Paris: Transportation

Paris is an enormous city, but it's easy to navigate, thanks to its amazing transit system. The Reseau Autonome de Transports Parisiens or RATP combines extensive bus service, night buses, a fourteen-line subway system, regional express trains, suburban trains, tramways and train or shuttle service to both of Paris' major airports (Charles-de-Gaulle-Roissy and Orly.)

As a traveller, I would recommend using the subway, or metro, system when possible. Buses are subject to Parisian traffic, which is congested at the best of times (and horrifying at most.) Since the metro runs underground, there are few traffic constraints. The system is also exceptionally easy to navigate. Stations are easily identifiable from street-level and well-signed inside. Trains generally run on schedule, and arrive about 2 minutes apart during peak hours (7:30 am to 8:30 pm) and an average of 5.5 minutes apart the rest of the day. [Note: Trains begin running around 5:30 am and shut down around 1 am. At that point, you're at the mercy of the night buses. Trains run all over the city, and many stop specifically at major tourist attractions like the Louvre. RATP also serves tourist attractions outside the city limits, including the Palais de Versailles and Disney Paris.

Fares are assessed based on your area of travel. RATP divides Paris and its surrounding area into six zones. The majority of the attractions I've talked about previously are in zone 1. Tickets for this zone 1,60€ (or 11,60€ for a book of 10, a savings of 4,40€.) Day passes (called Mobilis) are available for 5,90€, but be careful- these are only a good value if you're planning to visit multiple attractions that are far apart in one day. Many of the attractions in Paris are within walking distance of one another. If you buy a day pass, you also have to make sure to hold onto your ticket all day long.

For travel outside zone 1- both Charles-de-Gaulle-Roissy and Orly airports are outside this zone- you can calculate your fare by using the trip planner function on the RATP website. The site is available in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Japanese. However, the French site is by far the most extensive, offering traffic updates and an interactive transit map (available in English, French and Spanish via the French website) that includes itinerary planning, neighbourhood maps, station information, accessibility updates and a search tool. Pretty much everything you might possibly need to know about travelling around Paris can be found within that map.

If you need more information on the Paris transit system, you can visit the RATP website.