Paris France Hotels - getting to and from and around once there
Getting to and from Paris France and around once there: Below is a comprehensive guide to transport to from and around Paris France covering the Buses, Taxis, Flights, Trains, Cycling, by Car and much more.
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Transport – Paris France:
Few roads don’t lead to Paris, one of the most visited destinations on earth. Practically every major airline flys through it, and most European train tracks and bus routes cross it.
As for getting around – easy! The metro system is vast, efficient and spans every pocket of Paris. Buses are more scenic but can be slowed by traffic, while getting to know the many different routes is an art in itself.
For those who prefer a spot of fresher air in their lungs, or who simply want to make getting from A to B a historical and aesthetic feast in itself, walking and rollerblading are serious options. With city sights spread across a distance no greater than 10km, the major places of interest are pleasurably walkable.
That is, of course, if Paris’ innovative, highly praised communal bicycle scheme, Vélib’, doesn’t tempt you into some footloose and fancy-free pedal-powered action.
Bicycles are not allowed on the metro except on line 1 on Sunday and public holidays. You can, however, take your bicycle to the suburbs on some RER lines on weekdays before 6.30am, between 9am and 4.30pm, after 7pm, and all day on the weekend and on public holidays. More lenient rules apply to SNCF commuter services. Contact SNCF for details.
By plane
Paris is served by three international airports – for more information, including arrival/departure times, check the official sites.
Charles de Gaulle International Airport (Roissy)
ICAO: LFPG, IATA: CDG. The major hub airport to the north-east of the city. It’s notoriously confusing, so allow plenty of time for transfers. There are three terminals: Terminal 1, Terminal 2 (which is huge and subdivided into 2A through 2G), and Terminal 3 (formerly T9). The newest exception is terminal 2G which is a separate building and is only reachable via navette/bus in 10-15 min (bus leaves every 20 min) so allow extra time. The free CDGVAL shuttle train connects the terminals together.
Paris France Hotels - Air France, Air Flights to Paris
Everything at this airport is very expensive, especially food. If you’re traveling from Terminal 1 it’s also worth noting that the food court is located at the CDGVAL floor, before the security check. There are hardly any benches around. There are no public shower facilities in the airport. Air France lounges have such facilities, and the departure lounges have showers. Lounge access is included for Air France business and first class travelers.
The members of the Air France and cooperating frequent flyer programs may gain access with sufficient status. There is a possibility that some lounges may grant access to travelers on their flights for a fee.
If you consider paying for access to the lounge, inquire when checking in for your departure. If you must have a shower and your frequent flyer status (and charm) are insufficient to gain entry to a lounge, the airport hotels generally have rooms available (in Sep 2009, the Sheraton in Terminal 2 at the train station charged €155).
When you arrive at CDG, you should note what terminal you arrived at (2A, 2D, etc.), because when you come back to the airport to depart at the end of your trip, the RER subway train makes two stops at CDG to cover the three terminals, but there are few indications of which airlines are at which terminals. Have a close look at your air ticket to figure out which terminal you are departing from. Air France and associates leave from Terminal 2.
Terminal 1
There are quite a few points with power outlets specifically for charging passengers’ laptops/mobiles, both down by the food court and by some of the gates.
Terminal 2E
VAT Tax refund: First, have your tax refund papers stamped at the tax refund counter in the main terminal area, before you check in with your airline. Showing goods is signposted as mandatory, usually only required for high priced, marquee items.
To locate the tax refund counter in the terminal, look for the signs or ask any airline employee for directions. Don’t be confused by a single line splitting between currency exchange and tax refund office: choose tax refund if you prefer Euros–while currency exchange refunds only in USD or your national currency, both buy at a robbery rate (and with no rollback to the refund window after you realized the rate).
The line can take a long time, expect several minutes per customer. At either office, you can also receive refund for your spouse if you have his/her passport and refund forms.
Duty-free shopping: There are no shops before security check zone. When you shop in post-security check zone, it’s not genuinely taxfree, as you can receive a tax refund for those purchases as well.
Contrary to what one may expect, there is no L’Occitane; cheese is limited to soft sorts (and there are no ripe varietes); wines starts at €11 and some popular sorts like Chinin can’t be found; selection of sausages is extremely limited.
There are no mid-range clothes or shoes stores, only luxury brands.
