My wife and I are spending two weeks in Paris at the end of the month. This is our second visit and were used to using the Metro when we visited last time and want to take the Metro into town from CDG. We will be carrying two large rolling dufflebags, are we asking for trouble or is this a task we can easily accomplish? We are both mildly athletic and we will only have one transfer between lines.
We are also discussing whether we should go to Chartres or the Palace at Versilles (sp?). Does anyone have a stong opinion either way?
Thanks.
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My wife and I manage the RER b-3 train link between CDG and Paris with 2 wheeled 26%26quot; bags, she a tote and me a small day-pack...and neither of us has ever been recruited for the Bulgarian Olympic shot-put team or can benchpress a Buick. There are any number of previous posts on how to do it and %26#39;tricks%26#39;. Try using the forum%26#39;s SEARCH feature to go back and read through some.
Choosing between Chateau de Versailles and Chartres is a bit like coosing between apples and oranges...or asking a parent which is their favorite child. Bot are worthwhile day trips for different reasons. I can say this about Chartres; the first time we visited it was on a summer Sunday. We visited the Cathedral, meandered our way down through the winding streets and stopped into a charming little restaurant on the old Eure River for lunch (by dumb luck we got the last table available) We made our way back up to the Cathedral after a wonderful luncheon in time to catch Malcolm Miller%26#39;s afternoon tour then wandered around some more before strolling back to the train station. We had some time to kill and stopped into a little jotel just above the train station for something cool to drink. We got chatting with one of the hotel%26#39;s desk clerks and on a whim asked what their rates were and if they had any vacant rooms. He showed us a room with a view of the cathedrals spires. We asked the clerk to telephone the restaurant to see if they had any tables available for dinner that evening. They remembered us (the only Americans at lunch that afternoon). So we booked a table at the restaurant and a room at the inn and spent the night and the better part of the next day in Chartres. I guess you could say we had a %26#39;..strong feeling..%26#39; for Chartres. Two things I should mention: if you do this, be sure to pack at least a change of underwear. You can buy a toothbrush, toothpaste, razor and shaving cream in Chartres late on a Sunday afternoon...but not underwear. You should also telephone your Paris hotel to let them know what you%26#39;re doin%26#39;. We didn%26#39;t and they thought that we were lying in a ditch somewhere bleeding when our room key remained in the box at the desk all night and we didn%26#39;t %26#39;come home%26#39;. For some reason, I was assigned ALL of the blame (I thought they were going to send me to bed without my supper and %26#39;ground%26#39; me for a month) for this oversight and my wife escaped any reproach, with smiles and shrugs for having married such an inconsiderate man.
The restaurant is Le Moulin de Ponceau and the hotel is the Hotel Chatelet.
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As usual, KDKSAIL has given you a thorough and
personal account of Chartres. I could not agree
more. You can get there from Paris by train.
You might want to call ahead to see if Malcolm
Miller will be giving tours and if so, what times;
be sure to get there early. He%26#39;s woth it.
There is a famous labyrinth at Chartres;
do take the time to walk it, even if part of it is
covered by chairs. Small but interesting gift shop.
If there were not huge crowds most of the time at Versailles,
it would be worth a visit IMO.
You might consider Vaux Le Compte. The architect who
built it was stolen my Louis to build Versailles.
Best Wishes
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We navigated the metro easily - some steps in St michael/Cluny-Sorbonne stops, but we made it to cardinal lemoine pretty easily. On the way back we decided to walk a bit farther to Luxemborg metro so that we would have a straight shot to CDG on the RER B3 %26amp; not have to climb up the steps at St. Michael.
I didn%26#39;t really enjoy Versailles, so I%26#39;d pick something else. It could be because it was hot. We went on a Friday %26amp; I%26#39;ve read it gets most crowded on sat/sun, so I guess it could have been worse. I actually enjoyed the Trianon (the little - respectively speaking - houses) better than the palace itself. I also would have liked to walk out towards the little hamlet that marie anoinette had built, but I thought I might get heatstroke (this coming from a person who has gone to Disneyworld in July!). So my experience of it might be extreme.
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Merci, sounds like the metro and Chartres.
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For information on Malcolm Miller%26#39;s tours of the chatedral, check--
…wanadoo.fr/.diocese.chartres/…guieng.htm
For train schedules and fares from PARIS-Gare Montparnasse to CHARTRES--
www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomePage…
For general and specific CHARTRES information--
http://www.ville-chartres.fr
www.chartres-tourisme.com/index1024.php
http://www.chartres.com/
http://www.chartres-csm.org/
http://www.lemoulindeponceau.fr/
http://www.lavieillemaison.fr.st/
www.galerie-du-vitrail.com/english/index.php
And just in case--
http://www.hotelchatelet.com/
http://www.bw-grand-monarque.com/
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Depending where your hotel is located, and when your flight arrives, simply take a taxi for about ��� 40 and relax while someone drives you straight to the hotel. Changing metro stations and schlepping bags up and down does not make for a good start after a long flight and change it time zones.
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Definitely Chartres. Versailles is so crowded and very touristy. If you like to see a palace go to Fontainbleau less crowd to fight with. Its 45min by train from Gare dLyon.
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