wash and one waiting type of chap

another vote for RER
you can wait 20mins in the queue for a cab when you get off the Eurostar and if you get unlucky with the traffic you could have a rush to get to GDL in time. also GDL is a bit confusing if you haven't been there before so factor in time for wandering round wondering where on earth your platform is

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Mark1863, definitely RER - have change ready for ticket machine - this is the routine.

I had 40 mins from GDN to GDL

Dash - or rather weirdly hobble at speed with bag of kit, boots and ski bag - to ticket machine. Drop bags. Fumble money into machine.
Weirdly hobble at speed through barriers and onto RER. You can now Youtube the station to work out which of the many gates to go into and which stairs to go down.
Battle against upcoming tide of people on stairs.
Get onto train and extract ski bag from closed doors.
Melt in a torrent of perspiration from all the running and having 'saved space' by wearing loads of layers.
Continue to melt and clock-watch each station.
More mad hobbling up the stairs this time against the tide coming down the stairs.
Get onto the TGV to BSM with 30 seconds to spare.

That's the RER

Now the taxi.

Saunter out to taxi.
There aren't any free.
Panic.
Get in taxi 5 mins later.
Get stuck in traffic.
Miss train.

There we go....

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Can you buy metro tickets in the Eurostar Terminal at St P. They were available at Waterloo IIRC.

snow reports

Another caution on Paris taxi - some drivers aren't keen on ski bags and it seems purely down to how they feel on that particualr day. I have been declined by drivers of large 7-seater type cars with foldable seats and, conversely, have been once accepted to go in a Peugeot 306. Definitely allow for extra waiting time.

You know it makes sense.

Another vote for Metro and we did it with 2 adults, 3 suitcases, 2 boot bags, double ski bag and child in a buggy - original plan was taxi but no-one would take the ski's - You can buy your paris metro tickets on the Eurostar train - at least you used to be able to and the guards at the station gates were all kind and opened the big gates - we made the sleeper train with time to spare

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

If you look at the snowcarbon website you will find info on the different options.

We have done the journey you are doing lots of times. If you only have an hour I think pre-booked taxi is the best option. We have used Paris city line who are mentioned on the snow carbon website. They meet you at Paris Nord at the end of the platform and take you to the waiting car. You avoid the 20 min taxi queue. The only drawback of this transfer service is that they are not allowed to use the taxi/bus lanes which meant we were caught in a bit of traffic last time. We still easily made the train though. It worked out well for us pricewise as a family of four. Would be an expensive option for someone travelling alone.

It is probably too late for you this time, but when we have a close connection I book tickets in the front or second carriage of the Eurostar train so you spend less time stuck behind others walking along the platform.

You would also have time to get there by RER in an hour if you have planned the journey in advance. Buy tickets on the train or at St P. look up the RER line and last stop on the line so you know where to aim for when you go underground at gare du nord. Both gare du nord and gare de lyon are very big underground stations with normal metro lines and rer lines. It can take a while to walk around them and you can come across sets of steps or broken down escalators which can be tricky to manage if you are laden with luggage as we tend to be. We use the RER on our return journey when we have more time to make the connection.

Bear in mind that Gare de lyon has 2 zones (blue and yellow). If you can't see your platform number in the first area you find yourself in look for the signs to the other.

We have managed to make trains with a connection of one hour with 2 children and endless cases..it can be done but you need to do a brisk walk through the stations!

The other option is to take a normal Parisian taxi. However the queue for these can be very long. The driving standards are variable Laughing

Whilst you have a full hour bear in mind your Eurostar could be running a few mins late so you may have slightly less on the day.

A snowHead

Thanks everyone. I will take the RER. It sounds unless thing go horribly wrong I will make it. The various taxi options sound expensive and more likely to make me miss the train. I wonder why they make it so tight. Being on my own does help I think. Quick getaway out the train etc. No doubt there will be others in similar panic mode. Taxi already arranged at Bourg St M. I will check to see if there are later trains just in case. I will pre-purchase my RER ticket to try and save time

Cheers All

A snowHead

You can buy a carnet of metro tickets on the eurostar train itself from the cafe.

1 hour is plenty if everything is running to time, the journey itself only takes about 20 minutes. If booking in the future I'd consider allowing two hours and then taking lunch in Le Train Bleu at Gare d'Lyon if you have time.

This is a pretty good guide:

http://www.snowcarbon.co.uk/train-guides/change-in-paris/paris-nord-paris-lyon

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Thats RER line D
Malesherbes / Melun direction (Orry La Ville direction going home).
You can also go on the internet now and buy a 10 pack of metro-tickets to be sent to you.

When/where are you going? The normal Friday evening overnight trains to the Tarrentaise have gone previous years from Gare Austerlitz.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

A very useful archive, thanks snowHead

s

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Gare de Nord to Gare de Lyon

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