RER to Metro (coming from Disneyland Paris to our hotel)

Bonjour,

We'd be coming into Chatelet-les-Halles from the RER A from Disneyland-Paris and we need to get to the nearby *Metro* Chatelet station as that is one (small) block from the hotel.

Is transferring at Chatelet-les-Halles ok (presumably, to the 4 Metro line) or would we be better off stopping at Gare de Lyon and taking the 1 Metro line to the Chatelet Metro station and then walking up to the hotel?

Also, note we'll be hauling 4 pieces of luggage (two 24" rollers and two duffel bags...oh...and a backpack)

Chatelet-les-Halles and Chatelet are, practically, the same station. Geographically, the Chatelet-les-Halles RER station is between the "Les Halles" metro station at the North end and the Chatelet metro station at the south end. They are interconnected underground, however. CHatelet-les-Halles is physically closer to Les Halles than Chatelet. However, there is a travelator underground between the RER part and the Chatelet part of the station. If your exit is towards the southern end of Chatelet, it would make sense to follow the signs for line 1 when getting off the RER at Chatelet, as this is, IIRC, the furthest south of the metro lines at Chatelet. I would avoid following the signs for line 4 as there is a risk you might end up at the Les Halles end rather than the CHatelet end, which is not what you want.

You won't save much walking by changing at Gare de Lyon rather than Chatelet-les-Halles as, in both cases, you will have to walk from the RER part of the station to the metro part.

Perhaps giving the name of the street where your hotel is located would make it easier for a local (not me, though: too long has elapsed since I lived in Paris for me to be a reliable source ) to give you more reliable directions as there are multiple entry/exits to the Chatelet station and they can be quite remote from each other.

Thanks, NickB

We're staying on Rue Victoria so walking toward Chatelet via the "travelator" will I guess take us right to that station and then we walk up to street level?

If you take the Ste Opportune exit at Chatelet, there is an escalator almost all the way to the top.

So we stay underground from Chatelet les Halles (via the moving sidewalk thing) and look for Ste Opportune exit signs as we go?

edit: Watched a couple of YouTube videos of Chatelet les Halles. A bit on the sprawling side

That is putting it mildly. It is a huge station and one that is easy to get confused in. So you are right to ask all of these questions!

I kept watching one of the videos and saw the camera person going up a flight of stairs, going up an escalator, another escalator, more stairs and still was underground! lol

Maybe we *will* exit at the Gare de Lyon station and transfer over to the Metro to reach the Metro Chatelet station. I don't care if it takes a few min longer that way or if we walk a bit more (but it seems it would be less) just because we'll be carrying a fair amount of luggage.

Might be worth it. Gare De Lyon isn't a small station by any means but it is much more manageable.

You will manage it easily, the exit saint Opportune is one of the rather well indicated in the station and is easy to find. You will not have so many stairs to take, just one from the platform of the RER to upstair, then following direction metro 1-4, you will take a moving walk, then you will find the indication for the exit, up some stairs and then again up some stairs and you are out

Thanks a mil. Maybe we'll venture it after all!

To change from RER A to M1 @ Gare de Lyon is not that easy IIRC. So, I would go for Chatelet-Les Halles.
If you follow the sign to M14, you have to turn right before a people mover after you passed your ticket. At the beginning of the corridor, you have an elevator which should bring you to the ground floor.

Gare De Lyon to Chatelet is a fairly straight forward taxi ride.Parisian taxis are pretty good value.With a load of luggage its a tempting option......

another option: change at the smaller station NATION. RER A and your metro line run there, too.

I would not transfer from RER to the Metro anywhere with that amount of luggage. There might be escalators at some of the mainline train stations (such as Gare de Lyon) but even if there are, they are often out of service.

The truth is the Paris Metro just isn't set up or run to make this easy. I often wonder, as I'm slugging up a series of staircases, why they don't make structural changes to accomodate travelers with luggage and other physical limitations. Even the few places that claim to have elevators is a toss of the dice-I looked for the elevator from the RER in St. Michel and it was hard to find since there was no signage and when I did find it, the motor sitting on the platform in what looked like some major mechanical work.

I would take one of two routes. First, you could get off the RER at Chatalet and take the most convenient exit to the street, meaning one that has escalators. If you can get up to the Forum shopping mall that is in the same complex, there are usually working escalators up to street level. Bring a decent street map with your hotel location marked and when you get to street level, find your position and schlep on over to our hotel.

The second choice is more expensive but easier. Get off at Gare de Lyon and go to street level-escalators are usually in service for that. Follow the signs to the taxi line, which is one of the few places in Paris where people actually wait in line, rather than cut in. i haven't taken a cab on this route but it shouldn't be more than 15€ or so, even with the luggage charges. Given all your luggage, you will likely need a cab with a big trunk or a mini SUV/mini van, which rhe French call a brique (brick). Wait your turn, one will come.

Getting off at Nation might work but I would be concerned about both working escalators and a close-by taxi stand. I am just not familiar enough with Nation to judge.

Mountain Trader, just for reference it's a break, not a brique. (Yes, English invades the French language once again!)

And I agree with you that I wouldn't want to transfer from the RER to metro with that amount of luggage, either. Just the thought of lugging it up a ton of stairs... no thanks. I would probably go with your second suggestion (Gare de Lyon plus taxi), but then again it's the station I'm most familiar with.

Otherwise, taking RER + metro, I'd take the RER to Gare de Lyon, then line 14 to Chatelet. At least for the GdL to line 14 transfer, the chances of having working escalators or elevators are good--not sure what it's like on the Chatelet end. Although at the Gare de Lyon, if memory serves, it's a heck of a long walk to transfer from the RER to metro, especially with lots of bags.