Get in / out
For getting to or from Paris, the RER commuter train, line B, has stations in T3 (from where you can take the free CDGVAL shuttle train to T1) and T2. Trains to Paris leave every 7-8 minutes and stop at Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, Luxembourg, Port-Royal, Denfert-Rochereau and Cité Universitaire. Adult tickets cost €8.50, and for children between 4-10 the fare is €5.95 each. The train takes around 35 minutes to Gare du Nord and 45 minutes to Denfert-Rochereau, making this the fastest and cheapest way to get to the city. Tickets can be purchased either through green (sometimes blue) automated ticket vending machines (“Billetterie Ile-de-France”) or through the ticket office serviced by transport authority personnel. Engineering works near CDG Terminal-1 and Aulnay-Sois-Bois stations are conducted between 2300hrs and 0100hrs everyday, so you must take a coach (bus) from Terminal 3 to the station where you can take the RER B train to Paris. The fare is included in the train ticket you purchase. The automated ticket machines accept Euro coins of €2, €1 and 50, 20, 10, 5 cent denominations and give change. Note that Euro notes are not accepted. There is one separate automated machine which changes €20, €10 and €5 notes to €2 and €1 coins.
However, due to the high demand, the machine frequently runs out of coins. There are currency exchange centres, but they explicitly state notes will not be changed for coins. Alternatively, smart-chip cr cards can be used on the ticket machines. But, some non-European cr cards are not accepted. Because of the above limitations, purchasing tickets from the ticket office may seem to be an attractive method. Although there are many counters, the queues can be very long. Although it is a nuisance, the fastest way to get some tickets is to take a lot of Euro coins with you. It is also possible to explain the situation to a European buying a ticket with a working cr card, and ask them to buy one for you in exchange for a paper note.
Trains for Paris usually leave from platforms 11 and 12. Look for signs saying “RER B” or “All trains go to Paris”. When using the ticket from and to the airport (as with tickets for the RER commuter trains in general) you have to use it to enter and to exit the train. Always keep the ticket handy as the SNCF officials sometimes check for tickets, and if you are without one you may be fined €40. This means that after you put the ticket into the entry gate and are cleared to pass, you must retrieve the ticket from the machine and keep it with you until you leave the train system including any connections.
Alternatively, the Roissybus service connects all terminals directly to Opéra Garnier in central Paris, but it’s subject to traffic jams and rush hour, so it averages 60-90 min even on a good day. You could take bus number 3502and 3513 to the city and it costs around €5.20 making it the cheapest option to go to Paris. The tickets can be purchased inside the bus from the driver and they need to be punched with a device lying next to the driver’s seat.
Air France buses 4 offer two stops in Paris (Porte Maillot, Montparnasse) from CDG with a 50-min ride. To reach a specific address into the city, this shared shuttle service 5 costs €19 per person 6, private transfers cost €79 7. Mercedes E transfer costs €129 and are available from CDG and ORY. There is also a TGV station in T2 for high-speed connections, mostly towards Lille and Brussels, but there are also some trains that head south to eg. Rennes and Nantes, bypassing Paris.
Contact
Post office only exists in B and D terminals. However, you can send postcards buying post stamps in a newspaper stand, and dropping them into a postbox (both exist in every terminal).
Orly International Airport
8 (ICAO: LFPO, IATA: ORY. This airport is southwest of the city, and served by a southern branch of the RER-B line that heads in the direction of Saint-Rémy-les-Chevreuse (not Robinson). This older international airport is used mainly by Air France for national lines, and other international carriers in Europe. Orly is roughly 40 min from Paris via the OrlyBus, which departs from Métro Denfert-Rochereau (ligne 6); the price is €6.40. Another option is bus 285 that takes you to the Métro Villejuif – Louis Aragon(Line 7) in 15 min, but it stops on the way and is designed for commuters and not for travellers. Bus 285 costs €1.80 and runs every 10 min, stopping at airport level -1.
The Orlyval light rail connects the two terminals to each other and to the RER B line at Antony. It runs every 4-7 min and cost €9.85 for transfer to Paris, including connections to central area metro stations. The RER B from Antony runs through Paris to Aéroport Charles de Gaulle.
Beauvais (Aéroport de Beauvais Tillé)
9 ICAO: LFOB, IATA: BVA. This airport, a distance north of the city, is a smaller regional airport that is used by some low-cost carriers such as Ryanair (list flights 10) and WizzAir. The airport operates a shuttle service connecting with the Métro at Porte Maillot station. Buses run even during the wee hours of the morning (6AM). Buses leave 20 min after each flight arrives, and a few hours before each flight departs. Exact times can be found on the Beauvais Airport website. The journey will take about an hour in good traffic conditions, and costs €15 each way.
Airline Shuttles
In addition to public transport, Air France operates shuttles between Charles de Gaulle and Paris (€10-12), Orly and Paris (€7.5) and between the two airports (€15). Note that if you have connecting Air France flights that land and depart from different airports, you would still generally need to fetch your luggage after landing, catch either the Air France shuttle or a taxi (readily available at all airports) to the other airport and check-in again. This altogether could take up to 2 hours particularly if traffic is at its worst. It is also common to lose time during disembarking, as passengers often need to get off at the tarmac and get on buses which will bring them to the terminal building. Be sure to have sufficient time between flights to catch your connection. Note that check-in counters usually close 30 min before the flight departs, longer if flights are international carriers.
