Avoid Paris

WishUWereHere

Arrived here this morning for a long weekend break. Bought a 5 day multi use ticket to cover trains/metro & busses.

Only one problem, the f***ing metro is on strike. We had a lunch appointment, but it cost us E40 to make our appointment. No metro tonight either - stopped at 19h30, so ended up on a 40 minute bus journey, and then a 20 minute walk to reach our hotel.

We flew into CDG, but are flying home from Orly on Monday. Wanted to make the most of the day in Paris before heading to Orly, but now with all this sh1t with the transport, the holiday has already been a complete fcuk up.

Just making ye aware of possible transport issues around Paris, especially with the 6 Nations starting soon.

WishUWereHere

Last night, the buses stopped at 19h30. We were on one when the driver said the bus was terminating. Asked him why, and he said in protest.

So, only 1 metro line working (it’s the #1 which is automatic ), 1 in 3 trains working, and now no buses - what chaos. What really makes my blood boil is when we arrived we bought the 5 day transport ticket for nearly E200- there are 3 of us. But already we have had to spend over E200 on taxis, and aside from the automatic #1, have yet to see a metro in operation.

Looking forward to seeing what happens today.

tringle

Its been thay way since mid december.

irishgeo

Its been all over the news, did not lot do a little planning. All the information available at your fingertips and people are still uninformed. Thats greatness of the Facebook algorithm though.

c montgomery

irishgeo wrote: »

Its been all over the news, did not lot do a little planning. All the information available at your fingertips and people are still uninformed. Thats greatness of the Facebook algorithm though.

Only idiots rely on Facebook for news

WishUWereHere

irishgeo wrote: »

Its been all over the news, did not lot do a little planning. All the information available at your fingertips and people are still uninformed. Thats greatness of the Facebook algorithm though.

FYI: This was a Christmas present for our 13yo Daughter & was bought back in August before any of this strike nonsense was ever mentioned. We were aware of the impending disruption but were also told the strike was to finish January 2nd, a day prior to us flying out.

We bought 3 five day journey tickets for all modes of public transport in the Paris region, each costing E65,80. Nobody in CDG warned us about any disruption.

I have said above how much we had to pay Uber to get around Paris up to now. Today I spoke with a bus driver and he told me the 19h30 stoppage last night was only scheduled yesterday, so no amount of media news was ever going to inform us, or anyone else for that matter.

The strike now has taken new twists. The metro operated today, BUT picketed all the ‘Gare’s’. I have no idea what time they are stopping today, hence am already in our hotel room. The bus driver also told me there won’t be any buses this coming week.

One thing I know, We won’t be in any hurry to return here.

tringle

WishUWereHere wrote: »

One thing I know, We won’t be in any hurry to return here.

Thats a pity because it is a wonderful place.
Those 3 and 5 day tickets are great value and so handy for getting around, i agree the possibility of issues should have been mentioned when you brought them.

I now tend to pick a hotel fairly central and just walk everywhere, it is very easy to get around. And any decent hotel concierge will be very knowledgeable about current travel issues and willing to assist. Try a rented bike or electric scooter maybe. We were provided with hotel transport to the airport during a taxi strike.

I hope you managed to enjoy some aspects of it and go back for a better experience sometime

CelticRambler

WishUWereHere wrote: »

FYI: This was a Christmas present for our 13yo Daughter & was bought back in August before any of this strike nonsense was ever mentioned. We were aware of the impending disruption but were also told the strike was to finish January 2nd, a day prior to us flying out.

Who told you it was going to finish? It has been widely announced (since November) as an indefinite strike, and there has been discussion on this forum about the various alternative arrangements that can/should be made, including links for sites that give day-to-day updates.

In any case, saying "before this strike nonsense was ever mentioned" suggests that you don't know much about France! Always assume that there will be a strike, then check closer to the dates to see if there isn't one. :pac:

WishUWereHere wrote: »

We bought 3 five day journey tickets for all modes of public transport in the Paris region, each costing E65,80. Nobody in CDG warned us about any disruption.

