Finding
your way
around
Paris is
remarkably
easy, as
the city
proper,
stripped
of its
suburbs,
is
compact
and
relatively
small,
with an
integrated
public
transport
system -
the
RATP
(Régie
Autonome
des
Transports
Parisiens).
The
system
is cheap,
fast and
meticulously
signposted,
comprising
buses,
underground
métro
and
suburban
express
trains,
known as
RER (Réseau
Express
Régional)
trains.
The
whole
network
is
divided
into
five
zones
, though
the
entire
métro
system
fits
into
zones 1
and 2.
Information
is
available
online
at .
At
its
widest
point,
Paris is
only
about
12km
across,
which,
at a
brisk
pace, is
not much
more
than a
pleasant
two
hours'
walk.
Fares
and
passes
Tickets can be bought in carnets of ten from any station or tabac showing a green métro ticket sign; the cost is ¬8.38, as opposed to ¬1.23 for a single ticket. Only one ¬1.23 billet is ever needed per journey on the métro system. It's also valid for any journey within zones 1 and 2 on the RER or by bus, but you cannot switch between buses or between bus and métro/RER on the same ticket. Night buses require separate tickets costing ¬2.29 each, unless you have a weekly or monthly travel pass. For RER journeys beyond zones 1 and 2, you must buy an RER ticket; visitors often get caught out, for instance, when they take the RER instead of the métro to La Défense. Children under four travel free and from four to ten at half price.
Be sure to keep your ticket until the end of your journey: you'll be charged a stiff fine on the spot if you can't produce one.
If you've arrived early in the week and are staying three days or more, it may be more economical to obtain a photocard, the Carte Orange (you'll need a passport photo - available from the booths in the main stations), with a weekly travelcard, known as a coupon hebdomadaire ; you'll probably want one for zones 1 and 2 to cover the city and inner suburbs. Costing ¬12.50, the zone 1 and 2 version is valid for an unlimited number of journeys from Monday morning to Sunday evening, and is on sale at all métro stations and tabacs. You can only buy a travelcard for the current week until Wednesday; from Thursday you buy a coupon to begin the following Monday. You need to write your Carte Orange number on the travelcard. There's also a monthly pass ( mensuel ), costing ¬42.53, for zones 1 and 2. A word of warning: the Carte Orange is technically for Île de France residents only, though most clerks will sell you one as a visitor.
Other options include the Paris Visites , 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-day visitors' passes at ¬7.62, ¬12.20, ¬18.29 and ¬25.91 for Paris and inner suburbs, or ¬15.24, ¬26.68, ¬37.34 and ¬45.73 to include the airports, Versailles and Disneyland Paris (make sure you buy this one when you arrive at Roissy Charles de Gaulle or Orly to get maximum value). A children's version is available at half price for 1, 2 or 3 days. The main advantage of Paris Visites passes is that, unlike the coupon hebdomadaire , whose validity runs unalterably from Monday to Sunday, they can begin on any day. They also allow you discounts at certain monuments, museums, shops and restaurants.
Both the Carte Orange and the Paris Visites entitle you to unlimited travel (in the zones you have chosen) on bus, métro, RER, SNCF and the Montmartre funicular. On the métro you put the coupon through the turnstile slot, but make sure you return it to its plastic folder. On the bus you show the whole carte to the driver as you board - you don't put it into the punching machine.
A mobilis day pass is also available, taking in all forms of RATP transport (from ¬4.57 for the city, ¬10.67 to include the outer suburbs and airports). |
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The
métro
and
RER
The métro (Mº) runs from 5.30am to 12.30am, the RER from 5am to midnight. Stations are far more frequent than on most underground systems, though many entrances are a long way from the platforms and most interchanges involve long walks and lots of stairs. A choice of three free maps is available at most stations: the Grand Plan de Paris for the whole RATP system, which also usefully overlays the métro system onto a map of Paris's streets; the more at-a-glance Petit Plan de Paris ; or the pocket-sized Paris Plan de Poche . In addition, every station has a big map posted.
The métro lines are colour-coded and numbered 1 to 14; the RER lines are designated by the letters A, B, C or D. Within the system, you find your way around by following signs bearing the name of the station at the end of the line in the direction in which you are travelling: Direction Porte Dauphine , Direction Gallieni and so on. The numerous interchanges, or correspondances (look for the orange signs), make it possible to travel anywhere in the city in a more or less straight line.
For RER journeys beyond the city, make sure that the station you want is illuminated on the platform display board |
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Buses
Free bus route maps are available at métro stations, bus terminals and the tourist office; the best is the Grand Plan de Paris . Every bus stop displays the numbers of the buses that stop there, a map showing all the stops on the route, and the times of the first and last buses. Only the #20 bus is designed to be easily accessible for wheelchairs and prams. Generally speaking, buses run from around 6.30am to 8.30pm, with some services continuing to 12.30am. Many lines do not operate on Sundays and holidays, or run a reduced service.
From mid-April to mid-September, a special Balabus service passes all the major tourist sights between La Défense Grande Arche and Gare de Lyon, on Sundays and holidays between noon and 9pm; the entire route takes about fifty minutes. Bus stops are marked "Balabus"; standard bus fares apply.
Night buses (Noctambus) ply eighteen routes every hour from 1am to 5.30am, linking place du Châtelet, near the Hôtel de Ville, with the suburbs. Again, there is a reduced service on Sunday. |
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Taxis
Taxi charges are fairly reasonable - between ¬6.10 and ¬10.67 for a central daytime journey, though considerably more if you call one out. There are three different fare rates: indicator lights on the roof of the taxi tell you which fare is being applied. "A" indicates the daytime rate (7am-7pm; around ¬0.53/km) for Paris and the boulevard périphérique; "B" is the rate for Paris at night (7pm-7am), on Sundays and on public holidays, and for the suburbs during the day (around ¬0.83/km); "C" is the night rate for the suburbs (¬1.07/km). When you get into the taxi, check that the meter shows the appropriate fare rate. In addition, there's a pick-up charge of around ¬1.98 and a time charge (around ¬18.29/hr) for when the car is stationary, an additional ¬0.76 charge if you're picked up from a mainline train station, and a ¬0.95 charge per piece of luggage.
Taxis will often refuse to take more than three people (they don't like you to sit in the front seat); if they do take you, they'll charge extra for the fourth person (about ¬1.37). Tipping is not mandatory, but ten percent will be expected. Finding one of Paris's 470 taxi ranks ( arrêt taxi ) is usually better than trying to hail one down in the street. The large white light means the taxi is free; the orange light below means it's engaged.
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Boats
A
passenger
boat,
known
as
the
Batobus
,
operates
from
May
to
September,
stopping
at
six
points
along
the
Seine
in
this
order:
port
de
la
Bourdonnais
(Eiffel
Tower-
Trocadéro),
quai
de
Solférino
(Musée
d'Orsay),
quai
Malaquais
(Saint
Germain-des-Prés),
quai
de
Montebello
(Notre-Dame),
quai
de
l'Hôtel
de
Ville
(Hôtel-de-Ville-Pompidou
Centre)
and
quai
du
Louvre
(Musée
du
Louvre).
Boats
run
every
thirty
minutes
or
so
from
10am
to
7pm:
total
journey
time
is
twenty
minutes,
and
tickets
cost
¬3.05
for
the
first
stop,
¬1.52
for
subsequent
stops,
or
¬9.15
for
a
day
pass.
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