How to take the Paris metro

4:45 is not after dark. Honestly, at that time it will be very busy so much safer than later.  You will be at rush hour and although it's not an attractive Metro station, it is well traveled by lots of solo females (and males) going home from work. Wear your purse across your body, hang on to your luggage at all times and be prepared to be packed in with lots of people and you'll be fine.

As far as walking to your hotel, that is difficult to advise not knowing where it is, but again, at rush hour, I suspect you are fine. Just be sure you know where you are going and head there straight off. We actually were in a small riot in Paris once and had no trouble except the possibility of being crushed. Nothing was stolen and one young man (Middle Eastern) helped me with my luggage.

Most people are nice, in Paris and elsewhere. On the other hand, avoid Chatelet-les-Halles late at night.

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for. Do you want to get off the beaten tourist path in Paris or do you want to take a trip outside Paris and visit the French countryside?

If you want to get off the track in Paris, don't rent a motor bike, take the Metro. It will take you anywhere you want to go. Anyplace in town you can simply walk a block or two from the tourist destinations and find yourself on quiet streets devoid of tourists and that is easy to do . . . and quite pleasant. We nearly always find a restaurant that way. Look for a crowded restaurant a few blocks from a tourist area and you will usually have a good restaurant. You may not have an English-speaking staff though.

If you are trying to get out of Paris and see France off the tourist track, you can rent a motorcycle, bicycle or car. Frankly, it would be easier to simply take the train. The trains in France go from center of town to center of town so you pick your city (town or village), buy a ticket, ride there and walk all over the Old Town. When you are done looking around, get back on the train and head for your hotel.

If you plan to get very far off the tourist track, you should be able to speak rudimentary French since all French do not speak English. We enjoy staying at the Logis de France when outside Paris. It is a chain of small family-owned hotels in nearly every town and village in France and nearly all have an excellent restaurant. The price ranges vary wildly depending on the area and the amenities. You can look them over at http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/

Let us know exactly what you have in mind and perhaps we can make some more helpful suggestions.

First of all, you can get this info in English at http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php

From CDG take the RER B line into Paris.

There are several possible changes. I'd change at Chatelet les Halles to the Metro Line 7 in the direction of Villejuiif L. Aragon and get off at the Place d'Italie stop. (An alternative is to take RER B to Gare du Nord and change to the Metro Line 5 in the direction of Place d'Italie.) Either way works.

If you check the web site above, you can type in your departure and arrival points and it will give you the easiest route. Buy your original ticket from CDG to Pl. d'Italie and one ticket will get you there. Plan to do a bit of walking and stair climbing when you tranfer from RER to Metro.

Enjoy your trip.

Amy, You might find your life much more simple if you lived in or near Mantes la Jolie and used days off and weekends to visit Paris. If you stayed out in Mantes, you could also use it as a hub for day trips to places in Normandy like Vernon or Giverny or even Chartres.

If you wanted to go into Paris for an evening of concerts, movies or dinner with friends, you could do it via train but not have to face the daily commute. The trains are fine until something happens like the strikes and occasional accident when they shut them down and you're stranded.

 Something to think about.

Yes, the Navigo pass offers quite a few advantages over the Carte Orange, and the good old Orange Card will be phased out.

Because it is radio-controlled, the Navigo is much faster in accounting for and authorizing payments than the magnetic strip that was used on the Carte Orange. It also allows the RATP to share information with other transport providers, and we expect this to be the first step in building a kind of European-wide Carte Orange in the future.