The Landing in Paris

A narrative of my travels to to Paris, Bruselles, Amsterdam, the Black Forest, Switzerland and Lombardy in the spring of 2016

The first thing that strikes any first-time visitor on their descent into Paris is the vast open countryside dotted with little villages and farms, a delight in itself.

Charles de Gaulle (CDG) may not be the best of airports in the world – but it sure is efficient and seamless. Picture this – we're prime candidates for suspicion, coming as we do days after one of the deadliest bombings in mainland Europe on this side of WWII, and the Paris shootings itself still fresh in memory – but all they do is check whether our visas are valid, and then stamp our passports quickly with “Bienvenue en France... bonsoir,” with the charismatic French smile thrown in. No question asked, no hassles. More than material infrastructure, such level of trust and orderly conduct is the key for third world countries to catch up with the first world. 

I was skeptical of our checked in luggage finding its way to Paris, especially considering the short transit time of less than a hour at Dubai, but Emirates obviously has some way to ensure it does. With the wisdom of hindsight, it was needless to drag 7 kg x 4 hand baggage all across Dubai’s sprawling Terminals B and C, but with hindsight the world would have been a much different place.  For the record, baggage pick up did not take more than 10 minutes.

Between a train and a taxi, I always prefer trains. In Paris, the decision is a no-brainer if you are arriving at the start of a week. The Navigo Decouverte Pass , costing 26.5 Euros per head, covers transportation on all metro, RER trains, buses and trams from Monday to Sunday, including the trip from airport. You can buy these passes at the railway station inside the airport, as long as you have the required photo (3 cm x 2.5 cm), and a pen on hand. Simply spend a few moments to buy this card, get into a train, and zoom into Gare du Nord in the heart of the city, in about 25 minutes. If available, opt for a train that goes non-stop into Gare du Nord over the one that stops at all intermediate stations. You could very well continue your trip to the hotel in the metro or RER, and in fact, depending on where you hotel is, you need not even come into Gare du Nord, transiting or getting off elsewhere.

The other (more comfortable) option is to take a taxi from Gare du Nord to your hotel. The taxi from airport to any hotel in Central Paris would be anywhere between 50 and 60 Euros, and a taxi from Gare du Nord to the same destination could be anywhere between 10 and 20 Euros. If you are in a group, do not have a Navigo Decouverte card (or have instead been sold a useless Paris Pass back home by some snake oil travel agent) then you are better off taking a taxi right from the airport. The RER into Gare du Nord costs around 10 Euros per person, and when you add the taxi fare from Gare du Nord, you are better off in a taxi from the world go, though a combination of RER+taxi would still reach your hotel faster. Uber is available in Paris, but it is really not worthwhile to mess with it, considering the other ready options available.

A word of caution of those using the Paris metro and RER. Not all stations have escalators or lifts, and even when there is, it may not be in the direction you want to go, or in the zone you enter or leave the station. Stations such as Gare du Nord and Chatelet les Halles are sprawling labyrniths. Prepare to walk extensively, climb staircases, and make sure you are following the right signage. This is more so when you want to get out. You would need to make sure you are getting out from the right exit, denoted by the street name. 

Paris is a walking city and Parisans are quite used to walking distance. But they also know to travel light, and I've never seen someone with more than one piece of luggage.

Paris may be a first-world city, but it is not free of its share of touts and scamsters either. They emerge out of the woodwork when they see you vulnerable, and the only way to preempt them is to avoid looking vulnerable. A family of Indians getting out of the wrong exit of Gare du Nord at night was enough invitation for a taxi parked nearby to demand Euro 45 to drop us at our hotel. Agreeing to it would have made us the perfect fools, for with Euro 50 we could have taken a taxi straight from the airport, without the hassles of the train and carting our luggage all over the station. This is where Google is your friend. I knew the taxi charge to our hotel was never more than 20 Euros even in the pitch of the night. We backtracked, soon found out we had taken a wrong exit, and two minutes later we got out at Rue de Dunquerque exit and the official taxi rink, from where we made a no-hassle transfer to Ibis Porte de Pantin for 17 euros.

For the record, we landed at CDG on time, at 20:05. In a hour's time, after purchasing a SIM and the Navigo Decouverte passes, we were on a train to Gare du Nord, and by 22:00 we were tucked up in our comfortable beds.



NEXT: Accommodation and Food in Paris