If you want to take RER B and catch an early flight, make sure you bring enough change, because you can only buy tickets at the coins-only machines before the counter opens.
If you arrive to CDG Airport at night you’ll need a Noctilien bus to get to the city center. The bus stops in all three terminals (in terminal 2F it will be the second level in departure section – it is very difficult to find, but it really exists). The bus leaves every 30 min after 12:30AM (see timetable 11). The buses you’ll need are N121 and N120; the price is €7.
By train
Paris is well connected to the rest of Europe by train. There is no central station serving Paris, the six different stations are not connected to each other. You will probably want to know in advance at which station your train is arriving, so as to better choose a hotel and plan for transport within the city.
Gare du Nord, (10th), Métro: Gare du Nord – TGV trains to and from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany (Thalys), and the United Kingdom (Eurostar) and regular trains from Northern Europe.
Gare d’Austerlitz, (13th), Métro: Gare d’Austerlitz – regular trains to and from the center and southwest of France (Orléans, Limoges, Toulouse the long way), Spain and Portugal and arrival of majority of the night trains.
Gare de l’Est, (10th), Métro: Gare de l’Est – ICE/TGV to and from Luxembourg, Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart, Munich in Germany and Basel and Zurich in Switzerland.
Gare de Lyon, (12th), Métro: Gare de Lyon – regular and TGV trains to and from Southern and eastern France: French Alps, Marseille, Lyon, Dijon, Switzerland: Geneva, Lausanne, Bern and Italy.
Gare St Lazare, (8th) Métro: St-Lazare – trains to and from Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie.
Gare Montparnasse, (15th), Métro: Montparnasse-Bienvenüe – TGV and regular trains to and from the west and south-west of France (Brest, Rennes, Nantes, Bordeaux, Toulouse the fastest way and Spain).
The SNCF (French national railway authority) 12 operates practically all trains within France excluding the Eurostar to St Pancras, London 13 and the Thalys to Brussels and onward to the Netherlands 14 and Germany 15. There are also a few local lines of high touristic interest which are privately owned. All SNCF, Eurostar and Thalys tickets can be bought in railway stations, city offices and travel agencies (no surcharge). The SNCF website allows to book and buy tickets up to two months in advance. There are significant discounts if you book weeks ahead. Reduced ticket prices are different for each day and each train and can be used only on the train the reservation is for. Surprisingly, round trip tickets (aller-retour) with a stay over Saturday night can be cheaper than a single one-way ticket (aller simple). A very limited selection of last minute trips are published on the SNCF website every Tuesday, with discounts of more than 50%.
There are a number of different kinds of high speed and normal trains:
TER. Regional trains : TER are slower, stopping at almost all stations.
Intercités. normal day (no special name) operate to and from most cities in France and are usually your best bet for destinations all over France. These are the trains you’ll find yourself on if you have a Eurail pass, and don’t want to pay extra for reservations.
Téoz. As Corail Intercité but you need a reservation.
Lunéa. night trains (no special name) operate to and from most cities in France and are usually your best bet for destinations all over France. These are the trains you’ll find yourself on if you have a Eurail pass, and don’t want to pay extra for reservations.
TGV, 16. The world-famous French high-speed trains (Trains à Grande Vitesse) run very frequently to the Southeast Nice(5-6h), Marseille (3h) and Avignon (2.5 h), the East Geneva (3h) or Lausanne, Switzerland and Dijon (1h15) , the Southwest Bordeaux (3h), the West Rennes (3h) and the North Lille (less than 1h). Eurostar to London (2h15) and Thalys to Brussels (1h20) use almost identical trains.
Thalys, 17. A high-speed train service running daily to/from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It can be a bit expensive compared to normal trains, but cheap enough if you buy in advance.
Intercity. Intercity trains leave for all parts of Europe, including overnight trains to San Sebastian in Spain, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal.
Eurostar, 18. The Eurostar service connects Paris with London directly and Brussels indirectly, as well many other destinations indirectly through the various west European rail services. Travel time between Paris and London St Pancras International currently averages at 2h15min, following the opening of a new rail link in late 2007.
By bus
Eurolines, 19. A transEuropean bus company that offers trips to and from Paris. Generally offers prices significantly cheaper than the train at the cost of much longer journeys. The Parisian office is located at Bagnolet, adjacent to the Gallieni metro station.
By car
Several autoroutes (expressway, motorway) link Paris with the rest of France: A1 and A3 to the north, A5 and A6 to the south, A4 to the east and A13 and A10 to the west. Not surprisingly, traffic jams are significantly worse during French school holidays.
The multi-lane highway around Paris, called the Périphérique (BP), is probably preferable to driving through the center. Another beltway nearing completion; L’A86 (also A186 and A286) loops around Paris about 10 km further out from the Périphérique. A third, incomplete beltway is much further out and called La Francilienne (N104).
