Travel Photography, Writing and Photoblog from Matt Feldman

Well it's about time. And congratulations, too. You've finally done it: You're going to Paris. With the moment about to arrive -- the grand cracendo that signals you're on your way to one of the most amazing cities in the world -- you probably need information. This is the place. Or at least one of them. As I've been fortunate enough to travel to Paris more than a few times, I've devloped this little guide for friends on their first trip. It's certainly not authoratative or even completely up to date, but I hope it's a helpful resource for getting you to and from the airport and around the city.

At The Airport

Forget taxis. Unless you're rich. Otherwise, you'll waste a fortune and it will take longer than a train trip, where it's a 40 minute ride between the airport and the city.  If you have too much luggage and don't want to navigate a subway system, take the Roissybus (see below). Trains leave about every 8-10 minutes from the station in Terminal 2. Once you get your bags from the luggage belts, you're aiming for the RER B train line. But more on that in a minute.

After you leave the security area with your bags, there will be places to change money (Travelex/Thomas Cook booths). Their rates are good for buying Euros, so you should get some cash if you need any. Your regular ATM card should work at any bank machine, too, but depending on your bank, you may need to authorize your card for overseas use. The biggest banks, BNP and Societe Generale, are on nearly every corner and are more likely to accept your card, but I have never had a problem with any machine I have used with either my Canadian or American bank cards.

An aside: It's early in the morning, so trust me: you look like a jet-lagged tourist who had a screaming toddler kicking the back of your seat for the last eight hours. So from here on out, watch your pockets. Put your passport deep in your luggage and keep everything close. I have never had a problem in Paris (although I have been pickpocketed), but stories abound and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Back in the airport's main terminal hall, in the area of the money changers, there are big terminal maps near the windows for you to get your bearings. Using the overhead signs, head towards the "GARE" (train station), denoted by the little train picture. After you cross the moving sidewalk (right), go down the escalator and to the yellow ticket machines. Go to a machine titled 'Ile de France" (the Paris region) because the others only sell tickets to the rest of France on the big trains. Use the touch screen to get the ticket -- there's a British flag on the screen to get English instructions. Select the destination (I don't remember exactly what it says, but you can pick anything in Paris, as it's all the same route and price). The cost is €8.40 and it is unlikely you will have success using your credit card (Canadians: forget Interac), so that cash you just got will come in handy. If your card doesn't work in the machine and you don't have cash, you can stand in the (sometimes long) line at the ticket office just a few feet away and pay with a credit card like you would for any other purchase. But do buy a ticket before getting on the train, as you need to keep your ticket with you to get out of the station turnstyles on the other end.

Ticket in hand, go down to the train platforms and look for the white and red trains. Watch the signs above for details, but you can get on just about any train headed to Paris. They will all go to the major stops, but the express trains save you about 10 minutes. To find out where a particular train will stop, look for the dots beside the stop name - the express trains have fewer dots. In Paris, all trains will stop at Gare Du Nord, Chatlet-Les Halles, Saint Michel-Notre Dame, then Luxembourg Gardens. The route map will be on the train ceiling and walls. The airport is at the leftmost (north) part of the line.

The City

If you need to transfer to the Metro (subway) at the major "correspondences" (transfer points), buy your metro tickets right away when you get to a subway ticket office, rather than buying single-ride tickets. If you're going to be in the city for more than a few days, buy a Carte Orange. It gives you a week's worth of unlimited bus/subway travel in the city zones, in addition to some other discounts. It's a great deal and much more convenient than fumbling with stacks of used and unused tickets that will certainly fill your pockets if you decide to buy by the "carnet" (packs of 10). Buy the Carte Orange from the staffed ticket windows in any metro station, and don't forget to ask for a "Plan du poche" (pocket map) if you need a small-sized guide to the subway and bus system.

When you finally leave the subway at your destination, street navigation is generally easy. Street names will be on blue signs with white lettering on the walls of buildings, at every corner, placed about 10 feet above the sidewalk. Numbers are above every door in the same format. At any point in the city, you're not more than 500m from a Metro stop. The buses are good, and essential if you're returning after a late night and the Metro is closed. The last trains depart the city center around midnight, so look for the bus maps that say "Noctambus" (night bus) -- they run regularly on the major routes but service can be hourly, so the taxi/walk debate may come into play.

Getting Around

Plenty of guidebooks are filled with everything you could want to know on this subject, so I won't try to one-up Rick or The Planet. But enjoy the Metro. Its history is long and intricate, having an essential role in the development of the city, but certain stations stand out. If you've used the subway in cities like Chicago or Washington or New York, you know they're uniform, purely functional places. But in Paris, some subway stations have become focal points for aesthetic creativity and have become worth a visit unto themselves. See my Paris Favourites for more information on Metro stations.

If you've got a smartphone/PDA, check out MetrO for mobile route planning. Otherwise, plan your subway trips around the city with this site, and get lots of useful "getting around"-type information. Use this site to confirm details of your RER trips.

Departure

If your limosine driver is on strike (again), the easiest way (affordable to mere mortals) to get back to the airport is by train, simply reversing what you did to get into the city. Take the Metro to the RER and then get on the train to CDG/Roissy. But if you have purchases and additional bags, or you're drunk or just plain tired, and you don't want to lug all your stuff through the Metro and RER -- with its stairs and transfer point walks and turnstyles -- you may want to want to consider the Roissybus. It's a standard coach that you take from a bus stop outside The Opera, running hourly, taking about an hour and dropping you at the departures level of Charles de Gaulle Airport.

So get out there and go for it. Enjoy the city! I'm jealous already.