PARIS Wheelchair Travel | CDG Airport to Paris by RER B & Metro | Navigo Pass, Chatelet Les Halles

Solo trip to Paris. Follow me for details & accessibility from the Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport Terminal 2A to the center of Paris, District 8 (Arrondissement 8), by the RER and Metro trains. Navigating the world's largest underground train station, Chatelet les Halles.
Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:49 - Terminal 2A, Immigration, Baggage Claim
4:40 - Read Airport Sign to CDG Train Station
5:01 - Wheel Terminals 2A and 2C
6:29 - Walkway to Train Station, Find Elevator
7:37 - CDG Train Station layout, Disability Services
8:31 - Navigo Easy Pass Explained
8:57 - Photo Booth for Navigo Pass, How-to
9:41 - Find RER B Line 11 and 12
9:58 - RER B Train Platform
11:00 - RER B experience and Accessibility
11:57 - Chatelet Les Halles Train Station
13:08 - Elevators at Chatelet
13:55 - Way find through Chatelet underground system
15:28 - Navigo Pass at gates, turn styles
16:36 - Metro 14 Saint Quen platform & Elevator
18:20 - Metro 14 ride and Accessibility
19:20 - Madeleine metro station, navigating, elevators
23:22 - On Street Madeleine, wheel to hotel
mattgetze
Thanks for watching!
Matt
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Map Source: I got the map in the intro from Snazzy Maps | Google Maps
#parisaccessibility #paristravel #parisolympics

[@Dutchreason]

Chatelet-Les Halles is a terrible maze for a walking person! Thanks for this!

[@MattGetze]

U're welcome! It was a bit unwieldy.

[@mauramurrihy]

Outstanding video for anyone negotiating the maze between CDG and Chatelet-Les Halles or anyone using elevators. Love it.

[@MattGetze]

Thanks so much!

[@-trisld-]

It's really good of you to do this. It will help so many people.

[@MattGetze]

Thanks much. I hope so.

[@KyrilPG]

Yeah Paris' mass transit can be a bit crazy, it has a strong whiff of Tokyo for the massive crowds, extreme train frequency and gigantic interchanges but also a heavy touch of New York for the not so orderly behavior... And Châtelet les Halles is a monster station, just the RER part alone can see over 120 trains per hour, each carrying 1200 to nearly 3000 people. Also at peak, on the "regular metro" side, M14 has 40 or 45 trains per direction per hour, M1 and M4 each have something like 35 trains per direction per hour, plus M7 and M11 each around 30 trains per direction per hour. That's something like 460 trains per hour stopping at this underground complex during peaks. It's mesmerizing to stop for a couple minutes and watch this ballet of trains and crowds going all directions, like an ant farm, the whole thing becomes a living creature of its own. That's why they have crowd control agents (some call them pushers) on the RER platforms during rush hours to help doors close and not delay trains. They are easy to spot as they usually wear a colored vest and often also a cap. M14 is accessible from steet to train but the extremely short dwell times at stations sometimes are way too short for me to board / alight in time. (I walk but with a crutch and "toddler's gait"). I've regularly found myself "enjoying" a detour, sometimes as far as Gare de Lyon or Bercy or even Bibliothèque François Mitterand, because I simply wasn't able to be fast enough to get off the train at the desired stop. Especially at rush hour when, as I like to call it, "HAL is in control of the train" (*) and the stop time isn't long enough for me to stand and reach the door. So, M14 is physically accessible, sure, but at times not so much "in practice", when doors only stay open for 5 or 7 seconds and the train is packed. One other humongous interchange station is the Opera - Auber - Haussmann - Saint-Lazare underground complex. (Here lines M14, RER A & E are accessible). It serves a mainline train station (Saint-Lazare), while 7 different metro lines and 2 RER lines also stop here, some of them multiple times. Lines M3 and M9 having each respectively 3 and 2 different stops along the length of the same interconnected complex at different locations. It's quite something to navigate too, especially when you have a tedious connection, like between M8 and RER E. (M4 has 2 stops in Châtelet les Halles complex, one called Châtelet and the other Les Halles). Plus, at Opera -[ ...]- Saint-Lazare complex, the RER stations are of the "vaulted arch cathedral-esque" type. Gigantic cavities... Just imagine a vaulted M14 station like Madeleine and multiply by 2 in length and about 3 in width and height. That's just bonkers but quite fun to visit, and interesting from an architectural standpoint. This giant underground maze was also the location where most of the action happened in the great 1985 movie "Subway" by Luc Besson. You really navigated the whole thing, from CDG to Châtelet to Madeleine, quite brilliantly! Kudos. Surely it wasn't your first time, right? Paris streets aren't very easy either, they're often packed with many obstacles, e-scooters, bikes, people, trashcans, etc. (*) M14 (like M1 and M4), is a fully driverless automated line, as you probably noticed. And at super peak, the automated system sometimes decides to significantly reduce dwell times to a mere handful of seconds in order to regulate spacing, even if it means only letting people get off and not letting much people board, as the next train is only a few dozen seconds away. "HAL" is in reference to the maniac computer in the movie 2001 : A Space Odyssey. 😂 I hope you enjoyed your stay in Paris! Greetings from the city of lights (19th district).

