Is Public Transport in Paris Easy?

If you like to mix travel with confusion and sight seeing with bafflement then Paris is the place to be. It is like a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces, frustrating. The city has more tourist attractions than almost any city in the world but if you plan to drive good luck getting to them.

Thank goodness for the METRO. The Paris metro system is the most efficient mode of transportation on the planet, bar none. The metro system has 380 stations. The stations that stop without continuing are called Terminus stations. Sixteen rail lines serve them. The rail lines are colour coded and easy to follow. In fact, the entire system is very well thought-out.

RER lines and Commuter Rails are like the metro only with fewer lines (5) dedicated to them. These trains travel to the outskirts of the city and into the suburbs. On the rails map, they are lettered A through E. RER also services the airports. If you want to cross the city quickly or get in and out of the city, consider the RER as the express metro system. The commuter rails travel above ground and actually go into the suburbs. Many travellers making the daily work commute use these during the week.

Ticket pricing would be too complicated to go onto here but I can say that the best way to purchase travel tickets would be carnet. (Pronounced CAR-NAY) Carnet is buying a pack of ten tickets. In France, you ride by length of time rather by than distance so it is good to have extra tickets should you decide to make an extended stop.

The same tickets you use for the metro are used for the bus. The bus system in Paris is a good one. First, you actually see the city while you ride. This is obviously a big plus if you are visiting for the first time. There are more buses in Paris than in most major cities of the world. One problem I mentioned above is the bus stops. You have to be on your toes to figure out where the buses let passengers on and off. If you want to transfer to another bus, you have to have a different ticket. Bus transfer tickets have a T+ on them and cost a little bit mote that a regular ticket.

It is possible to travel to most of the tourist attractions by boat. You can purchase a pass that is good all day and enjoy eight stops along the Seine River. The cost is 12 euros. ($16.50 American dollars) Wouldn't you rather travel by boat, anyway? The public transport Paris has offers each individual a variety of options when travelling.

Finally, the French have come up with a way to get around the city and stay healthy doing it. There are bicycle stations called Velib Stations. They are everywhere and the process is a simple one. You go to a velib station and take a bike out of its rack. Then, simply ride the bike to your hearts content. When you are done, no matter where you are, drop the bike at the closest Velib station and you are on your way.

Overall, it is very easy to get around in Paris. With Public Transport Paris is wide open. Besides public transportation, you can rent a car but I do not recommend it, unless you are very familiar with Paris and do not mind tourist constantly getting in your way. Besides, I think I would enjoy Paris on a bike. It would be so very, French.