It is advised not to drive in the Paris Metro Area. It is better to drive to a suburban train station with a parking lot and then use the train to continue your trip throughout Paris. Most of Paris’ roads were created long before the invention of automobiles. Traffic inside the city tends to be heavy, especially at rush hour; driving, however, may be rather easy and efficient in the evening. Parking is also difficult. Furthermore, the medieval nature of parts of the city’s street system makes it very confusing, and traffic will almost never allow one to stop or slow down to get one’s bearings. If you are unfamiliar with the streets and still insist on driving in the city, make sure you have a navigator in the passenger seat with you.
Getting around once in Paris, France:
Paris France Hotels - Map & Location (metro) - click to enlarge
The best and cheapest way to get around Paris is on foot, and secondly, using the Metro which is around one euro seventy cents for a one way trip of any length.
By car
It is generally a bad idea to rent a car to visit Paris. Traffic is very dense during the day, and parking tends to be difficult. This is especially true in areas surrounding points of touristic interest, since many of these are in areas designed long before automobiles existed. A majority of Parisian households do not own cars.
Driving may be an option for going to some sights in the suburbs such as Vaux-le-Vicomte castle or the castle and city at Fontainebleau, or for starting to other places in France. You may prefer to rent from a location not situated in Paris proper.
Traffic rules in Paris are basically the same as elsewhere in France, with the exception of having to yield to incoming traffic on roundabouts. However, driving in dense traffic in Paris and suburbs during commute times, can be especially strenuous. Be prepared for traffic jams, cars changing lanes at short notice, and so on. Another issue is pedestrians, who tend to fearlessly jaywalk more in Paris than in other French cities. Be prepared for pedestrians crossing the street on red, and expect similar adventurous behavior from cyclists. Remember that even if a pedestrian or cyclist crossed on red, if you hit him, you (in fact, your insurance) will have to bear civil responsibility for the damages, and possibly prosecution for failing to control your vehicle.
Paris has several beltway systems. There is a series of boulevards named after Napoleonic-era generals (Boulevard Masséna), and collectively referred to as boulevard des maréchaux. These are normal wide avenues, with traffic lights. Somewhat outside of this boulevard is the boulevard périphérique, a freeway-style beltway.
The périphérique intérieur is the inner lanes (going clockwise), the périphérique extérieur the outer lanes (going counter-clockwise). Note that despite the looks, the périphérique is not an autoroute: the speed limit is 80 and, very unusually, incoming traffic has the right of way, at least theoretically (presumably because, otherwise, nobody would be able to enter during rush hour).
On foot
Directions
Paris France Hotels - City Map (click to enlarge)
If you find yourself lost in the streets, a good idea is to find the nearest Hotel and ask the concierge for directions. Most speak English well. A simple “Bonjour Monsieur, parlez-vous anglais?” should suffice.
Walking in Paris is one of the great pleasures of visiting the City of Light. It is possible to cross the entire city in only a few hours, but only if you can somehow keep yourself from stopping at numerous cafés and shops.
In fact within a few years walking combined with biking and the Metro will be the only way to get around the very centre of Paris: The Mayor’s office has announced plans to declare the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th arrondissements almost totally car-free by 2012.
The smartest travellers take advantage of the walk-ability of this city, and stay above ground as much as possible. A metro ride of less than 2 stops is probably best avoided since walking will take about the same amount of time and you’ll be able to see more of the city.
Paris walking 101
To get a great orientation of the city on foot while seeing many of Paris’ major sights, you can do a West to East walk from the Arc de Triomphe to Ile de la Cite (Notre Dame). This walk takes about 1-2 hours without any stops. Start at the top of the Champs Elysees (at the Arc de Triomphe) and begin walking down the Champs Elysees towards Place (‘square’) de la Concorde.
On the way towards the obelisk on the square, you’ll see the major stores and restaurants of Paris’ most famous avenue.
Once you’ve passed the main shopping area, you’ll see the Petit Palais and the Grand Palais to your right.
At Place de la Concorde, you’ll be able to see many of Paris’ major monuments around you. In front of you is the Tuileries, behind you is the Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, behind you to your right is the Tour Eiffel and Musee d’Orsay, and finally, to your left is the Madeleine.
Continue straight ahead and enter the Tuileries Gardens passing by fountains, flowers, and lovers in the park.
As you continue straight ahead, and out of the garden, you’ll see the pyramid entrance to the Louvre directly in front of you.
With the pyramid directly in front of you, and the Tuileries directly behind you, turn to your right and walk towards the Seine.
Now you can walk along the Seine (eastwards) until you reach Pont Neuf. Cross Pont Neuf and walk through the Latin Quarter, cross the river again to reach Notre Dame cathedral on Ile de la Cité.
