Living in Paris: Public Transportation

General Information

Public transportation in the Paris region is very good. For the most part, stations are clean and safe and service is regular. Of course there are exceptions. French transportation employees are notorious for striking, however often times the strike may only be on a single metro line. When there are full strikes, notice is given in advance and there is usually minimal service. Certain metro stations are also known for having pickpockets. However, as Paris is very low in violent crime, you are still relatively safe compared to other large cities around the world. Use common sense in public areas, especially at night, hold your belongings close to you, and try not to be distracted by strangers. If you are traveling alone late at night, try to get on the first car of the metro so you will be closest to the driver. There will usually be a crowd of people there.

Airports

Paris is served by two major aiports - Roissy or Charles de Gaulle in the north, and Orly in the south. More and more international flights are going through Charles de Gaulle so you may not have a choice of which airport to fly into. Orly is most often used for domestic or European flights. Currently, Paris ranks second in Europe for the volume of air traffic with Air France in the top five carriers in terms of kilometers flown.

Getting To and From Paris Airports

To get to either Charles de Gaulle or Orly airport from Paris, or to go to Paris from one of the airports, you have several possibilities. Of course you can always take a taxi, but this is the most expensive option and not always the fastest since traffic can be bad. Probably the most inexpensive option is to take the RER which has stops in both airports. If you choose this, make sure to know which stop you need as each airport has two. However, a list of all the airlines is usually given inside the train. This is a great way to go if you don't have a lot of luggage or children with you.

There are also various shuttle services. Air France runs a service to and from both airports. For Charles de Gaulle, stops are at Porte Maillot and Charles de Gaulle Etoile metro. For Orly, stops are at Invalides and Montparnasse. All of these stops will have taxi stands if you need to go further and have luggage with you. There is also the Orly bus which runs between Orly airport and Denfert-Rochereau taking about 30 minutes, and the Roissybus which runs betwwen Charles de Gaulle and the Opera and takes about 45 minutes. If you want more direct service, there are several companies in Paris that will pick you up or drop you off wherever you choose. They also provide service in English. This is a good option if you have no way of getting to one of the designated stops with all your luggage. Depending on which company you go with, costs are about 120FF per person, decreasing with 2 or more people. Examples of these companies are:

Airport Shuttle www.airportshuttle.fr 01 45 38 55 72
Paris Airports Service www.magic.fr/pas 01 49 62 78 78
Paris Shuttle www.parishuttle.com 01 43 90 91 91

Metro

The Paris Metro runs between about 5:30AM and 1AM every day, including holidays. To use it, you will need a ticket that you will keep for your entire journey. Transportation workers may be stationed anywhere in the stations or the trains to make sure you have your ticket. If you don't, you will be fined on the spot. Your ticket is valid with any number of transfers as long as you do not exit the station

In Paris, each metro line has a number. You will need to know the name of the station at the end of the line in order to find which direction you need. When you enter the station, look for signs marked with the final station. Arrows will direct you to the correct platform. When you need to make a transfer, look for the orange signs that say "correspondence". They will direct you to the line you need. A blue sign with white letters spelling "Sortie" is the exit. Sometimes there will be several exits marked with the closest street name or monument.

Bus Buses generally run from 6:30AM. Some will finish as early as 8:30PM and some will continue as late as the metro. In Paris there is a service called Noctambus which runs from 1AM until the metro opens in the morning. There are several Noctambus buses running from Châtelet, spanning out in different directions into the suburbs. These buses run about every thirty minutes. The tickets you use in the metro are valid as well on the city buses. If you go into the suburbs you may need a different ticket. If you need to, tell the driver where you are going and he/she will tell you which ticket you need. Basically, the suburbs are divided into zones. Paris and the immediate suburbs are zones 1 and 2. If you do not go any farther than these zones, your regular ticket will be fine.

RER

The regional express train network connects Paris with the outer suburbs. You can use the same tickets you use for the metro and buses. However, like the buses, the RER runs into several zones outside of Paris. You will need to make sure you have the correct ticket to go where you want. This is even more important on the RER as you will need to run your ticket through the machine in order to leave. One of the favorite spots for station monitors to wait is outside the turnstiles. If you are stuck because you do not have the right ticket, they are not very sympathetic. You should also know that the zones for the RER are not necessarily the same for the metro. For example, a regular ticket can get you from within Paris to La Défense on the metro, but the same station on the RER is considered zone 3.

