Getting about on the Métro and other Paris, France Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: This tip is intended for first time visitors to Paris, as simple advice on using the Métro. If you’re a seasoned Métro traveller, skip it!
- First step – get yourself a free map of Paris, it also will have the Métro map on it. But you scarcely need your own map, they are displayed in most stations.
- Each line has its own number and colour coding, eg line 12 is green, line 5 orange.
- Not surprisingly, there are two ends to a line and these are displayed on notice boards (see photo 2), so for line 5 the ends are Bobigny and Place d’Italie. Each line has a separate platform for each direction: so look at the map, find the direction to the station you want from where you are, then head for the platform identified by the line end in that direction, eg go to 5 Bobigny if you wish to go from Bastille to Oberkampf.
- On the train, there is a strip map showing the sequence of stations on that line for that train, so check that you are headed the right way after you get on.
- A nice feature of the Métro is that, in general, you could travel all day on one ticket – provided you don’t exit through the gate labelled “Sortie”, so making a mistake can be easily corrected.
- Unless there is some dire urgency, don’t fret about missing a train, they run at a frequency of four to five minutes.
- It’s worth noting that the Métro does tend to become hot and stuffy.
- It can become crowded, so be very careful of pickpockets: apart from that (and exercising some caution late at night), as a general statement it is very safe.
- It may seem strange to mention how to open carriage doors, but you need to know that they are electronically held shut until the train is almost stopped. At that stage, for the older carriages, lift upward on the handle and the door should fly open: later carriages have push button opening.

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Website: http://www.ratp.fr

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: - Unfortunately some Parisians elected to not pay Métro fares, instead hurdling the turnstiles to get in free. As a countermeasure to stop hurdling, the ‘powers that be’ have put up additional barricades which open only when the turnstile is released by the electronic system sighting a valid ticket.
- You may be saying ‘what has that to do with me’? The reality is that getting a heavy full suitcase through the turnstiles and barricades, at the same time as you also try to get through, is quite difficult. If you are travelling with luggage, I would suggest you consider taking a taxi to or from (eg) the pickup point for the Roissybus, rather than struggling on the Métro.
- Another relevant factor is that most stations do not have escalators and, when I left, even those at the major station “Haussman St-Lazare” were inoperative. That luggage becomes heavy!

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Website: http://www.ratp.fr

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: This is one of the main tourist gateways for Montmartre. Sadly, on this visit, it was looking very run-down (photo 2): but there is an active programme of Métro station refurbishment, so let’s hope it soon receives a makeover. The main point of this tip though, is to point out that, unlike most Métro stations which are only at a shallow depth, Abesses has been tunneled under a hill. Don’t catch yourself out, as we were on our first visit, by climbing the stairs instead of waiting for the very large lift, it’s a long climb up!

Once you arrive at street level, spare a moment to admire the original Art Nouveau style entrance by Henri Guinard, apparently one of the most original remaining (photo 3).

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Website: http://www.ratp.fr

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: A tourist group passed while I was near the Invalides (cannons in background). I had to take some photos, for I had never before seen such strange devices: since then I've learned they are called Segways. Anyways, you can join groups using them to tour Paris, I'd imagine the tourist office could provide details. I also saw bicycle touring groups near the Invalides, so there are plenty of options. But these are the strangest things, when they stop they simply stop - and balance automatically!

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Motorcycle
Getting TO/AROUND: The big change in Paris traffic is the growth in numbers of motorscooters and motorcycles: they are a far higher proportion of the traffic than on my previous visit. I found a magazine article saying that nearly 200,000 were sold in 2005, three times the numbers of twenty years ago. Almost half had tiny engines of 125cc or less. It’s not hard to see why they are popular: think of parking, and costs for fuel and registration. The downside for tourists is that they are allowed to park on footpaths and the snarling of two strokes echoes through the streets at night: be careful of them at traffic lights too, they tend to be faster off the mark.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Motorcycle
Getting TO/AROUND: Sometimes, finding a Paris address can be a little difficult. Even for locals. In that case, having a navigator’s assistance may prove valuable. It helps though, to have some confidence in the navigator’s advice!

I couldn’t resist this photo of a young couple on their motor scooter as the lights changed, one reading from the map while the driver looks, shall we say, uncertain. Every picture tells a story! (PS - I'd suggest enlarging the photo :))

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: The Hotel de Crillon is one of the top hotels in Paris, fronting the Place de la Concorde. It isn’t the sort of place which fits my travel budget (‘promotional rooms’ from 500€), but should it fit yours, the phone is 01 44 71 15 00. Outside, it’s likely you will find some prestigious motor cars, carefully watched by the uniformed doormen.

I’ll have to admit it, this is a blatant excuse to put up photos of this gorgeous Ferrari I found parked outside. Interesting to see the Swiss number plate too (second photo). Hmm, a Swiss based top model Ferrari, I wonder could it belong to a certain racing driver …?

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: At the other end of the scale from the Ferrari in my previous tip are these ‘Smart’ cars, now ubiquitous in Paris. Of course, one features in the film ‘The DaVinci Code’, where it shows surprising performance in reverse!

It must be said that, with parking at a premium and fuel costs high, they make considerable sense in Paris. What’s more, as seen here, when parked they take only half the width of a pedestrian crossing. (Don't try that in Australia!) I find it really surprising that, in Paris, there seems little concern about where or how people park (though I did see one car which had been wheel-clamped): thinking about this since my return, I do not recall seeing any parking meters in the streets.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: The kids' song I have picked up in the heading continues " ...see the little puffing billies all in a row".

The long distance railways in France are run by the SNCF and 'puffing billies' definitely are not part of their fleet! Many of the trains, such as the ones in the photo, now are TGVs (Train a grande vitesse, tr 'High Speed Trains') which cruise along at over 250km/hr, it's interesting to think that the Ferrari also appearing in my 'transport tips' would have no speed advantage! What's more, these do not have to contend with traffic and many are express to their destination, which means that it is possible to get quite a way from Paris on a day's return excursion.

I took the TGV from Gare Montparnasse to Tours, a trip of 230km by road: the TGV ate the distance in about 1.5 hours, with one stop, and it was pleasant to watch the countryside scrolling past the picture windows. Saving time further, the train travels between city centres, avoiding the problems of getting to airports and the inherent airport delays. The fares are more or less comparable to discount airlines and you do need to pre-book your seat. Note though that the SNCF website does not seem to allow for bookings from some countries - I had to book through my local tourist agency. Yes, there also are discount fares for seniors, international seniors cards are accepted.

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Website: www.sncf.fr/