bus from Gare du Nord to hotel

how easy is it to pick up a bus from Gare du Nord? having studied RATp site a metro ride with 2 stops to our hotel seems less enticing and practical than a short hop on the 54 bus!!! We%26#39;ll be en famille, 2adults plus 2kids and more luggage than we need! Lived for 20 years in London (left 4 years ago for the serenity of country living!) so not afraid of BIG city just don%26#39;t want to make life difficult lugging bags up and down stairs and thru barriers if alternative is better.Any advice?

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Do yourself and your family a favour and take a cab. Can%26#39;t be that much assuming you%26#39;ll stay somewhere around Montmartre.

While the buses are very convenient, I%26#39;d not take any with a family of four with luggage, having to look for the location of the right stop, during rush hours having to look for the hotel afterwards. Mais non, you don%26#39;t want to start your Paris adventure that way!

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Make sure you leave room for your goodies. Really, I too had packed to many clothes. I needed more room for all the things I wanted and remember you will be tired at the end, no fun hauling heavy luggage.

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Hi Aristocrat........

We are big bus rider fans. For my money a bus is better than any metro, any time. You just put your luggage in the center of the bus and no problem. One step and you are on the bus.......not a zillion as can be in the metros. You might even be able to enter at the center of the bus and then validate your tickets. If one bus is very crowded, just wait for the next one. If you happen to be coming in on a Sunday or evening, just make sure the bus you want is running then..........

The problem might be to find the bus you want. I dont see the #54 as going to gare du Nord. My bus map looks as if it only goes to gare de l%26#39;Est...but I certainly could be wrong. Some buses leave from gare du Nord from upstairs and most are noted in the gare with arrows. Are you going to %26quot;Republic%26quot;? There are other buses going over there too. Gare du Nord and gare de l%26#39;Est look close together, but it would not be an easy walk with luggage and I find gare de l%26quot;est pretty confusing for catching the right bus..

On the sides of the buses are marked their beginning and ending stops, with many of their big stops in between. If you see a bus with your stop marked on its side, hop on..........but you do need to do it from the right bus stop. Each will only stop at its posted stop. Look above the street bus stop to see what lines the stop is for. Sometimes the distance between stops can be a pretty fair distance, so be aware.

Have fun and enjoy the views.

Bea