Types of Tickets

A single ticket for use in zones 1 and 2 costs 8FF or 55FF for a book of ten. You can get a reduced rate of 27.5FF for a book of ten for children. If you frequently use the public transportation, however, you may want to consider getting a carte orange. This is a monthly pass which will allow you unlimited travel within the zones you have chosen. If you live and work in Paris, you can buy a pass for the two zones that will cost 279FF. The pass is good from the first to the last day of the month. If you buy it mid-month it will still only be good for the remainder of that month and not for 30 days. You can also buy a pass that is good for one week. It works the same as the monthly pass in that you can choose the number of zones you would like. This ticket is good for use from Monday to Sunday only. For both the monthly and weekly pass, you will need a photo. Most stations will have an automated photo booth for this purpose, charging about 25FF for four pictures. It's a good idea to save the extra photos as you never know when you may need them again (carte de séjour, driver's license, etc.)

If you are here for only a short time, or if you have guests, there are several possibilities. You can get a Mobilis ticket which is good for unlimited travel for one day within the chosen zones. You can also purchase a Paris-Visite card, good for 2,3, or 5 days unlimited travel, also within specified zones. This card will also allow for reductions on certain tourist spots. Try to get a full list of places that accept the card however. You may find the discounts offered are not as useful to you as you would have liked. On the other hand, if you know in advance you will spending lots of time in museums, you may want to consider the Carte Musées et Monuments. This card does not give you access to the transportation system, but will give you free access to most major museums, including the Château of Versailles and various monuments. In addition, with this card you will be able to bypass any long entrance lines.

Taxis

Taxis can be quite expensive and drivers can charge extra for a fourth person or bags. However, if it is late at night or if you have suitcases, they can be the most practical means of transportation. You can hail taxis in the street, but the best thing to do would be to find one of the taxi stands located around the city. If you do decide to hail one, you cannot do it within 50 meters of the stand. Note that if the white light on the roof of the taxi is not illuminated, the taxi is not available.

Some Taxi Companies in Paris
Alpha Taxis 01 45 85 85 85
Taxis Parisiens 01 43 29 63 66
Taxis Bleus 01 49 36 10 10
G7 01 47 39 47 39
Taxis Radio Etoile 01 41 27 27 27

SNCF

The French rail system, or SNCF, covers almost 33,000 kilometers, and is considered very good. It is recommended that you make reservations, however, for regular trains, you can purchase tickets at the station window, vending machines, or travel agencies. You may also purchase them through the minitel with your credit card. When you go to your train, make sure to have your ticket punched.

You are required to make a reservation to travel on the TGV, or high speed trains. This train will allow you to travel very quickly to various cities around France. For example, from Paris you can travel to Lyon in only 2 hours, Bordeaux in 3 hours, and Lille in 1 hour.

Eurotunnel

Eurostar is the train service which goes through the channel tunnel. Trains run daily between Paris' Gare du Nord station and London's Waterloo. The trip takes about three hours. Sometimes it is possible to get a train that will stop in Ashford, Calais, or Lille. Full fares can be quite expensive, but there are many discount plans.

It is also possible to drive through the tunnel. Well, you don't actually drive, but you don't have to leave your car. There is a shuttle service at Coquelles where you can drive your car onto a special vehicle that will transport you across the channel. Thirty-five minutes later you drive off at the other end - England. It is recommended that you reserve a spot during busy travel times.

Around France

There are subway systems in Strasbourg, Toulouse, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, and Rouen. Streetcars can be found in Nantes and Strasbourg, which both offer parking lots at some of the stations, as well as in Grenoble, and Saint-Etienne. In addition, most cities will have a bus sytem. For more information, call the local numbers in the following cities:

Nantes 08 01 44 44 44
Strasbourg 03 88 77 70 70
Rennes 02 99 79 37 37
Toulouse 05 61 41 70 70
Nice 04 93 16 52 10
Lille 03 20 40 40 40
Bordeaux 05 57 57 88 88
Montpellier 04 91 91 92 10
Grenoble 04 76 20 66 66