When You Land in Paris...

Last month I sent my daughter an email before she came to visit me here in France.  I thought maybe the tips and advice I gave her might help someone else the first time they come to Paris.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Rick Steve's is a great resource for European travel.  He says that you either pack light, or wish you had.  Luckily we have a washer and dryer so we can wash clothes every day so you don't need to bring a lot of clothes.  But if we didn't, you'd want clothes that dry quickly so you can wash them at night in the sink.  It does rain here every so often, and can get nippy at night, so a light rain jacket would be good.  You'll either want one with a hood or bring an umbrella, but any space you take up means less chocolate to bring home.  Do your best not to check a bag.  Getting your bag at the airport takes a long time and you might miss your 9:00 a.m. train.  (We had prepaid tickets bringing her to Lille.)

Be sure to download the following apps, CityMapper, Trainline.eu, Transpole, Google Translate (download the French dictionary so you can use it offline), and Google Maps.  We'll give you Dad's SIM card which will give you a European phone number and data when you are out and about.  It was only 30 Euro a month and makes travelling so much easier.  We got it at the Free store.  

You will be walking anywhere between 3 to 10+ miles a day.  (One day we ended up walking 15 miles.) This is not the time to bring those cute brand new shoes.  You'll want supportive walking shoes that you've worn for a while.  Since you are a tourist, no one looks at your feet.  

WHEN YOUR PLANE LANDS IN PARIS

Try to exit the plane as quickly as you can.  Everyone on that plane will have to go through customs and you'll want to walk fast so that you can beat the rush.  Follow the signs that say Baggage Claim to get to where the customs agents are.  When you arrive, pay attention to which line you should get in.  One line is for EU European Union countries and the other is for all other countries.  Have your passport ready to show so they make sure you get in the right line.  Don't freak out over the long line, it goes fast. 

Next is to find the train to get to Lille (or Gare Du Nord for most Paris travelers).  An important word to know is "gare" which means station.  You'll want to follow the signs pointing to Gare SCNF with a picture of a train.  If you can't find any signs, ask someone in a uniform (they all speak English) how to get to the train station.  

If you have the time (you'll want to be at the train about 3 minutes before it arrives) go to the bathroom.  Public restrooms are not easily found in France and most cost 50 cents.  If you need to rush to get to the train, wait until you are on the train, they have bathrooms as well.  

WHEN YOU GET TO THE TRAIN STATION

Note: Elise had prepaid tickets to take the bullet train (TGV) to Lille.  If you don't already have tickets in advance, I also have some tips below.  

To get on  the right train, you need to find your platform or "voie."  Do this by looking at the departure or arrival boards.  Make sure you are looking on the left-hand side for departures.  I find the best way to find your train is to look to see what time it is scheduled to leave. Even if the train is delayed, they still list it by it's scheduled time with a note as to how many minutes it will be late.  They list them in chronological order.  Your platform number won't appear until about 15 to 20 minutes before it arrives.  Look to see which carriage you are in to know where to stand on the platform.  They usually are indicated by either letters or numbers.  The map will be at the beginning of the platform.  

When your train arrives, just get on.  No need to show your ticket, unless someone is there asking to see it.  Hopefully you have printed out your ticket so they can scan the bar code.  If not, you'll want it downloaded on your phone so they can scan your phone.  It is also possible to print your ticket at the train station if you know your reservation number.  But just print it out at home, that's easiest.  Once you are here, you'll buy future tickets using trainline.eu and the barcode will be on your app.  

When you board the train look for your seat number.  The number is usually either right below the overhead shelf or at the bottom of the window.  Usually there are shelves at each door and sometimes in the middle of the carriage where you can put your carry on.  If they are full, put it on the rack above your seat.  See why you want to travel light?  

When your train arrives at the Lille Europe train station, your dad and I will be at the platform waiting for you.  Once you get off the train, we'll take you to the connected Metro station and buy your metro card so you can use the subway system in Lille.

If you don't have any train tickets here is some advice:  

The RER trains are the best way to get into Paris.  The RER B will take you to Gare Du Nord the busiest train station in the world outside of Japan.  Just go to a Kiosk and purchase a ticket that takes you to Paris.  The RER A will take you to Disneyland (not too far from the airport) and once in Paris, the RER C will take you to Versailles.  Be sure to hold onto your ticket after boarding, most likely someone will come by asking to see it.  If you don't have it you'll be charged 35 Euro.  (Found that out the hard way.) 

Depending on how long you will be in Paris and what you want to do, you might want to use the Metro in the city.  You can buy a packet of 10 tickets for less than 15 Euro that will let you ride the subways and buses.  Each ticket is good for I think 2 hours.  If you think you'll be using the metro quite a bit, I'd buy a 1, 3, or 5 day visitor pass so you can hop on and off without worrying about how many tickets you have.   If you don't want to use the Metro (while convenient it is crowded)  you can also buy a hop on hop off bus ticket like Big Bus or just take Ubers everywhere.  

ONCE IN LILLE

When you get to our apartment it will be early in the morning for your body.  You will want to take a nap, but only take a short one.  Travelling east is very hard, and it's best to stay awake as long as you can to get adjusted.  Eating even if you aren't hungry at normal meal times helps too.  We'll give you Tuesday to get adjusted, but then we've got things to do!