Getting to Gare du Nord

I%26#39;m leaving in 2 days for my first trip to Paris. We%26#39;ll then be heading to London via the Eurostar. If I have a 9am departure out of Gare du Nord, can someone please offer advice on what time to leave my hotel and how best to get to the train station? I am staying at Hotel de l%26#39;Empereur on rue Chevert near the Tour Marbourg metro stop. I don%26#39;t know if this will be a busy rush hour time, if I%26#39;d be better taking a taxi than trying to get my luggage through the metro. I%26#39;m travelling with a friend, and we%26#39;ll each have one piece of luggage. If taxi is the best way to go, any ideas of how much it would cost? (student budget here).

Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!

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9:00 a.m. is rush hour - and you have to be at train station 30 min in advance for Eurostar (you have to go up the stairs through some check in first). Taxis use a fast lane however so 30 minutes should be enough. Price? Not sure. Should be under 20 Euros.

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So should we plan to take a taxi and leave the hotel between 7 and 7:30? I don%26#39;t mind getting to the station early. Since I have little experience with train travel, I could probably use a little extra time to get everything figured out. Plus, can%26#39;t beat the people-watching at a train station!

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For the simplest, most direct public transportation (student budget?) route to GARE du NORD from rue Chevert I%26#39;d be inclined to suggest that you walk the distance to either the PONT d%26#39;ALMA or INVALIDES RER station and take the RER %26#39;C%26#39; ligne to SAINT MICHEL-NOTRE DAME RER station and then make the quick ligne change over to the RER %26#39;B%26#39; ligne to GARE du NORD...then up the escalators there to the SCCF/EUROSTAR/THALYS train level of the station, along the main station concourse to the EUROSTAR check-in area. You can make pretty much the same public transportation transfer via #8 Metro ligne from LA TOUR-MAUBOURG to STRASBOURG-SAINT DENIS and switch over to the #4 Metro ligne to GARE du NORD. But in actual practice, the RER routing will probably %26#39;work%26#39; a bit better with Correspondance at stations....If the weather is fair, the short walk toward and past INVALIDES is pleasant. The average RER route transfer with station Correspondance and wait-times for trains should/could run approx 25-35 minutes from your hotel to Gare du Nord. The Metro routing might be a few minutes faster...but perhaps more %26#39;clunky%26#39;.

The alternative is to telephone one of the larger, radio-dispatched taxi companies for a TAXI PARISIAN pick-up at your hotel, directly to Gare du Nord (approx.15€-18€). The average travel time by taxi from your hotel to Gare du Nord could also run 20-30 minutes (depending on the vageries of Parisian surface traffic.

For either alternative, you probably want to depart your hotel at least one(1) hour prior to your Eurostar train%26#39;s scheduled departure from Gare du Nord..to allow for the %26#39;cross town transfer and Eurostar check-in.

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Taking the RER or metro is just not as easy at it sounds. (Not that it%26#39;s difficult.)

There is a double staircase down to the platform at Pont de l%26#39;Alma. Not sure about Invalides. Transferring at Saint-Michel is quite a hike. Down a double staircase and then plenty of walking and at least two sets of escalators.

NO WAY would I transfer at Strasbourg/St-Denis. That station, in particular, is loaded with pickpockets.

Do yourself a favor and have someone at the front desk phone for a taxi. Ask the night before if you should order one then or in the morning.

Do get to Gare du Nord at least 1/2 hour early. As soon as you are there, familiarize yourself with the layout so you%26#39;ll be able to head for your track as soon as it is displayed on the board.

We took the RER to CDG from Pont de l%26#39;Alma last year, transferring at Saint-Michel, only because there was a taxi strike and it was our only option. It wasn%26#39;t too bad...but a taxi would have been so much easier, and worth every Euro.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Taking the RER or metro is just not as easy at it sounds. (Not that it%26#39;s difficult.)%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

I%26#39;d probably just take a taxi too (but then I%26#39;m an incredibly lazy SOB before my second cup of coffee and cigarette in the morning)....but there are two(2) %26#39;qualifiers%26#39; in the original request: %26#39;..student..%26#39; and %26#39;..budget..%26#39;...to draw inferences of %26#39;youth%26#39; and %26#39;economy%26#39; without any %26#39;special needs%26#39; dis-qualifiers.

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%26gt;%26gt; NO WAY would I transfer at Strasbourg/St-Denis. That station, in particular, is loaded with pickpockets. %26lt;%26lt;

And here%26#39;s a harder fact : it%26#39;s loaded with stairs from the Line 8 platforms to the Line 4 platforms.

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