In preparation for our recent visit to Disneyland Paris, we got a lot of questions about how close the parks are to the city. The answer is “not very.” But if you’re planning a visit to Disneyland Paris and want to see the city, too—no worries. The trip is very easy and pretty quick.
To be clear, we don’t advocate staying at Disneyland Paris and spending only a day in the actual city of Paris. But we wanted to write this post as a “proof of concept” that covers visiting a major site or two in Paris from Disneyland Paris.
We’ve chosen the Eiffel Tower as our destination, but the basic outline of these instructions could be used to get to pretty much any metro station in central Paris. Read on to learn how to make the trip from Disneyland Paris to the Eiffel Tower!
Summary
We begin all these “transit” style posts with a short version for people who just need quick instructions. Disneyland Paris sits right next to Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy train station. The station is right between the parks and Disney Village, it’s pretty much impossible to miss.
To get to the Eiffel Tower from Disneyland Paris, you’ll first take the RER A (red line) from Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy to Charles de Gaulle—Etoile station. Any RER A from Marne la Vallee—Chessy will do (it’s the end of the line). Train depart every 10 to 15 minutes. Arriving at Charles de Gaulle—Etoile station, you transfer to the 6 Nation, a metro line. Take that to either Trocadero (our preference for its view) or Bir-Hakeim (a shorter walk to the tower). The total trip takes a little over an hour.
How Far is Disneyland Paris from the Eiffel Tower?
Disneyland Paris is about 51 kilometers, or 32 miles, from the Eiffel Tower. Getting between the two can take around an hour by car, but it is much more convenient (and consistent in terms of time) to take the train, which will also take about an hour.
Planning Your Trip
Typically we advise using Google Maps to plan your transit around major cities, but here we’re going to slightly amend what Google says. It’s still good to use the app to get transit directions from Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy to the Eiffel Tower so you have them as a backup.
Google Maps will typically tell you to take the RER A from Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy to Charles de Gaulle—Etoile, transfer to the 6 Nation, take that to Bir-Hakeim, and walk. (Charles de Gaulle—Etoile is the stop for the Arc de Triomphe, by the way.)
We slightly modify those instructions. We use the Trocadero stop of the 6 train—two stops before Bir-Hakeim—because we prefer that view and walk to the tower. Bir-Hakeim is a shorter walk (and also still has a beautiful view). While our instructions will use Trocadero, you shouldn’t be nervous about using Bir-Hakeim.
Buying Your Train Ticket
Note: Paris is phasing out paper tickets between now and 2025. This section is based on the paper ticket process. While most of the instructions should be the same after the switch is made, you should be prepared for some slight changes.
You’ll be starting at Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy station, adjacent to Disney Village.
Follow the signs for the RER A. There are other trains at the station, but the RER A part of the station is incredibly well-marked.
The nice thing about the trip in this direction is you can’t get on the wrong RER A train. All the RER A trains departing from this station will stop at Charles de Gaulle—Etoile.
Buy your ticket from the machines pictured below. There are different ticket options available. If purchasing a single ticket, just purchase for Paris City. The ticket costs 7.60 Euro as of publication.
If you have problems with your credit card, feel free to purchase from a person at the ticket booth (also read our Note About Credit Cards at the end of this post).
A 1-day “Paris Visite” ticket (day pass for RER and Metro trains) including Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy costs 25.25 Euro. Since single metro trips around Paris cost 1.90 Euro, you’d need to make about six metro trips for the day ticket to be worth it.
The 7.60 Euro ticket to “Paris City” includes the fare for the RER A and the metro line you’ll transfer to. This is the only ticket you’ll need for this direction of the trip (the below ticket is for the opposite direction).
You need to keep your ticket for your entire journey. You will need it at least once after you pass through the turnstiles to board the train at Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy.
Taking the RER A
Insert your ticket to pass through the turnstiles—be sure to keep your ticket. Reminder: Paris is phasing out paper tickets so this step will change soon.
From Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy, all RER A trains pass through Charles de Gaulle—Etoile. There will be signage on the platform indicating which train is leaving next for Paris.
Note that rarely this can change after you get on the train. There’s not really a way to know this in advance. You just sort of see everyone run across the platform at once after an announcement is made in French. We’ve only had this happen maybe twice in 20 trips from this station.
RER A trains are comfortable. Monitors on the screen indicate the destination station of the train, and lighted maps above the doors indicate the remaining stops on the route. Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy to Charles de Gaulle—Etoile takes about 45 minutes.
At your stop, be prepared to hit the black button on the door to open the doors. You can hit it as soon as you hear a loud “hiss,” or you can wait for the train to stop all the way (though someone may hit it for you before that).
Regardless of whether you’ve decided to go to Trocadero or Bir-Hakeim, you’ll exit the RER A at Charles de Gaulle—Etoile and read on.