It's not the airport's job to tell you what tickets to buy or not to buy. They don't know whether or not you might have been keeping them for your next trip (they remain dormant until you make your first journey), or - seeing as you bought the Paris Visite pass - you might have been more interested in the discount entry fees than the transport part.

If you wanted a (much) cheaper travel option, you would surely have posted a question on this forum before you left, wouldn't you ...? :cool:

WishUWereHere

tringle wrote: »

Thats a pity because it is a wonderful place.
Those 3 and 5 day tickets are great value and so handy for getting around, i agree the possibility of issues should have been mentioned when you brought them.

I now tend to pick a hotel fairly central and just walk everywhere, it is very easy to get around. And any decent hotel concierge will be very knowledgeable about current travel issues and willing to assist. Try a rented bike or electric scooter maybe. We were provided with hotel transport to the airport during a taxi strike.

I hope you managed to enjoy some aspects of it and go back for a better experience sometime

I agree Tringle, Paris Is a wonderful city, with fab food, &nice people.

However we used the SNCF site for transport updates. Even they seem to not know what is going on. We went to Montmartre this morning - walked about 1hour to get there. We were told no trams would operate today, yet we saw one line certainly operational. Also we know the metro was not running as all the stations were locked up, yet the site for the metro said some were running, albeit with reduced frequency. After Montmartre we tried to get a bus, but waited 1hour for a bus (which was not supposed to be running) only to find it jammed. Used Uber again to bring us to the shuttle bus to Orly, which is where we are now.

Someone above said we didn’t do enough research. For anyone planning to go, & to use public transport, do NOT rely on information from the net. And think carefully before going.

Over and out

FrancieBrady

People are inconvenienced by strike action. I think that was the intention of the strikers OP.

WishUWereHere

FrancieBrady wrote: »

People are inconvenienced by strike action. I think that was the intention of the strikers OP.

Inconvenienced is an understatement FB. We learnt the hard way. I only opened this thread to make anyone going to think carefully until the strike is over.

CelticRambler

WishUWereHere wrote: »

However we used the SNCF site for transport updates. Even they seem to not know what is going on.

Point N°1: SNCF don't run the services in Paris (with one exception) - it's the RATP site you need to consult for Parisian transport info

Point N°2: you're right - SNCF don't know what's going on, because French law gives strikers the right to no say what they're going to do until it's too late for their employers to figure out how to mitigate the damage.

But the day-to-day info is published online every day on several news sites and other "living in Paris" platforms.

Marcusm

WishUWereHere wrote: »

Inconvenienced is an understatement FB. We learnt the hard way. I only opened this thread to make anyone going to think carefully until the strike is over.

If you go to France more often you’ll realise that the strikes are a constant presence!

Strumms

It’s not the fault of the city or the people... it’s simply bad luck. In 2017 Bus Éireann went on strike and Irish Rail and Dublin Bus employees refused to pass the picket... problem is Paris being such a big and densely populated city and therefore hugely reliant on public transport it’s almost at a standstill when this happens...it’s a nice city to walk around in the summer alright but I think to have to do that this time of the year wouldn’t be too much fun....

WishUWereHere

Slightly off topic. First time to use Orly. What a breath of fresh air compared to dreary CDG.

Darc19

Parisian transport workers on strike?

You're surprised?

Ffs, workers within some transport area in France are on strike constantly - sir traffic control, baggage handlers, metro, busses.

It's normal there.

Plenty of alternatives once you plan.

05eaftqbrs9jlh

Marcusm wrote: »

If you go to France more often you’ll realise that the strikes are a constant presence!

I'm finding it a small bit hilarious how tone-deaf the travel review is, given the huge turmoil going on for the people living in Paris. It's not like there have been weekly protests and rioting there for about a year now 😂

WishUWereHere wrote: »

Just making ye aware of possible transport issues around Paris, especially with the 6 Nations starting soon.

