First Things First

When you land in Paris, even before you get on the RER to get into the city (see below), go to a kiosk (news shop) in the airport and buy

(1) a télécarte, which will allow you to make phone calls not only from public phone booths, but also from any phone in the city. Simply ask for a "télécarte" and if the salesperson asks you whether you want it "avec code," say yes. (This allows you to call a toll-free number, punch in a code, and then call whomever you want.) They might also ask whether you want "petite" (7.50 €) or "grande" (15 €). With the other (non-code) variety of card, increasingly rare, you stick a card with a magnetic strip directly into the pay phone, but for obvious reasons you can’t use these on private lines in, say, someone’s house. Avoid at all costs "France Télécom" brand cards, since their per-minute rate is the most expensive, and often the stupid cards just don’t work. Try "Kertel" or another of the off marks. You can call anywhere in France or Europe with these cards, or, indeed, anyplace in the world, and it's really, really cheap. If you spent the whole 7 euros 50 on a call to the US, you could talk for over 2 hours.

(2) a plan de Paris par arrondissement. This is a little book (two different kinds shown here) that has maps of every neighborhood in Paris, and an index that will allow you to locate any street or square in the city (and there are something like 5000 different streets, so it could come in handy). There’s a reason this thing is published by a firm called "Editions L’Indispensable": you just gotta have one of these.

There's also this great little publication called "Pariscope," which you absolutely have to have. It comes out once a week, on Wednesday, and it only costs .40 euros, so let loose with some coin and pick the thing up. It has listings of absolutely everything going on in the city during the week--from movies, theater, and opera, to museum hours and special exhibits, to nightclub scenes, to massage parlors, to you name it. So get it. Just go to a kiosk (the one below is on the boulevard St. Michel) and ask for "unh periscope" (get it?).

 

Getting into the city from the airport

Taxis from either one of the airports are always available, but be forewarned: they’re rather expensive and not much faster than the methods described below--in fact, if you’re travelling at rush hour, taxis will definitely be significantly slower than public transportation.

FROM CHARLES DE GAULLE (Roissy):

Follow the signs or ask directions for the RER (Réseau express régional), which is a sort of commuter railroad that runs into and through Paris like spokes on a wheel. (Actually, there's a good chance you'll have to ask directions, since the RER is uncharacteristically not terribly well advertised in the airport.) When you get to the RER station, go to the ticket machines and punch the button for 2nd class to Paris. If you can’t get the machines to work--and if you're trying to use an American credit card in the automated ticket machine, forget it--you can simply stand in the short line at the ticket window, say "un billet pour Paris, s’il vous plaît" [unh beeyay poor Paree seel voo play], pony up 7.70 €, and you’re set: Look for the signs that say RER, and head over to the turnstyles; stick the ticket in the slot, and you’re in. One very important thing to keep in mind: after you put your ticket through the turnstyle, keep it: you will need it to exit! You will also need it for the rare circumstance of having a conductor ask to see it. All the trains leaving from here go to Paris (and they even say so for disbelieving tourists), so you can’t go wrong. Once you get into Paris, the RER connects directly to the métro, so you can simply change trains and go directly to your destination without even buying another ticket. (Click here for a mini lesson on how to use the metro.) This isn’t like the New York subway: there are signs everywhere, and if you aren’t sure where to go, you can ask someone and they’ll explain to you how to do it (really).

Helmut reminds me that you can also take the RoissyBus, which is run by the RATP (the Paris transportation network). It will take you from the airport to the Opéra, and from there you can grab other forms of public transportation anywhere. It's cheap (8.5 euros) and reasonably fast, depending on traffic (figure an hour). The last bus from the airport into the city is 11:00 pm; the first bus in the morning from Paris to the airport is at 5:45 am. Check out the complete information here.

FROM ORLY:

You're going to want to take RER line C from the Port de Rungis, and there's a little shuttle (navette) that will take you from the airport to the station. This should cost about 5.50 euros. You can also take the Air France bus, which will dump you off either at Montparnasse or Invalides (7.50 euros); or the Orlybus, which is run by the RATP, I think (Paris's official transportation system), and that'll take you to the Denfer metro/RER station. It runs between 6:00 am and 11:00pm, and costs 7.20 euros. It will take you to Denfert-Rochereau, Châtelet, and/or the Gare du Nord. More info here.

I have to point out here, however, one of the perversities of the French way of viewing things. You will find, if you happen to land at CDG, that there are occasions when you have to take a shuttle bus between terminals. Now, pay close attention: if you were in charge of labeling the shuttles, and there was a terminal 1 and a terminal 2, and you were going to label the shuttles "1" and "2," which shuttle ("1" or "2") would go to terminal 1? Now, think hard before you answer this: which bus do you think actually goes to terminal 1? Not sure? Well, just make sure you ask, no matter how impolite the shuttle bus driver appears, before you get on... Stunningly, however, most of these guys are pretty easy going, even with the ten thousand frazzled tourists they must see every day.

FROM BEAUVAIS:

Other Daily Necessities

Just started on this part. People have suggested some logical things--Sue, for example, points out that I need to include a section here on internet cafés--so I might even have to add a whole new page here.

Remember, you can download a printable version of Tom's Guide from the home page.