You may have heard of the hazard of walking into dog droppings in Paris. The problem has receded over the last decades, partially due to fines as high as €180 and an extensive street cleaning operations. However you will still occasionally encounter one of these little packages. Eventually with a little practice you’ll be able to avoid them without effort while looking every way but down, though you may find yourself dancing around fallen leaves in the autumn (some are just the right size and colour).
You will also notice that most of the older Parisian streets (especially the ones in the Quartier Latin) are particularly narrow with little or no room to even fit a car, so the sidewalks on these roads are extremely tiny. Although this means you would opt to walk on the road, be wary as Parisian drivers, taxi drivers in particular, take no heed in the narrowness of the road, and will drive down it just as fast as if they were driving along a major road.
It’s always fun to experience the city by foot, and there are numerous walking tours around Paris, whether self guided (with the help of a guidebook or online guide) or with a touring guide (booked through your travel agency or hotel). The city is best explored by foot, and some of the most marvelous memories you will have of Paris is walking through secret found places.
By Métro
Paris has an excellent underground train system, known as the Métro (short for Chemin de fer métropolitain, Metropolitan Railway). Although you will probably take the RER subway train from the airport to Paris, don’t be confused: RER isn’t the name for the “French subway train”, and only a few large stations serve the RER network of trains. Look for the Métro stations, marked with a large “M” sign.
There are 16 Métro lines (lignes) (1-14, 3bis, and 7bis) on which trains travel all day at intervals of a few minutes between 5AM and 12:30AM (Saturday night/Sunday morning: 1:30AM), stopping at all stations on the line. Times for trains can be seen on an electronic scrollboard above the platform. Line 14, which is fully automated, is called the Méteor. Scheduled times for first and last trains are posted in each station on the centre sign. Generally, except for early and late hours, travellers should not worry about specific Metro train times; just get to your station and take the next train, which will likely be in 5-10 min.
Many of the trains do not carry destination binders. All lines on the Paris metro run end-to-end with some trains terminating at certain stations. This practice is common only in peak hours and if you are on a metro train that terminates before the last station, the driver will make an announcement (in French). Listen carefully for signs that the train is terminating before the end of the line.
The lines are named according to the names of their terminal stations ( the end of the line). If you ask the locals about directions, they will answer something like : take line number n toward “end station 1″, change at “station”, take the line nn toward “end station 2″ etc. The lines are also colour-coded.
In addition, there are five commuter train lines: RER A, B, C, D, and E. RER trains run at intervals of about 6-7 min, and stop at every station within Paris. Although a regular subway ticket can be used within Paris (Zone 1), it is necessary to pass the ticket through the turnstile when passing between the subway and the RER lines, as the two systems are separate networks. This ticket is necessary to enter and exit the RER networks, as the RER trains travel on to the Parisian suburbs, outside the zone where a regular subway ticket can be used. Beware that travelling outside the city centre without a valid RER ticket will get you fined, and the packs of inspectors who roam the system show no mercy to tourists pleading ignorance. In particular, Charles de Gaulle airport is not within the city, and you’ll need to purchase a more expensive RER ticket to get there (see Get in).
In addition to RER, there are many suburban train lines departing from the main train stations. One line of interest is the one from Gare Montparnasse to Versailles-Chantiers, a quick way to go to Versailles castle (covered by a ticket for at least Zones 1-4). The alternative is to use RER C to Versailles Rive Gauche (this station is the closest to the castle). Do not use RER C8 to Versailles Chantiers; this will do a very long loop in the southern suburbs before reaching Versailles.
For travel outside of the Paris zone, the train arrival times are shown on a monitor hanging from the ceiling inside the RER station above the platform. Information about the stops to be made by the next incoming train is presented on a separate board also hanging from the ceiling. It is important to check this board before boarding the train, as not all trains make stops at all stations on a given line. Four letter codes (KRIN, DIPA, TORE, etc.) are used for the RER and Transilien trains.
On RER A, B and C the first letter indicates the destination of the train, the second the branch or service type, and the last two are to make the name easier to memorize; on RER D and E, the first letter is destination, the second letter is service type, the third letter is branch, and the fourth letter is direction; on Transilien lines, it’s usually one name for every service type. You can look up what these codes mean on information panels in the station, but the easiest and fastest way is often to check the information screens along the platforms.
RATP 20 is responsible for public transport including metro, buses, and some of the high speed inter-urban trains (RER). The rest of the RER is operated by SNCF. However, both companies take the same tickets, so the difference is of little interest for most people except in case of strikes (RATP may strike without SNCF doing so or the other way round). Current fares can be found at their website. Basically, as you move farther from Paris (into higher zones), tickets get more expensive.
For the subway, a single ticket (ticket t+) costs €1.70; however, it is generally not advisable to buy tickets by the unit. Instead, purchase a carnet of ten tickets, which can be bought for €12 at any station, which will bring the price per ticket down to €1.20. Tickets named tarif réduit may be purchased for children under the age of 10 but only in a carnet of 10 for €6. Both tickets are valid for unlimited metro and RER or bus and tram transfers during two hours for RER and metro, and 1 hour 30 between the first and the last punch for bus and tram. RER + Métro and Bus + Tram are two separate systems, but they use the same tickets. This means you have to use a new ticket if you transfer from bus to metro or from metro to bus. Tickets do not expire.
