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Gare du Nord to Gare de l’Est

• It’s an easy 10 minute walk in the Gare du Nord towards the Gare de l’Est, much simpler than going only one stop around the metro.
• Walk from the Gare du Nord on the street in front of the station.
• Turn left across the front of the station, and continue straight before you in the Rue de Dunkerque until the tracks leading to the Gare de l’Est stop you going any more.
• Turn straight into the Rue d’Alsace along the tracks, descending the long flight of pedestrian steps to the side entrance of the Gare de l’Est.
• This is the quickest and shortest route, but to prevent the long flight of steps, walk out with the Gare du Nord and over the road in to the Boulevard de Denain straight ahead of you, turn left in to the Boulevard de Magenta, then left again into the Rue du 8 Mai 1945. This route is a bit longer, but gives level access in one station to the other.
• Map of Gare du Nord & Gare de l’Est neighbourhood

Gare du Nord  to Gare de Lyon

• Walk off the end from the Eurostar platform, turn left, and keep to the signs for RER line D. (more…)

Taxis can be a painless way to cross Paris, specifically if you have large amounts of luggage. A taxi from the Gare du Nord to (for example) the Gare de Lyon or Gare d’Austerlitz costs around 17-19 euro and takes about 25 minutes. However, be aware that there’s normally a long queue for taxis in the Gare du Nord and other main stations, so always allow no less than an hour or preferably more between trains, see above. Don’t accept taxis or private hire vehicles from touts, utilize the official taxi rank on the side entrance towards the Gare du Nord (the same side of the station since the Eurostar platforms). Make sure the motive force turns the meter on whenever you drive off.

How you can pre-book taxis…
As there’s normally a long queue for taxis in the Gare du Nord as well as other Paris stations, it’s a wise decision to pre-book one. Several companies offer pre-bookable taxis in Paris, including www.taxis-g7.com. To book taxis from G7: (more…)

How long in the event you allow to improve trains in Paris?

Crossing Paris by metro physically takes about 30-35 minutes, but you should allow no less than one hour between the Eurostar coming to the Gare du Nord as well as your connecting train leaving one of many other Paris stations. 45 minutes is enough for that Gare de l’Est as it’s a ten minute walk from your Gare du Nord. Allow longer (a minimum of 90 minutes, or Gare de l’Est Sixty minutes) if you are catching a sleeper train which you can not afford to miss.

On the return journey, remember the Half hour Eurostar check-in, so allow a minimum of 1 hour 30 minutes relating to the train arriving in Paris as well as the departure of the Eurostar to London (Sixty minutes for the Gare de l’Est).

How much does the metro cost?
The metro fare is 1.70 euros per journey.
Children 0-3 travel free. Children 4-9 (inclusive) travel for 0.85 euro.
It’s cheaper to get a ‘carnet’ of 10 tickets for 12.00 euros. You are able to keep any spare tickets and rehearse them later, even up to and including year later. Each ticket is valid for one journey in central Paris on either metro, RER (express metro) or bus.

How can you buy tickets?
The metro is not a part of mainline tickets, so head downstairs to the metro and buy a ticket from the self-service ticket machines or on the metro ticket office. The self-service machines provide an English language facility and accept euro coins, notes & credit cards. In addition they sell carnets of 10 tickets.

Travel tip: If you haven’t any euros, the ticket machines will let you work with a bank card even to purchase one 1.60 euro ticket.

Travel tip: If you are making returning journey, buy two metro tickets as you move across Paris on your outward journey. You are able to use the 2nd ticket for crossing Paris in your return trip, not waste time queuing in the ticket office. Metro tickets can be used on a daily basis after they have been bought.

Travel tip: You can find a carnet of 10 Paris metro tickets for £11.50, and Paris metro visitor passes, on the information desk within the Eurostar terminal working in london, just ask…
Finding the best metro platform…

Unlike the London Underground, which works on the line name then ‘northbound’ and ‘southbound’, Paris metro lines each have a number a ‘diréction’. The ‘diréction’ may be the name with the station at the conclusion of the line in the direction you want to go. As an example, ‘M5 diréction Place d’Italie’, Place d’Italie being the station at the conclusion of line 5 because direction.