[@MattGetze]

@KyrilPG...First, thanks much for watching this thing. It's a long video. It was my first time in Paris and the airport to the city experience. Second, most of all, thanks for the information! That's a lot. I have a video of the Auber station coming up going to Versailles. There, I did need assistance to figure out connections. On an aside, I'd like to chat with you about your experience and living in Paris.

[@KyrilPG]

@@MattGetze You're welcome, and it will be a pleasure sharing with you about my experience and life in Paris! Just tell me what you prefer.

[@MattGetze]

@@KyrilPG I'm not able to send you a direct email. Can you send me one? It's my handle name and gm.....

[@jpfrommanila]

Thanks for showing us the way.😊

[@MattGetze]

Absolutely. I hope it helps & tx for watching!

[@one-six952]

Thank you for the video! I just want to point out the Navigo card you got (that requires a photo) is the Navigo Découverte, which is required for the weekly and monthly passes. The Navigo Easy card is white-and-blue, does not require any personal information, but can only be loaded with day passes and normal one-time tickets ("t+ tickets").

[@cjlmoni]

Châtelet Les Halles, la plus grande gare souterraine d'Europe voire du monde. Je crois qu'il y a au moins 2 ascenseurs.👍

[@MattGetze]

Merci beaucoup. C'était un peu difficile. 🙂

[@Schaneification]

If you have Problem walking getting around Paris is Hell !

[@MattGetze]

It can definitely be challenging at times! Thanks for watching the vid.

[@Brenda-ey8vj]

Would I be able to get around in the train in a power chair? How would I go about doing that?

[@MattGetze]

Yep absolutely--space in the RER and step/climb up if any. But, heads up that from the airport to Paris, the RER train will get very very full. In the video about the 7 minute mark, you can see where the Disability Services Office is in the airport train station. Go to the office and have them arrange for the RATP/Metro staff (or guides) to help you navigate stations and connections AND provide portable ramps if needed. I will put out a video on Trains to Versailles showing how helpful the RATP/Metro station employees are.

[@cha12231986]

Hi. How will you know if the rer and metro station have elevator? I'm planning to take train from cdg to notre dame. Thank you!

[@MattGetze]

You can check the RATP website. www.ratp.fr/en/accessibility/network-accessibility This is the transportation agency that runs the public transportation in Paris. This link shows you all the train stations that are wheelchair accessible (have elevators). I’d also suggest getting the weekly Navigo Pass and bring a passport photo for it. This pass gets you on to all trains, buses, trams, and will even get you to Versailles. Have fun in Paris!

[@sureemasupap8916]

From CDG airport to the city.. do we need a separate ticket for RER train or we can use a navigo card ?

[@MattGetze]

The Navigo pass (various types: Navigo Easy, Weekly, Monthly and One-Day) is all you need. It will cover the RER. I bought the weekly pass and used it to get to Paris from CDG.

[@sureemasupap8916]

@@MattGetze thank you

[@one-six952]

It depends on the type of pass you bought for the Navigo card - the weekly and monthly pass covers all RER destinations (including both airports), but for the One-Day pass, only the €20 one that covers all five zones allows you to get from CDG (in zone 5) to the city center (zone 1). There is a separate Airport ticket for RER B that cost €11.8, you need that only if you don't have a pass that covers all five zones.

[@MattGetze]

@@one-six952 Thank you!

[@randyferrersr9754]

Thanks but will take the bus and or taxi. Remember you came from a red eye flight then to do this incredible walking navigation…way too much!

[@MattGetze]

Thanks for checking this out. Next time, I will try the bus.