A one-day ticket, a weekly pass, and a monthly pass are also available. The price varies according to the zones for which the ticket can be used. The cheapest 1-day ticket called Mobilis 21, is valid for zones 1-2, with a price of €6.10. Once bought, it is necessary to write in the spaces provided on the ticket the date the ticket is being used in European notation of day/month/year (valable le), the last name (nom), and the first name (prénompp). Unfortunately, this ticket is not valid for use for travel to/from Charles de Gaulle airport. Unless you plan to make many trips in one day, the carnet of ten tickets (for €1.20 per trip) will still be a much better cost than a one-day ticket. However, consider the price for all members of your group/family, including children, which days you are travelling on, and in which zones you will be travelling.
For travellers under the age of 26, there is a special ticket (Jeunes 26) that you can purchase for use on the weekends or holidays. The price varies depending on the number of zones you wish to cover (Zones 1-3 is €3.30 and Zones 1-5 is €6.60; there are other zone combinations available too) and the ticket is good for one day of unlimited usage of the metro, RER, bus, and trams.
Map of Paris Métro
If you are staying a bit longer, the weekly and monthly passes are called Navigo Découverte (1 week pass, €17.20 for Paris and inner suburbs) and the monthly Navigo Mensuel (one-month pass). Note that an Découverte (DAY-koo-VERT) starts on Mondays and a Mensuel on the first of the month. The Navigo pass is non-transferrable and requires the user to provide information on the pass after the sale. The pass is sold for €5. You must write your last name (nom) and your first name (prénom) and stick your photo on the nominative card. After, you have to refill your pass with a recharge hébdomadaire (one-week refill), or a recharge mensuelle (one-month refill). You have to choose at least two of the contiguous “zones”: Paris is the first zone, La Défense is in the third zone, and Versailles in the fourth. Everything related to a “Navigo” pass is in purple (like the target for the pass in the turnstiles).
Although not as good a deal for adults in most cases as the Mobilis or Carte Orange, there are also one-to-five-day tourist passes, called Paris Visite, available, which are a bargain for kids of ages 4-11, starting at €4.40 per day for travel within zones 1-3.
Keep your ticket or pass with you at all times as you may be checked. You will be cited and forced to pay on the spot if you do not have a ticket. The most likely spots for being checked are just behind the turnstiles at big Métro stations or during Métro line changes (correspondances). RATP agents may be present in the Métro stations even on Sunday nights.
Métro stations have both ticket windows and automatic vending machines. The majority of automatic vending machines do not take notes, only coins or European cr cards with a pin-encoded chip on the front. Therefore, to use either euro bills or a non-European cr card with a magnetic stripe, it is necessary to make the purchase from the ticket window.
Be advised that some ticket vending machines do not give change, so use exact change or go to the ticket window. If you look at the vending machines closely, you may find one in the group that takes euro bills and will give change; these machines can be found at major or touristy stations such as Tuileries, Gare de Lyon or La Défense-Grande Arche.
Some larger stations have secondary entrances, where there is no ticket booth. These are labelled voyageurs avec billets (passengers with tickets).
Avoid suburban charges
If you have any tickets or Navigo passes for zone 1-2 (inside the Paris area, the lower rate) and want go to La Défense from Châtelet, you have to take the Métro (Line 1). You can take the RER A (and save a few minutes), but you have to pay an additional fare, because even though you arrive at the same station, the RER exit is supposed to be outside of Paris! On the other hand, Métro fares are the same, even in the suburbs. So be careful as there are usually a lot of ticket examiners present when you get off the RER A.
Each station displays a detailed map of the surrounding area with a street list and the location of buildings (monuments, schools, places of worship, etc,) as well as exits for that particular metro. Maps are located on the platform if the station has several exits or near the exit if there is only one exit.
Except for Métro 1 and 14 and some modern trains on Métro 2, the doors may not open automatically. In such a case, there are handles or buttons located both inside and outside the train that you have to push or unlatch in order to open the door.
Strikes are a regular occurrence on the Paris public transit system. Generally during a strike, there will be reduced or no service on certain lines but parts of the network will continue to operate; however, in some cases the entire network may shut down completely. Visit the RATP and SNCF websites for information on which routes are affected by a strike. Generally, Metro line 14 will be running during a strike because it is operated without human drivers – if you are caught by a strike, it is best to use it whenever possible.
