Changing train stations in Paris

[divlong]

How long would you recommend allowing to get from Montparnasse to Gare du Nord?

I'm trying to work out the best schedule for our holiday in Bordeaux next year and we have to change trains in Paris. One of the options (for the return trip) leaves about 80 minutes between trains, but we have to be there 30 minutes early as it's for Eurostar. Would this be pushing it a bit?

TIA

Duncan

[sddsddean]

Its 13 stops on the M4 metro line, so would probably take about 20 minutes; say 30 minutes..you should do the 80 minutes, but be warned, not all metro stations have escalators. I ended up lugging 4 cases down 4 flights of stairs at Gare d'Austerlitz metro station!

[mushroom25]

From Montparnasse TGV to Montparnasse-Bienvenue line 4 metro station involves a long subway walk, although there is sometimes a high-speed travelator in use.

An alternative is to take line 6 to Denfert-Rochereau then RER from there to Gare du Nord. It can be done in 30mn, if the metro ticket queue isn't too big.

[coccinelle]

All depends if it's in rush hour. And even if it isn't you'd have to run it. I always calculate 45 minutes on metro between the two and that isn't counting getting to the Eurostar departure platform.
Go for the next train even if it means having an hour or so in Paris.

[divlong]

That's about what I expected. I'll allow an extra hour.

I won't have to queue for Metro tickets as I'll buy them at the same time as the train tickets. That'll save some time.

Thanks all.

Duncan

[coccinelle]

Check that your tickets don't double as metro tickets. They usually do.

[Lil O'lady]

Just a thought and it depends on where you are travelling from, but if you were to pick up a train at one of the normandy or brittany ports you could probably get there direct without going thru Paris - maybe with a change at Rennes which would be far easire to manage.

[mushroom25]

if it were me, I'd try & arrange to change at Lille Europe. It's so easy, & if you have to wait a while, Lille isn't a bad place to be.

[divlong]

I did look at changing at Lille, but I couldn't find a timetable for trains direct from there to Bordeaux (only from Paris to everywhere). I changed there when I took the train to Avignon a couple of years ago and it was very easy, as you say.

The booking systems only showed two trains a day at very inconvenient times.

I'll look at that option again nearer the time. Can't book the tickets for a few months yet anyway.