FRANCE - Best of Europe 2014 - page 400

Transportation Between Beauvais Airport and Paris
By Bus: Buses depart from the airport when they're full (about 20 minutes after flights ar-
rive) and take 1.5 hours to reach Paris. Buy your ticket (€15 one-way) at the little kiosk to
the right as you exit the airport. Buses arrive at Porte Maillot on the west edge of Paris (on
Métro line 1 and RER-C). The closest taxi stand is at Hôtel Concorde-Lafayette.
Buses heading to Beauvais Airport leave from Porte Maillot about 3.25 hours before
scheduled flight departures. Catch the bus in the parking lot on Boulevard Pershing next
to Hôtel Concorde-Lafayette. Arrive with enough time to purchase your bus ticket before
boarding( parking Pershingticketboothtel.0158050845,airportticketboothtel.034411
46 86).
By Train: Trains connect Beauvais' city center and Paris' Gare du Nord (20/day, 1.25
hours).ToreachBeauvais' trainstation,taketheBeauvais navette (€4,6/day,30minutes)or
local bus #12 (€1, 12/day, 30 minutes).
By Taxi: YoucantakeataxifromBeauvaisAirporttoBeauvais'trainstationorcitycen-
ter (€14) or to central Paris (allow €130 and 1.25 hours).
By Train
Paris is Europe's rail hub, with six major stations and one minor one, with trains heading in
different directions:
• Gare du Nord (northbound trains)
• Gare Montparnasse (west- and southwest-bound trains)
• Gare de Lyon (southeast-bound trains)
• Gare de l'Est (eastbound trains)
• Gare St. Lazare (northwest-bound trains)
• Gare d'Austerlitz (southwest-bound trains)
• Gare de Bercy (smaller station with non-TGV southbound trains)
All six main train stations have banks or currency exchanges, ATMs, train information
desks, telephones, cafés, newsstands, and clever pickpockets (pay attention in ticket
lines—keep your bag firmly gripped in front of you). Because of security concerns, not all
have baggage checks.
Any train station has schedule information, can make reservations, and can sell tickets
for any destination. Or you can save time and stress by buying train tickets or making train
reservations at an SNCF Boutique. These small branch offices of the French national rail
company are conveniently located throughout Paris, with offices near most of my recom-
mended hotels and museums and at Charles de Gaulle and Orly Airports. Arrive when they