TRANSPORTATION-Wedding Weekend
Thursday, August 17th, 2006This information is primarily for people coming to Paris by train or plane. I will put directions by car in a subsequent post.
I wish that we could do something about the soaring fuel prices now, as it seems that the trans-atlantic fares are quite high, but unfortunately, unless you leave now on a boat, there are not many other possibilities to get you to France.
We can help with the “transportation” questions once you get to France, though.
First, WE DO NOT RECOMMEND RENTING A CAR to visit Paris. There is an enormous network of metro lines and bus lines that are fairly easy to use and comparatively inexpensive. There are also many tow companies waiting to relieve you of your car (just ask Fab’s parents who had an unwelcome surprise when they came for a visit!) Most hotels do not provide parking.
Check out this website for information about things to do and transport within Paris (including how to get from the airport to the city center.) It is loaded with information and translated in all of the major European languages.
http://www.parisinfo.com/paris_map/
Renting a car to travel to Amiens is a possibility, but it’s only economical if you are 3 or more people, or if you have an early flight out on Sunday. For singles and couples, it’s cheaper to take the train, and a lot easier.
Trains leave for Amiens every 30-60 minutes from Paris Gare du Nord (the north train station in Paris.) You can reserve your ticket (and sometimes find special fares) by internet, http://www.voyages-sncf.com , but you have to speak a little French as the website is not in English. If you buy your ticket in the train station, I recommmend arriving about 45 minutes early. (Friday afternoons are especially busy.) When you arrive in Amiens, you are walking distance from the city center (including the Hotel de Ville where we will be married) but not from our reception site in Dury (where you have accomodation.) We will have to arrange someone to pick you up from the train station to take you to Dury. For this reason, we are going to ask people to try to arrive on specific trains. For guests who want to spend Friday visiting Paris, but would like attend the dinner on Friday night and take advantage of the accomodation, we recommend taking the train that departs at 5:04PM and arrives in Amiens at 6:09PM. If you have enough time in Paris, and would like to spend a day visiting Amiens, feel free to take a train earlier in the day on Friday. (In this case, we’ll probably arrange for you to meet back at the train station to catch your ride.)
Please be aware that you must composte your train ticket before entering the train. You will see a little yellow box at the beginning of the platform, insert the ticket to get a stamp. DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS!
If you want to spend Friday and Friday night in Paris, you can take the train on Saturday morning. We recommend that you take the train at 10:07 arriving in Amiens at 11:12. Someone will meet you at the train station to drive you to Dury where you will find your room. You can shower, get dressed and have lunch at Dury. Then everyone will leave as a group to the Hotel de Ville for the civil ceremony at 3:00PM. Your other option is to arrive completely dressed at the Amiens train station; you can take the train at 12:31, arriving at 1:44PM. The Hotel de Ville is a 10-minute walk from the train station along a pedestrian street. (Unfortunately in this case, you will have to carry your luggage with you to the ceremony.) There are many restaurants in this area to grab a bite to eat before the beginning of the festivities.