Paris travel concerns

I am planning a trip to Paris arriving to CDG via EuroRail pass on Friday (3/9)afternoon/night and leaving CDG on Sunday (3/11). I am travelling with 2 friends, we are all under the age of 24, and staying in the Holiday Inn Express near CDG that offers a shuttle service to CDG. I know that we want to travel into the city on Saturday for the day to see Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Pantheon, %26amp; Notre Dame.

I am not sure how to plan travel (what subways, if reservations are needed, if EuroRail pass will cover the Metro, etc) or if I should know anything about getting around/seeing the city.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

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First - the best help I can give you is to advise you to buy a good guidebook and all read it so that you can ascertain which sites you all wish to see -

If you read the fine print on your Eurail pass, you%26#39;ll discover what it does cover - the Paris Metro is not one of those things unless there have been some major changes of late.

Good luck

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Is there some particular reason why you chose a hotel all the way out at CDG for your Paris visit ??....It%26#39;s certainly convenient to the airport....but the location is pretty much the pits for much of anything else.

The one-way fare for the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne train from CDG into central Paris is 8,10 € per person. The train travel time from CDG to SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME station (directly across the Seine from Notre Dame will be 36-40 minutes. I believe (I%26#39;m not positive) that you can use your Eurail pass for this train...BUT... this seems an awful waste of a full day%26#39;s travel time on the Eurail pass.

It%26#39;s worth noting that the LAST TRAIN of the day on the RER %26#39;B-3%26#39; ligne from Paris back out to CDG departs at approx 00:00-MIDNIGHT

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I agree with kdk, if you don%26#39;t have some specific reason for staying near CDG, stay in central Paris.

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KDK and Faux are correct. No reason to stay way out there at CDG especially if you want to enjoy some of the night life in the city. If you miss the train back, you would be hard pressed to find a taxi on a Friday or Saturday night to take you back to your Holiday Express. They are notoriously diffiucult to get after midnight on the weekends.

You have two weekend nights to spend in the city...why not make the most of a great opportunity. The areas near CDG are dead.

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I have never been to the airport as we came in by train and left by train. But I would not stay out there either. You might as well stay some where you can enjoy the ambiance of Paris!

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Please stay in Paris and not out at CDG. There is much to do at night as well as during the day so you would be better off staying somewhere and heading back to CDG on the day you leave. Not really sure if you are taking the train why you would start at CDG.

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I am not that familiar with the trains stations in France/Paris but I think most of the trains (except Eurostar) come into Gare St-Lazare (Parisians Yes-No?). So I am curious when you say CDG, since CDG is the airport as to where you are coming from or are you staying there to be near the airport to leave?

I would also suggest from your age staying in St. Germain or Latin Quarter area. And depending on your standards, you may want to consider a hostel.

Since there will be 3 you can get a shuttle to the airport from Paris to CDG for about the same or less than one days ride on RER into the city.

And yes you would be closer to the airport for departure but as someone else mentioned you would be losing sightseeing time riding the RER into Paris.

Also in Paris you would be better off buying a carnet of tickets as they are individual tickets and can be shared unlike the Mobilis and Vistie (sic).

I sure others who have traveled via train and from one city to another can give you better advice but this is just my two-cents worth.

I think a little more research into accomdation locations and travel might be beneficial especially financially.

Several people have posted trip planner site for within the city. I can try and find them if you want. Was very useful for me in locating how to get to my hotel from Gare d%26#39;Nord (we%26#39;ll see come the time, LOL).

Reply to post and I will look for the sites.

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