Transportation in Paris

The metro, of course. Easy to use and it'll get you anywhere. A written description of how to use the metro would appear mystifying and obtuse; once you take the thing two or three times it will be so obvious how it works that you'll just laugh at how stupid you were the first time you did it. I know: how are you going to get someplace the first time? Beats me. Try your luck. Just keep in mind that you always need to know the name of the direction you're going, not the line number alone. The name of the direction is simply the name of the last stop on the line; look at the map and follow the line to the end: there's your name. Each line thus has two names, depending on whether you're going or coming.

Check out the map at the bottom of the page. Line 4 (sort of maroon, in the north central part of the city) is called Porte de Clignancourt if you're travelling north, and Porte d'Orléans if you're travelling south (follow it to the end).

You can transfer between lines at stops that are marked with an open circle, called a correspondance, and in the stations those are always marked with an orange banner. Look for the name of the direction (last stop) on the line you're transferring to, and get on that line.

OK, because people have been asking and because you can't seem to take any initiative, here's a brief lesson on how to take the metro.

If you get the chance, do take the new metro line that runs from St. Lazare to the Bibliothèque François Mittérand. It’s totally automated. There aren’t any conductors or drivers, the trains are completely open, and the whole thing is like a ride in Disneyland.

If you’re feeling brave and adventurous, try to figure out the bus system; you can see things and get a better sense of where you are. It’s not that hard to figure out, but sometimes you go places you hadn’t planned on going, which, I guess, isn’t so bad. Metro tickets work on the busses as well--you can ride pretty much as far as you want--within the city of Paris--on just one ticket. They used to have this really baroque zone system requiring different numbers of tickets, but that’s gone by the wayside, unless you want to take the bus to the suburbs, which you won’t.

You can and should ask for a metro/bus map (it’s in the same fold-out pamphlet) at any metro ticket booth. They’re not too cumbersome, provided you get the small one, which is about the size of a regular sheet of paper folded in thirds. If you get the large one (which you pro-ably won’t, because the ticket sellers guard them as though the money to pay for them comes out of their own pockets) you’ll be forced to struggle with this ungainly broadside of paper roughly the size of a billboard. Sure, it’s got more detail and it makes a really cool poster, but every time you have to refer to it you’ll have to make sure there’s no one within 20 yards of you

If you arrive on a Sunday or Monday, it’ll be cheaper for you to buy a weekly pass, good for unlimited metro and bus travel. If you’re there long enough you can also get a monthly pass, which is extremely economical. Getting one of these passes isn’t easy, but it will save you time and money in the long run. The first thing to do is to find a machine that takes pictures, like the ones they have in K-mart or in amusement parks (they’re all over the place in Paris because you need an ID card with a picture on it to do just about anything, and if you have to ask for one they’re called "photomatons"), and get a picture of your head. Then, for a weekly pass, take it to the ticket counter in the metro and tell the person you want a "coupon hébodomaire" (kooponh aybdo-hma-dare). (For a monthly pass, ask for a "coupon mensuel".) He or she will sigh and then cut up your picture and finally give you an orange card in a little plastic folder with your photo attached to it and a ticket with a brown magnetic stripe on it. By the way, I’d do this at a metro station that isn’t busy--and for God’s sake don’t do it at rush hour or you might be killed--because if you get a frazzled or impatient ticket seller, this could turn out to be a difficult and harrowing nightmare, although in the long run it will work after you’ve annoyed the person by not knowing enough French to answer his or her inane but alas! pertinent questions. Just stick with it and look apologetic, and it will work. Sign the card where it says, and then copy down the number of the orange card onto the blue coupon. If you don’t do this, you will be in a "SITUATION IRREGULIERE," and no one’s really sure what this means, so you don’t want to be in one.

Metros and busses are patrolled by people in smart blue uniforms called controleurs (control freaks?), and they can fine you and humiliate you and just make things in general unpleasant for you if you don't have the proper ticket. The magnetic coupon will work in the turnstyles of the metro as many times as you put it through for the period it’s valid. Do not put the coupon in the bus machines. Just show the card to the bus driver when you get on (it's fun and makes you feel part of things--try not to smile inanely when you do this). Weekly passes are valid from Monday through Sunday.

If you arrive at an inappropriate time to take advantage of this, or if you are too chicken to try, then buy your tickets (which are good for the metro and the bus) in books of ten called "carnets." Ask the ticket seller for "unh karnay" and it will cost about 12 €. Buying single tickets is expensive and time consuming, so don’t be stupid and do that. If you do end up buying tickets, in whatever fashion, put one through the turnstyle and then keep it with you until you exit the system. There are those damned metro police throughout the system, (whom you are not likely to see, but still...) and they can ask to see your ticket at any time, in the station or on the trains, and they can tell, somehow, if you have a valid ticket). On the bus, stick the ticket in the little machine by the driver. It’ll make a terrible sound as it validates the ticket. Keep it clutched in your hot little hand, getting it all sweaty and gritty, until you exit.

You'll find absolutely everything there is to know about the metro and any other sort of transportation in and around Paris on the transilien site (and there's a link there for getting info in English). If you're worried about strikes or work being done on the métro or the RER (say you're planning on getting to or from the airport), click on the link for "perturbations."

Sandy highly recommends the Batobus, a boat (bateau, pronounced "bato" + bus--get it?) that takes you up and down the Seine, stopping at select locations. You can buy a pass good for 1, 2, or 5 days (11, 13, 16 euros, respectively) or good for a whole year for 50 euros. Check them out at batobus.com (and they have some nice photos of their boats, their stops, and the neighborhoods where they dock).

Getting around at night. The metro closes at about 1:00 am (this varies, so don't push your luck) and doesn't open again until about 5:00 am. (And here's a cool thing: you'll know if you made the last metro if you note as the train pulls into the station that the two lights placed above the windshield on the front of the train are flashing slowly [as opposed to being just on]. Cool, huh? Then you can feel all, whew! we just made it.) If you're going to be out after this (and you will be) then you must do one of several things: stay in your neighborhood, walk, take a cab, or venture into the exciting world of the night buses. I, of course, am all for the exciting world of the night buses--Noctilien. The night busses travel a different schedule from the day busses; they come slightly less frequently (although on weekends it's something like every ten minutes), and they cover slightly less ground, so unless you happen to be staying right on the night bus's route, you'll probably have to walk a bit when you get off, but so what? You can recognize where the night buses stop by this helpful little "N" and by the lovely dark blue color scheme. If you have a carte orange (coupon jaune or coupon mensuel) this is all you need. If you're using single tickets the night bus costs more, but no one knows how much, and the bus driver won't tell you. The people on the night bus all look angry and mean, and some of them are. Do not get into a conversation with any of them, especially if you are by yourself. Most of them will be drunk. If you just mind your own business, however, you'll really be fine--people have other things on their mind than worrying about your cheap self. Taxis, it must be said, are not terribly expensive, and might be your best alternative if you're not feeling terribly adventurous of if you don't know your way around the city very well yet. Despite the horror stories about Parisian cab drivers, I've never really met a hideously dishonest one.

Get all the information you can stand on the metro, in English, at http://www.ratp.fr/index_eng.htm

Check out Bob Reynolds' amazing Subway Page for insanely interesting info on public transportation the world round at http://www.reed.edu/~reyn/transport.html

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