On a compassionate note, I'm also genuinely sorry your holiday is upset by it though, going abroad is a costly enough affair as it is. I bet the government will have given out enough sweetener to the union bosses before then to smooth everything over. Although I recall I time in recent history when they lost their heads in a similar situation.

Sorry.

WishUWereHere

sugarman wrote: »

I know youre home now, but Uber is dead handy and a relatively cheap way to get around Paris when theres Metro / Bus Strikes.

Never so glad to see the M7 lol

You are right though, Uber is a great service, got us out of a few holes. Thanks for your kind words.

Geuze

WishUWereHere wrote: »

So, only 1 metro line working (it’s the #1 which is automatic ), 1 in 3 trains working, and now no buses - what chaos. What really makes my blood boil is when we arrived we bought the 5 day transport ticket for nearly E200- there are 3 of us. But already we have had to spend over E200 on taxis, and aside from the automatic #1, have yet to see a metro in operation.

Looking forward to seeing what happens today.

I was in Paris last Easter, only 1-in-3 SNCF RER trains running from the airport.

Jesus Wept, that was the most crammed, rammed, packed train I have ever been on.

I could nearly kiss the person beside me.

At that stage, the RATP metro staff were not on strike. I was told that they do not have the special pensions that SNCF have.

Here is a useful website about strikes:

https://www.cestlagreve.fr/

Geuze

WishUWereHere wrote: »

What really makes my blood boil is when we arrived we bought the 5 day transport ticket for nearly E200- there are 3 of us.

Readers should know about the ticket called Navigo Decouverte.

For 22.80 you get unlimited travel on all modes across Paris, including the RER to CDG, for a week [Mon-Sun].

Best value public transport ticket in Europe, massively subsidised.

However, there are some conditions:

Navigo Pass Duration
A Navigo Week Pass is valid from Monday at 00:00 to Sunday 23:59:59.


You can buy Navigo cards / passes for the current week up until Thursday, midnight. Next week’s Navigo card is on sale from Friday morning onwards. (In the past, the Navigo weekly train pass for the current week stopped selling at Wednesday midnight, but this has been moved to Thursday midnight.)
Note that you cannot choose the start & end date of your weekly Navigo pass; it is strictly Monday morning to Sunday midnight, regardless of what day of the week you buy the pass.

Also, you need a photo for the card.

Geuze

Who can buy a Passe Navigo Découverte?

Some travelers to Paris in the past have been pressured by RATP staff into buying a Carte Paris Visite by refusing to sell them a Passe Navigo Découverte. Please don’t let this happen to you. (Keep in mind: I haven’t heard this happening in quite some time.) You have the right to purchase a Passe Navigo Découverte as outlined in the official website page entitled Les Forfaits Navigo (Navigo Passes), published by STIF (updated January 2014), the parent organization of RATP (Paris Transit Authority). The section of interest is under the section Le Choix entre la Carte Navigo ou la Carte Navigo découverte, then click on the tab for La carte Navigo Découverte. The line that reads Elle est ouverte à tous (Franciliens et non Franciliens) says that “the card is open to all, residents of Ile-de-France or not”.


https://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/

Winnieacre

Hi

Anyone know if the Aéroport Beauvais to Paris bus service is affected by the strike? Nothing on their booking page...

Thanks

Winnie

CelticRambler

From the airport website:

Chers passagers,

En raison d’un mouvement de grève en France à partir du 05 12 2019, notre service de navette opère normalement.

En revanche, il est possible que certaines navettes ne circulent pas si les vols correspondants sont annulés.

N'hésitez pas à vous rapprocher de votre compagnie aérienne.

Nous vous remercions pour votre compréhension.

L’équipe du service navettes

Summary translation: our shuttle is operating normally ... but not if the corresponding flights are cancelled