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Enough Time across Paris?

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MCR247

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Do you think this is a safe connection?

Eurostar arriving into Pairs Nord at 1217. ICE 3 leaving Paris Est at 1308?

And

TGV into PAris Est at 1250 and Eurostar leaving at 1413?

Thanks for any help :)
 
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bb21

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Are you planning on walking between Nord and Est?
 

bb21

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Yes I think Googlemap gives the distance as 800 metres, about half a mile.

I've done it a few times. If you are worried about getting lost, follow the Boulevard de Magenta which is one of the main (very busy) north-south thoroughfare. A distinct feature is the articulated buses on Route 31 (quite frequent). The stations are well sign-posted.
 

MCR247

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I'll probably walk it if I'm on time.

Thanks :)
 

LouJ

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Don't even consider the metro - you can be at Est walking before you reach the metro platform at Nord. Leaving eurostar walk left at the buffer stops and then Bear right onto the main street outside. Turn along the front of the station left and follow the signs. You will get a great view of Est station on the way.
 

Benno

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Provided your trains are not late you will have plenty of time. It is approx 10 mins to walk between the two stations. As others have said, do not bother with the Metro.

If you check on Google maps you will see how close they are together.
 

brianthegiant

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Yep Nord-Est is a stones throw
It's only a little further than for example st pancras thameslink to kings cross.

Unless you have heavy unwheeled luggage not even worth getting a cab,
the shortest route goes past some cafes, along parallel with platforms & then down some steps & walk straight onto the TGV.

Outward connection plenty of time,

Coming back, Eurostar recommend 30mins but my experience is that they tend to let you through initial ticket check as long as you have about 10mins before departure.
so you should be fine, you have quite a bit more than I would have as my personal minimum connection time.
 

plymothian

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I left an hour for the same connection, however E* was half hour - 40 min late (during the snow), by the time i got to Est (running), retrieved my ticket from the machine and got to the platform, the train had gone. SNCF put me on the next train when I said the E* arrived late.
 

Gordon

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.

Agree with all posts. Short walk even with largish wheeled baggage. Just get to the front of Gare du Nord, turn left (east) along front of station (Rue de Dunkerque) and continue in a straight line (subject to the position of the road crossings at the five way oblique crossroads of Rue de Dunkerque, Rue La Fayette and Rue du Faubourg St Denis). On the west-north-west corner of this junction is a useful Boulangerie/Patisserie where you can stock up on bread/sarnies/cakes.

At the end of Rue de Dunkerque turn right into Rue d'Alsace, passing the interestingly named Hotel Kuntz, and you will find yourself above the west-side platforms of Est. Descend the monumental steps (used in a few French movies) and make your way into the Gare - simples!

Google directions:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...=48.87904,2.357404&spn=0.006435,0.013797&z=16


Not the most salubruious area of Paris but is usually OK during the main part of the day, except for:

In the Est - Nord direction, beware of people offering to carry your luggage up the monumental stairs in exchange for money...





.
 

Gordon

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You could also take a bus if you're a bit tired (two stops, several lines between the two stations) !

The problem with the bus is the same as the problem with the taxi or a metro ride, by the time you have found the bus/metro stop/taxi rank, paid, and waited for said transport you could have walked. It’s the same as Euston / St Pancras / King’s Cross
 

T163R

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The problem with the bus is the same as the problem with the taxi or a metro ride, by the time you have found the bus/metro stop/taxi rank, paid, and waited for said transport you could have walked. It’s the same as Euston / St Pancras / King’s Cross

Finding the bus stops: just in front of the main station's entrance, or the bus station by the back entrance.

Waiting: well you've got plenty of lines, so you'll wait less than 5 minutes (normally :D )
 

stut

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I was at Paris-Est just last weekend (picking up tickets from the Virgin Megastore there - very much recommended if you fancy going to the Louvre or Musée d'Orsay and want to skip the queue), and the famous "Association des Sourds-Muets" (the - neither deaf nor mute - beggars normally operating on RER B) were on the rue d'Alsace steps, grabbing luggage and "helping" people up with it. Shake your head and walk on.

I noticed that the bar at the top of the steps (the "au Train de Vie") has now been refurbished with all the seating now consisting of old train seats. Still manages to look rather seedy, though, but made me chuckle.

If you do want to get the bus, the easiest is to use the main front exit from the 'grandes lignes' station, to the left of the ticket desks, on to the rue de Dunkerque. The bus stop is in an island in the middle of the road, just to the left of the giant Terminus Nord brasserie. There's only one bus from here, though (the 26 towards Nation) but it does run every 5 minutes during the day. To be honest, if you're walking to one of the further stops from this, you're halfway there already. The buses take normal 't+' tickets, so if you get a carnet on the Eurostar, you can just dunk them in the machine as you board.
 

T163R

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If you do want to get the bus, the easiest is to use the main front exit from the 'grandes lignes' station, to the left of the ticket desks, on to the rue de Dunkerque. The bus stop is in an island in the middle of the road, just to the left of the giant Terminus Nord brasserie. There's only one bus from here, though (the 26 towards Nation) but it does run every 5 minutes during the day. To be honest, if you're walking to one of the further stops from this, you're halfway there already. The buses take normal 't+' tickets, so if you get a carnet on the Eurostar, you can just dunk them in the machine as you board.

There are more lines than line 26 in front of the Gare de l'Est. Eastbound, yes, there's only line 26, but that's not where you catch the bus to the Gare de l'Est (I think you were talking about Gare du Nord, not Gare de l'Est in your post, stut !). You need to walk to the small street, going down to the Gare de l'Est (line 38, 39, 46, etc.)
 

stut

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Yes, I was referring to going from Nord to Est, apologies if that wasn't clear.

There is indeed a bus stop further down the road with more buses, but my point was that by the time you get there, you've already walked halfway!
 
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