McLisa

My daughter & I will arrive at the Paris train station *Gare de Lyon* on a Friday afternoon in July 2015. Our hotel is in the 5th arr. I'm looking for suggestions for getting to the hotel w/ our luggage.

The rest of our stay, we will walk and take the metro. That does not intimidate me. However, I'm not certain that that is the best thing for us when we arrive w/ our 2 large suitcases plus carry-ons. I do not speak French; my daughter will have 3 yrs of HS French only at that time.

**What could we expect to pay for a taxi from the train station to the 5th?** Do all taxis take credit cards nowadays? [I do not live in a city in USA and never take taxis here either, so I am not up to date on what is standard for taxis.] Do you tip a taxi driver?

What is best for us? Thank you!

McLisa

Price differential between taking a taxi & taking metro to the hotel?

MaineGG

I have found this site to be fairly accurate in predicting taxi fares in Paris:

http://www.worldtaximeter.com/paris

The estimated charge shown does not, of course, include usual additional charges for bags.

McLisa

Thank you. I punched in the addresses and it looks like it'll be less than 11 Euros. That's so much cheaper than I expected. Well worth the ease factor rather than worrying about pickpockets and juggling all our luggage on the metro that first afternoon there.

We can handle our own luggage and put it into the taxi ourselves. Is that standard they will charge us for each piece? Is that normal in any city??

Sarastro

I would expect to pay 10€ to 15€ from Gare de Lyon to the 5th. In addition to the metered fare, expect to be charged 1€ for the second and subsequent bags placed into the trunk.

Taxi drivers are not tipped.

If you would like someone to meet you at the arrival platform, pickup your luggage and take you a nearby van, I recommend Navendis. Charge would probably be under 15€. Navendis works with the SNCF and their services can sometimes be reserved when purchasing tickets:

http://www.navendis.com/en/index.html

Cathinjoetown

Many but not all taxis take credit cards. Many taxi drivers speak some English but have your hotel's name and address written out to show the driver so there's no confusion.

At the station, follow the TAXIS sign to the taxi queue. Ignore anyone offering taxi services who approaches you in the station.

laurie_ann

Every city is different for taxi charges. Some charge for luggage some not. But I believe in Paris yes. You can google and see. Here are a couple of sources:

http://www.taxiguru.com/paris-france-taxi-tips/

http://www.secretsofparis.com/heathe...ris-taxis.html

Something I have found handy wherever I know I will take a taxi upon arrival and I don't really speak the local language. Have the name and address of the destination printed out. Even better if it has a small map too. For example print the "location" or "contact" page from your hotel's website so you have it to hand to the driver.

MaineGG

Also, if you have two large suitcases, I would strongly advise against taking the Metro. Some of the stations in the 5th have a lot of stairs.

At the Gare de Lyon, just follow the signs to the official taxi rank and get in line. Do not accept the offer of a "taxi" from anyone who approaches you outside the official rank. Be sure to have the hotel name and address printed clearly to show the driver.

The taxi fare will be the charge on the meter plus additional charges for your large suitcases (maybe €1 per bag). If the driver is helpful, I tip.

greg

You can find out ticket price easily at http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/r_61656/t-ticket/ 1.80€ each or 14.10€ with pack of 10 discount.

With metro, depending on where in 5th your hotel is located, you have to change metro at least once or more including a possible change at dreaded huge station like Chatelet.

With Taxi, what I would do is to ask your hotel how much it should cost from Gare de Lyon and before you get into a taxi, ask the driver about how much to your hotel. An honest drive would give a price within 20% of hotel estimate. But if you arrive at late pm rush hour, the traffic can come to stand still and you get hit legitimately with higher price as the meter racks up waiting charge. Also, if it is raining, taxis suddenly get harder to get. You should only get on at official taxi line. Anyone coming up to you with an offer is a suspect. I have never used CC with taxi in Paris. I don't know if they even take them.

With 5th, a bus is likely to be more convenient as you would less likely to need a change. Bus routes are more complicated, so be sure to ask your hotel which number to take. Also, the bus stop around the Gare de Lyon is not necessarily easy to find. Unlike metro stops, bus stops just go by on you, so have a printout of the name of the stop given by your hotel along with names of two stops before, so you can anticipate your stop.

MaineGG

Well, it seems many more folks chimed in while I was writing my second post. Glad you have decided to take a taxi!

Sarastro - Have you used the Navendis service? I wonder if it's the same as the service offered by iDTGV - iDCAB? We thought about booking that last trip but didn't because I had not heard of anyone's experiences with the service at that time. I think it sounds like a good idea and might try it next time.

Christina

That may be an estimate, but costs can vary depending on traffic. Don't go ballistic if it is more than 11 euro, as it could be. I think I paid about 20 euro once for a similar trip because there were some demonstrations going on that blocked some streets, and it was also very heavy traffic.

Parisien taxis are regulated, they all charge the same rates per mile, per piece of baggage, etc. SO the fees per piece of baggage are done by all of them. This is true in all cities AFAIK, taxi regulations are for all licensed taxis, regardless of brand.

Ackislander

The other thing to remember is that you are going into an old part of the city with many narrow streets. If your driver has to wander around through a bunch of one way streets, he is not necessarily cheating you.

McLisa

Thanks for all your helpful comments & advice!

Kathie

In theory all taxis in Paris take credit cards. In practice, your taxi might or might not.

McLisa

Am I going to get ripped off at an ATM at the Gare de Lyon train station? [We are coming in from Switz. This will be our first stop in France.]

janisj

>>Am I going to get ripped off at an ATM at the Gare de Lyon train station? [We are coming in from Switz. This will be our first stop in France<<

No (just be sure to use a machine that has a bank's name on it).

The only 'rip off' will be by your own home bank. European bank ATMs don't tack on fees. But your bank will determine the exchange rates, and likely also add a small fee.

Sarastro

<i>Sarastro - Have you used the Navendis service? I wonder if it's the same as the service offered by iDTGV - iDCAB?</i>

Yes I have used it and yes it is one of the services used by the SNCF which includes iDTGV. I think I paid 15€ from Gare de Lyon to the 7th.

There can be confusion when using taxis at Gare de Lyon. As one exits the station, the taxis on the far left are reserved. The taxi queue for those without reservations is somewhere to the right. During busy periods it can be confusing as clandestine drivers try to poach customers.

Going from Gare de Lyon to the 5th is a simple matter of crossing the Seine; it´s not going to cost that much in a taxi, even if there is traffic. Taxi G7 and Taxis Bleus (I can´t remember about Alpha Taxi) advertise that all of their taxis accept credit cards. I would still ask before I got into the cab if I really wanted to use a credit card.

Maudie

Thanks for the Navendis information, 4 of us will need to get from the 5th (Hotel Diana) to CDG in July for a 10.40 departure, this might just be the answer.

Would there be a great deal of difference in price as versus ordering a taxi?

Maudie

Oops, that will be a 10.40 am departure.

Rubicund

"Am I going to get ripped off at an ATM at the Gare de Lyon train station? [We are coming in from Switz. This will be our first stop in France"

Apart from the above, if the ATM asks if you would like Dynamic exchange rates, press "No". The rate you'd get is a rip off.