Rail travel to the south of France should be the norm. But a significant impediment to luring airline passengers is that most journeys from the UK to the French Mediterranean coast require a change of trains – and stations – in Paris.
Eurostar from London arrives at the Gare du Nord. High-speed TGVs for the south leave from the equally magnificent Gare de Lyon.
But the Parisian travel authority, RATP, has created some formidable hurdles for international arrivals trying to cross the capital:
- Navigating from the far west of Gare du Nord to the far east of the station.
- Descending into a confusing underworld where they must procure a Métro ticket or Navigo Easy smartcard (the stored-value card for public transport in Paris) while avoiding pickpockets and scam artists.
- Tracking down the subterranean platform, usually but not always number 44, for an RER (suburban express) Ligne D train, then squeezing on board to travel two stops.
- At Gare de Lyon, locating the Grandes Lignes platforms using only signposting devised by someone with a deep grudge against travelling humanity – perhaps Franz Kafka’s French cousin.
On Sunday I wrote about the travails of Anne Wood, who contacted me after being given an official Eurostar connection between arriving in Paris and departing for Avignon of just 47 minutes. Have no fear, I assured Ms Wells: I will post you a spare Métro ticket, solving one of the problems, and predict you will even have time for a coffee at Gare de Lyon before leaving for Avignon.
I was wrong: she made the Avignon train by the skin of her teeth only after persuading platform staff to reopen the gate one minute before departure. And when I reported this stressful transfer, plenty of people responded.
“I once did that transfer in 23 minutes,” reports Sophie Constant. “It was like the waves parted. Absolutely magical and has yet to be bested.” But Brian McBride warns: “You want to take a chance when the RER is busy? Forget it. My wife was knocked over in the rush to board back in May.”
“The real VIv Griff” said: “I have lived in Paris, speak fluent French, have connected Paris Nord to Gare de Lyon before, am fully able-bodied and usually have spare Métro tickets on hand, and I would feel uneasy with only 60 minutes between trains. Doable but not comfortable.”
The unpredictable queue for a Métro ticket adds to…
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