Hi, we are taking the night train from Venice to Paris Gare de Bercy arriving around 8 am on a weekday. Would it be practical for us to walk to Rue des Rosiers in the Marias? Anyone done it? We will all have 22%26quot; rolling carry-ons.
Merci.
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%26quot;Would it be practical%26quot; depends entirely on you. It%26#39;s about a 3 km walk. I wouldn%26#39;t.
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I think you might want to opt for the metro instead. Based on Google maps, it%26#39;s a 3.1 km trek, or about 40 minutes. With rolling carry ons, it might be tough. It is doable though. I guess it depends on whether or not your up for it.
I would normally recommend a cab, but when we arrived at Bercy station from the overnight train from Venice, there was a huge queue for taxis, with no cabs in sight. We walked to the metro station instead.
For the metro, I think you would take line 14 one stop to Gare de Lyon and switch to Line 1, taking it two stops to Saint-Paul Le Marais.
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Thank you pmmcTO.
How was the night train from Venice?
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Way too long a walk unless you are looking for a lot of exercise! Try the suggested metro route (or a hybrid of walking to Gare de Lyon and the taking ligne 1) or a taxi.
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Hi kasialouise. The night train from Venice was fine. We took it from Paris to Venice, and then back again. You said %26quot;we will all have...%26quot;, so I%26#39;m assuming there are more than 2 of you. Do you have a 4 person couchette? We travelled in the 2 person private compartment. It was small but the beds are comfortable.
If in a 4 person compartment, you will have two bench style seats facing each other, with two top bunks that fold down. There is a small sink (water is not drinkable though), a place to hang your clothes and a place to stow your luggage up top. If you look at www.seat61.com, and follow the link to train travel to Italy, there are photos on that website of what the compartments look like.
A few tips: find a market near the train station in Venice and pick up some bread, cheese, wine, fruit etc. and have a picnic in your compartment rather than going to the dining car. It is extremely crowded, not always seating available, expensive, etc. Also, when you all go to the dining car, there is no way to lock your compartment behind you, so anyone can access your luggage. You can only lock your door when you are inside.
I read a lot about the robberies on overnight trains. I have a feeling that many of the stories I read were embellished quite a bit, but still it is best to take precautions. I unfortunately freaked myself out thinking someone was going to break into our cabin that I didn%26#39;t get a great sleep on the train ride to Venice. On the way back, I was more relaxed. Do keep your money and credit cards on you at bedtime just to be safe though. We just wore our money belts to bed. May seem paranoid, but we thought it would be a good idea. Also, always make sure your door is locked.
When you board the train, the conductor will take your tickets and your passports, and he will return the passports the next morning. Had I not known about this procedure ahead of time, I would not have been comfortable with this. Having said that, it may have changed now since the Schengen arrangement since apparently they no longer have to go through passport control at the borders on the train route.
I thought of the train trips as an adventure, and I kind of liked them. I didn%26#39;t get a great sleep mind you, but still I%26#39;m glad we took the train. I wouldn%26#39;t mind doing it again, but my husband said he wouldn%26#39;t want to.
Have a great trip. Paris and Venice - my 2 favourite cities!!
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pmmcTO,
Thank you...that is great information...very helpful. There are 4 of us..2 couples and we are planning on reserving two 2-person compartments. I read somewhere that every other compartment has a slightly different configuration...one being less roomy/convenient than the other...and that you can see looking down the hallway that every other door has a step up...I wonder if these were the older cars. Also I wonder what the numbering system is since we would like to have our compartments close to each other. We may call a travel agent in Rome 3 monthes ahead to get us good fares and the compartments we want. I have looked at seat61...good information but I still find the numbering systems in the compartments confusing.
Sorry that was a bit longwinded.
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