As a reminder, Charles de Gaulle—Etoile is the stop for the Arc de Triomph.
Transferring to the 6 Nation
Once you get off the train at Charles de Gaulle—Etoile, you’ll follow signs for the 6 Nation. “6” is the metro line number, “Nation” is the destination station. Charles de Gaulle—Etoile is an endpoint for the 6, so all 6 trains leaving here are going toward Nation. That’s why the other trains show two destinations but the 6 only shows Nation.
Getting from the RER A to the 6 Nation is about a five minutes walk. Navigating the station can be complex, but there is plenty of signage pointing your way.
You’ll need your ticket to pass through a set of turnstiles between the RER A and the metro.
When you arrive at the platform, the overhead sign will indicate how long you have until the next departure. Since you’re at one end of the line, you don’t have to worry about getting on the wrong train.
Riding the 6 Nation
This time you’re only going a few stops, either to Trocadero or to Bir-Hakeim. Just pay attention to the stops as they come and exit at the appropriate station. We’re exiting at Trocadero.
Similar to the black button on the RER trains, you may need to lift this lever to open your door at the station:
Walking to the Eiffel Tower
The Trocadero station signage prominently points the way to the Eiffel Tower.
Worth knowing—the exits at train stations in Paris are numbered. So the above sign is telling you that exit 1 takes you to av. du President Wilson, exit 5 to Cimetiere de Passy, and exit 6 to av. Paul Doumer. Because stations can be huge, these exit numbers are often important. Here we’re just following the directions for the Eiffel Tower, though (which I believe is exit 1).
If you followed the signage, you should exit onto this view.
You’ll see lots of people selling trinkets (always haggle if purchasing). You’re going to walk a few feet and turn left, into the Palais de Chaillot.
This is typically an open square. The day I took this journey there was a demonstration going on, so it was packed with people. Regardless, after you turn left into the square, you’ll just walk through the square and onto this view of the Eiffel Tower.
You can walk down some stairs and walk to the river and the tower, it takes just a few minutes.
Getting Back To Disneyland Paris
We have a separate post on taking the RER A train from Paris to Disneyland Paris. Here are some quick notes, though.
Buy your ticket for Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy. Make sure when you purchase your ticket it’s for Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy. The price should be 7.60 Euro. If you just purchase a standard metro ticket, that will cost 1.90 Euro and won’t get you to your destinations.
Take the Metro back to the RER A. Wherever you wind up in Paris, you’ll either need to walk to an RER A station or take the metro to a station with the RER A. You can either use Google Maps or look at a transit map and figure it out on your own. For the most part, from central Paris you should be able to walk into any station, look at a map, and figure out how to connect from that station to the RER A.
Make sure your RER A goes to Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy. Eastbound (“ost”) RER A trains terminate at either Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy or Boissy-Saint-Léger. You are going to Marne-la-Vallée—Chessy. Signage on the stations indicates where the next trains are headed:
And overhead signage on the platforms tells you the stops the next train will make:
NOTE ABOUT CREDIT CARDS
European credit cards use a Chip+PIN system where credit card transactions require you to enter a PIN. US banks don’t issue cards with PINs (to be thorough, you can get a cash advance PIN on a US card, but this is usually unrelated to the issue at hand). When buying things from people this is almost never a problem. Machines, though, are different.
My recent experience in Paris was that when a ticket machine prompted me for a PIN I would just do nothing and the transaction would just proceed in a second without me doing anything. However, I have had experiences in the past where, unable to enter a PIN, the machine simply refused to transact with my card. There are three solutions to this:
Buy from a person. Most stations (including those at CDG and Disneyland Paris) have booths where you can buy transit tickets. The staff at the booths can process your credit card.
Have cash (Euro). I only use cash for tips these days, but it’s good to acquire some in case you need it for a machine.
Get a credit card with a PIN. Again, this isn’t the same as a cash advance PIN, though I have heard reports those can work. The best option here is any card issued by Barclays. I carry an Aviator Mastercard pretty much exclusively for this purpose.
All Your Other Disneyland Paris Planning Questions Answered
Don’t be overwhelmed by Disneyland Paris planning! Take a second to check out our most important content! Just starting out? Check out our Disneyland Paris Trip Planning Guide. Need to know how much this is going to take out of your pocket? We’ve got a post on How Much it Costs to Go to Disneyland Paris.
Know what to ride with our: Disneyland Paris Rides Guide and Walt Disney Studios Park Rides Guide. And just as important, know how to get on the best rides without the wait with our Guide to Disneyland Paris Premier Access! For the complete guides to a day at the park, we have a One Day Disneyland Paris Itinerary and a Walt Disney Studios Park Itinerary.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.