By boat
There are several excellent boat services which makes use of the Seine. As well as providing easy, cheap transport to much of central Paris, excellent photo opportunities abound. You can buy a day or 3 day ticket and hop on and off the boat as needed. The boats take a circular route from the Eiffel Tower, down past the Louvre, Notre Dame, botanical gardens then back up the other bank past Musee D’orsay. Batobus 22 offers a regular shuttle service between the main touristic sights (closed in January); other companies such as the famous Bateaux Mouches 23 offer sightseeing cruises.
There is also a river shuttle service called Voguéo 24 on the eastern part of the Seine, between Gare d’Austerlitz and Maison Alfort (in the suburbs). It’s not meant for tourists, but as a convenient service for Parisians. As a result, the view isn’t the most breathtaking in Paris (part of it is industrial), but even though the boats are pretty small they’re bound to be much less crowded than those for tourists. More importantly, it’s free if you have a Carte Orange (weekly or monthly public transport pass). Otherwise a ticket bought onboard costs €3 which can be considered expensive. The last stop is in zone 3 so normally you should not be able to go that far with a Carte Orange that covers zones 1&2, but since June 2009 it’s free as they are still experimenting the system. There are boats every 15 min and the whole trip lasts about 30 min. If you want to do a round-trip and don’t have a Carte Orange, you will have to buy a second ticket.
On skates
Paris is the mecca of city skating. This is due to the large, smooth surfaces offered by both the pavements and the roads. Skating on the pavement is legal all around Central Paris (zone 1) and its suburbs (zones 2+). See our Do section below for more information.
By bicycle
Renting a bike is a very good alternative over driving or using public transport. Riding a bike anywhere in the city is far safer for the moderately experienced cyclists than almost any town or city in the United States. The French are very cognizant of cyclists, almost to a point of reverence. A few years ago Paris wasn’t the easiest place to get around by bike. That however has changed dramatically in recent years, starting perhaps with a lengthy bus and traffic jam. The city government has taken a number of steps in strong support of improving the safety and efficiency of the urban cyclist as well, in establishing some separated bike lanes, but even more important a policy of allowing cyclists to share the ample bus lanes on most major boulevards. Paris also has many riversides which are perfect for cycling. The Paris bike network now counts over 150 km of either unique or shared lanes for the cyclist. In addition, the narrower, medieval side streets of the central arrondissements make for rather scenic and leisurely cycling, especially during off-hours of the day when traffic is lighter. Do remember to bring a good map, since there is no grid plan to speak of and almost all of the smaller streets are one-way.
Note that, while the streets of Paris are generally fairly easy on novice cyclists, there are some streets in the city that should be avoided by those who do not have sufficient urban cycling experience. ‘Rue de Rivoli’, ‘Place de la Bastille’, and ‘Place de la Nation’ are particularly hairy, especially during weekdays and the Saturday evening rush, and should not be navigated by anyone not confident in their ability to cycle in heavy traffic. ‘Avenue des Champs-Elysées’, ‘Place de l’Étoile’, and ‘Voie Georges Pompidou’ (the lower-level express lanes along the banks of the Seine) should be avoided at all times.
You can find an excellent map of the bike network called Plan des Itinéraires cyclables (download here: 25) at the information center in the Hôtel de Ville.
There are two different bike rental programs in Paris:
Vélib, ☎ +33 1 30 79 79 30, 26. In July 2007 the municipality of Paris introduced the Vélib program (vélo Liberté or Freedom Bikes) by which it is possible to rent a bike for a very modest price. Numerous stations are to be found around the city (at major landmarks and metro stations, basically every 300m). With a cr card with a “puce” smart-chip (that means that American Visa and Mastercard cards do not work, however American Express cards should work even though they don’t have a chip), you can subscribe for 1 day (€1) or 7 days (€5) after paying a security on the bicycle (to pay for it if it isn’t returned) & then get a bike; the first 30 min are free, following 30 min costs €1, following 30 min cost €2, etc. to avoid long rentals… so the game is to get to another station in 25 min and get another bicycle. This rental system has been designed to allow you to “pick & drop” a bike, not rent the same one all day long. Try it ! If your card works in the machines it’s a great way to get around! The bicycles are wonderful cruiser bikes, with a front basket to put a purse or bag. If the saddle is turned around, it most probably means the bike is out of order (it’s a convention among Velib users, so do the same if you notice your Velib has problems). €1 per day.
In addition to operating a number of bike rental buses, the RATP has some permanent locations, including:
Roue Libre, Les Halles, 1 passage Mondétour (facing 120 rue Rambuteau, Métro: Les Halles), ☎ +33 1 04 41 53 49. Bikes can be rented for one weekend (€25), M-F (€20), a working day (€9), or one day on the weekend (€14). Roue Libre also has a location at the Bastille which is open during the summer months
Another possibility for renting a bicycle is Bike About Tours or Fat Tire bike tours. Also, Paris Velos Sympa offers bikes for €20/day.
