Being budget-minded, I would like to take the RER/metro from CDG to my hotel a block from the St Paul metro station. This means transferring from the train (Chatelet Les Halles) to the metro (Chatelet) with one wheelie and a backpack. I can do the walking, but I would hate to find I have to lug the suitcase up (down is almost as bad) many, many stairs.
Are stairs involved between the two stations? How many stairs (roughly) at St Paul?
Thanks.
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The stairs are St Paul (two dozen-ish) are the least of your problem... You%26#39;d have them at the airport and at the Chatelet change.
The good news is that if you are attractive and really struggling, somebody will be sure to give you a hand!
That said, I can do the transfer via metro, single female with a kid AND our bags.
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When we used the RER going to CDG, there were escalators and elevators at CDG, no stairs.
BUT, I wouldn%26#39;t go near Chatelet - with or without bags.
If I wanted to economize, I%26#39;d take the Air France coach to Gare de Lyon, then taxi, bus, or metro (in that order) from there.
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«BUT, I wouldn%26#39;t go near Chatelet - with or without bags.»
There are certain connections I wouldn%26#39;t attempt at the Chatelet station but this isn%26#39;t one of them. It%26#39;s a straightforward connection from the RER to métro line-1. Follow the signs to the yellow métro line-1 platform and the transfer will be simple. Board the train in the direction %26quot;Chateau de Vincennes%26quot; and get off at stop %26quot;Saint-Paul%26quot;. This is not a difficult transfer. Escalators are available for the whole process and the signage is clear and straightforward.
A lot of the info you get on travel forums about the Chatelet station is outdated.
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It%26#39;s not the connection at Chatelet - it%26#39;s the pickpockets in the station and on the trains from there.
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djkbooks, unless things have changed a lot since last Novemeber when we were in Paris and Chatelet was %26quot;our%26quot; metro station for 10 nights, we didn%26#39;t have a problem with pick pockets at all, nor the station in general.
I understand that there are pickpockets that %26quot;work%26quot; the metro in Paris, but that is not a phenomenon peculiar only Paris - it%26#39;s a global thing.
Pitzikat, unless your wheelie and backpack are really heavy, and you don%26#39;t have mobility problems, you should be OK even with the stairs which are everywhere in Paris metro stations not to mention apartments, hotels etc. We certainly managed to lug a carry-on (7kg) and a wheelie (20kg) up and down the stairs wherever we went and I wouldn%26#39;t classify ourselves as %26quot;fit%26quot;.
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%26quot;djkbooks, unless things have changed a lot since last Novemeber when we were in Paris and Chatelet was %26quot;our%26quot; metro station for 10 nights, we didn%26#39;t have a problem with pick pockets at all, nor the station in general.%26quot;
I would agree with DougoOZ. I was also in Paris last November and either got off at or made connections through Chatelet Les Halles probably 5 to 6 times during my stay, twice quite late at night. I was a single female, travelling alone. The worst problem I had was finding the right exit...
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Really, it%26#39;s all escalators and not challenging. Chatelet isn%26#39;t the navigational nightmare it was 2-3 years ago. The signage is much better and unless you%26#39;re connecting to métro lines 7 and 11, the transfer is easy and straightforward.
If you%26#39;re traveling east on métro line-1, to the St-Paul station, near the center of the platform near the emergency alarm station, there%26#39;s an escalator that takes you directly to street level. That%26#39;s the only escalator at that station from platform to street level.
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I neglected to add that I think the pickpocket warnings are a bit exaggerated.
Yes you should be cautious.
No, you should not be paranoid.
It%26#39;s the same as in San Francisco or Santiago.
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Pickpocket warnings are simply intended to alert you to a POTENTIAL...not necessarily to announce that there are hordes of Vandals, marauding through the streets and Metro stations of Paris, pillaging and plundering and generally abusing hapless tourists with impugnity. Paris is a large, crowded, busy city and the potential for petty-crime-of-opportunity exists. Warning are simply reminders to take reasonable, common-sense precautions and be %26#39;situationally aware%26#39; of your surroundings and what you%26#39;re doing. That%26#39;s it. Don%26#39;t do anything STUPID.
As example: I%26#39;m walking down the busy rue de Rivoli one afternoon...two women come out of a shop and are looking at some item or other that they%26#39;ve just purchased. One of these women is walking along, her shoulder bag slung around on her hip, the purse is completely un-flapped, un-snapped, un-zipped---W-I-D-E...O-P-E-N---and the wallet that she%26#39;s probably just used to make her recent prized purchase is lying on top of the contents of her open bag, in full and plain sight. THIS is someone who is STUPID.
I%26#39;m sitting at a café table. A tourist comes by and sets his bulging backpack down on a nearby public bench, takes out his camera and begins to take photos of the whimsical sculpture by Saint Phalle/Tinguely at Fontaine Igor Stravinsky near the busy Centre Pompidou ...as he does so, he continually edges farther and farther away from the UN-attended back-pack, searching for a better shot/camera angle. By the time he%26#39;s got his %26#39;shot%26#39; he%26#39;s on the OTHER side of the fountain and a half-block AWAY from his wholy UN-attended backpack. THIS is someone who is STUPID.
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Pickpockets: use common sense and don%26#39;t leave anything valuable exposed. With luggage in tow, you need to plan in advance how you are going to carry your money, passport and cards. Invest in an under-the-clothes money belt or something similar. If you don%26#39;t look like a target, chances of you becoming a victim are much smaller.
Chatelet transfer: there are escalators and elevators so don%26#39;t worry.
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