Transportation

Situated in the center of the Paris basin and only 90 mi (145 km) from the English Channel, the city handles a great volume of shipping. Many major railroad stations make Paris one of the great transportation centers of western Europe. Travelling within Paris is no problem at all since there is a variety of transport available, suiting the mood and the budget of the traveller.

AIR

Paris has two airports Aéroport d'Orly, 16 km south of central Paris, and Aéroport Roissy Charles de Gaulle, which is 27km north of the city center. The latter opened in 1974. .

BUS

Métro could be convenient but the buses are more fun to visit Paris. You have the option of buying a pass or a ticket. The ticket has to be punched in the machine next to the driver. The ticket costs more if you buy it on the bus. So, buy a carnet of 10 tickets from the metro station and use a ticket for each bus ride. You will have to press the red request button to get off at a bus stop. Buses run frequently up to 8.30pm. Some bus routes run until 12.30 am. Eurolines runs buses from Paris to cities all over Europe.

TRAIN

Paris is also the hub of the national rail system, with high-speed trains connecting it to most major European cities.

BOAT

Tickets and reservations for ferry services across the Channel are available from the ferry operators themselves as well as travel agencies.

METRO

The Paris metro (subway), built in 1900, was modernized and extended during the 1970s. There are now 16 principal metro lines and a high-speed express subway system servicing the suburbs. The system's hub, Chatelet Les-Halles, is perhaps the largest, busiest underground station in the world. There is always a metro station within 500m of wherever you are and want to go in Paris. Metro stations usually have a plan du quartier (map of the neighborhood) hung on the wall near the exits. Métro opened on 19 July 1900, its first line being from Porte de Vincennes to Porte Maillot (not surprising it is now the line number 1). Fulgence Bienvenüe was the engineer in charge of construction, the architect Hector Guimard being responsible for the Art Nouveau entrances

RER(Réseau Express Régional) is the fast suburban commuter system which has four lines running across Paris and into the suburbs. Within Paris, the RER connects some stations faster than the Metro as they have fewer stops. The four lines are : Line A (connects Disneyland Paris from Chatelet-Les-Halles) Line B, Line C and Line D. You can use the metro ticket to take the RER within Paris. The RER lines (A, B, C, D) run from 5.30am to 1am daily.

TAXI

Parisian taxi drivers have a reputation for arrogance but, within reason, it's all part of the fun. They're often hair-raisingly bad drivers and not all of them know their way around Paris very well. There could be an extra charge for taking a fourth passenger but always ask permission first, as many drivers are reluctant to take more than three people for insurance reasons. A full list of surcharges is posted on the side window behind the driver.

BICYCLE

Paris now counts almost 200km of bicycle lanes running through the city. They're not particularly attractive or safe, but cyclists may be fined for failing to use them. The tourist office distributes a free brochure and map that bicyclists can use to navigate around the city.

Back to the Top