By bus
Since the Métro is primarily structured around a hub-and-spoke model, there are some journeys for which it can be quite inefficient, and in these cases, it is worth seeing if a direct bus route exists, despite the complexity of the bus network. A bus ride is also interesting if you want to see more of the city. The Parisian bus system is quite tourist-friendly. It uses the same single-ride tickets and Carte Orange as the Métro, and electronic displays inside each bus tell riders its current position and what stops remain, eliminating a lot of confusion.
These same payment devices are also valid in the Noctilien, the night bus. Night buses run regularly through the central hub at Chatelet to outlying areas of greater Paris. There is also a circle line connecting the main train stations. It pays to know one’s Noctilien route ahead of time in case one misses the last Métro home. Women travellers should probably avoid taking the Noctilien on their own to destinations outside Paris.
Another option for travelers who want to see the sights of Paris without a stop on every street corner is the Paris L’Opentour Bus, an open-topped double decker bus that supplies headsets with the most up to date information on the attractions in Paris. Your ticket is good for four routes ranging in time from 1-2 h. Get off when you want, stay as long as you need, get back on the bus and head for another site. You can purchase tickets at the bus stop. A one-day pass is €25 for adults and €15 for children. A two-day pass is €32 for adults or €15 for children.
By taxi
Taxis are comparatively cheap especially at night when there are no traffic jams to be expected. There are not as many as one would expect, and sometimes finding a taxi can be challenging. In the daytime, it is not always a good idea to take a taxi, as walking or taking the metro (See: Métro) will often be faster. If you know you will need one to get to the airport, or to a meeting, it is wise to book ahead by phone (see below).
To stop a taxi…
… watch the sign on the roof: if the white sign is lit, the cab is on duty and available, if the white sign is off and a colored light is lit under it (blue, orange), it’s on duty and busy, if the white sign is off and no coloured light is on, the taxi is off duty.
Remember if a taxi is near a ‘taxi station’, they’re not supposed to pick you up except at the station where there may be people waiting for a taxi. Taxi stations are usually near train stations, big hotels, hospitals, large crossings.
There are a number of services by which you can call for taxis or make a reservation in advance:
Taxis de France, 27.
Taxi-Paris, ☎ +33 014 1276699, 28.
Shuttle Taxi, 29.
Taxis Bleus, 30.
As in many other cities a taxi can be difficult to stop; you may have to try several times. When you do get a taxi to stop, the driver will usually roll down his window to ask you where you want to go. If the driver can’t (or doesn’t want to) go where you want, he might tell you that he’s near the end of his work day & can’t possibly get you where you want before he has to go off-duty.
There is a €5.50 minimum on all taxi rides, mandated by city law, but the meter does not show this amount, which can result in being asked to pay more than the metered amount on short rides. Frequently the taxi driver will not want to drive you all the way to the doorstep, but will prefer to let you out a block or so away if there are one or more one-way streets to contend with. Try to look at this as a cost-savings rather than an inconvenience. You should pay while still seated in the cab as in New York and not through the front window London style.
The driver will not let you sit in the front seat (unless there are 3 or 4 of you, which is a rare case usually exped by more money). Taxi-drivers come in all types, some nice, some rude, some wanting to chat, some not. Smoking in taxis is generally not allowed, however it might be that the taxi driver himself wants a cigarette in which case the rule might become flexible.
Many drivers prefer that you avoid using your cellphone during the ride; if you do have to, make an apologizing gesture & sound, and do make a short call.
A tip is included in the fare price; If you’re especially satisfied with the service, you can give something (basically 10%), but you don’t have to.
There is an extra charge for baggage handling.
If for any reason you wish to file a complaint about a Paris taxi, take note of the taxi’s number on the sticker on the left hand backseat window.
Also if you take a taxi to the Charles de Gaulle airport be prepared to pay €70 or more because there is often heavy traffic. If there isn’t traffic it will be less expensive, but that is rare. The RER B or a bus is cheaper.
Beware of illegal taxis (see the ‘Stay Safe’ section).
Livery or Black Car or Limos- Known as car services or livery cabs, these cars may only be called by phone, are flat rate rather than metered (ask for the fare before getting in), and are not allowed to cruise the street or airports for fares. There are two types of licence: the “Grande Remise” that allows the car & driver to pick-up & drop-off passengers anywhere in France, and the “carte verte” that allows pick-up & drop-off in the department or region where the company is based. The Grande Remise cars have a GR on their front plate. They provide more service than a normal cab.
With children
Metro and bus. The metro and buses are free for children under the age of 4. Older kids (4-9) can buy a carnet (a collection of 10 tickets) at half-price for discounted travel. Other passes, including the Paris-Vistes pass for unlimited travel over 1 to 5 days are also available at half-price for children below 9 years of age.
Taxis. Parisien taxis tend to be standard cars (sedans or minivans) so almost all strollers will need to be folded and placed in trunk. Be aware that taxi drivers are proud of their cars and keep them very clean and are not big fans of messy kids.
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