Alexandre's list of recommended books is down the left
hand side.
See my award winning Paris Walking
Tours
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The Paris metro system is highly efficient and convenient for the
tourist (given that the metro workers are not on strike).
Not only that but your metro pass will also be good on buses and
RER trains that run through Paris. When you first arrive you are
confronted by how to pay to travel. While there are all sorts of
"Paris Visitor" passes these are extremely overpriced
and unnecessary.
Basics of the Paris Metro
Some warnings about how the Paris metro system works is necessary
for the uninitiated. First off, do not discard your ticket while traveling.
Even if you are using a one time ticket keep it on you. Every so often
metro inspectors will be either just past the turnstiles or in the
transfer points of stations. [Update: Controllers have been
seen on the metro cars themselves]. If you can not produce
a valid ticket that has been stamped by the turnstile for your journey
you will be fined 150F ($30US) on the spot and will have to pay cash.
Otherwise you'll get to know the French judicial incarceration system
quite well (no joke here, they will send you straight to jail if you
do not have the
cash on you). I imagine playing the dumb tourist should get you off.
[Note: some people have reported that playing the dumb tourist didn't
help. YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) I would recommended if you are
traveling with small children to carry their metro ticket for them.
If the kids want to hold their own ticket then save the first ticket
you use and give that to them instead on subsequent rides.]
Pick pocketing
The following paragraph describes a pick pocketing scheme. I have
had many people recount this story. Please, if you are traveling
the Paris metros be aware of this situation and guard against it.
As in any major city Paris has it's problems with crime. Although
far fewer than comparable cities in the states. One method that
I have heard pickpockets in Paris use is via the escalators out
of the metros. Usually in pairs, the partner gets in front of you
going up (or down) the escalator. When you reach the top/bottom
the person in front doesn't get off the escalator (the person has
usually 'dropped' something which he then bends over to pick up)
causing people to conveniently bump into you from behind. And guess
who is right behind you? You are correct, the pickpocket. And you
are busy trying to keep from outright running over the person in
front of you. My suggestion is run right over him if necessary.
Men should not keep their wallets in their back pockets, but this
doesn't seem to help as the pickpockets are not bashful about reaching
into your front pockets. I generally carry only some cash and a
couple of credit cards in my front pockets leaving everything else
behind in the room.
Women should hold their purses, not carrying them on their shoulders.
A common way of stealing a purse is by cutting the strap with a
utility knife which frees a purse that is dangling from your shoulder.
Tickets and which one to buy
For traveling within Paris for less than a week you want to purchase
a 'carnet de dix' (pronounced 'karne de dees') This will give you
10 tickets good on the Paris metro/bus/RER Trains within Paris.
The price of this was 46F for adults and 20F for children. Cheap
when you consider the single ticket cost is 7F a ride. These tickets
are green.
If you plan on staying at least a week starting on or around a
Monday purchase a 'coupon de semaine' or a weekly ticket. Weekly
tickets are good from Monday thru Sunday. This ticket is priced
about 68F and is good for unlimited travel within Paris.
Since you will be getting on and off the metro quite often you can
see how good a deal this is. When you purchase the weekly ticket
you will also receive a carte orange or
orange card. What you need to do is two things now. Take a photostatic
copy of your passport picture (ahead of time if possible) and place
it where the appropriate spot is for the picture. Then write the
number on your carte orange onto the ticket
you received. The weekly ticket is good from Monday through Sunday.
This ticket is a green colored ticket like the one time use tickets.
For those of you lucky enough (like me) to spend over three weeks
in Paris then the way to go is to purchase a carte
orange for the month. The price is 219F and is good from the
1st until the last day of the month. Same rules apply to writing
your carte orange number on the orange monthly
ticket.
If you happen to be unlucky enough to be traveling during an election
time, or whenever the unions are displeased with the government,
you may encounter the infamous 'greve' or strike. Generally strikes
affect either just the metro and buses, or just the RER, or all
three. This will make getting around Paris difficult but you'll
get a chance to walk through sections of Paris you would have usually
passed only underground. Once when I was there the strike affect
the metro, bus and RER system but that was the presidential election.
Strike announcements in the metro system are announced only in French,
so if you see everyone leaving a packed metro station you'll have
a pretty good idea why.
Be sure to note when traveling on the RER that you stay within
zone 1&2. For example, a trip to La Defence is covered on the
metro but on the RER is a higher fare in addition to the ticket.
Navigate
the Paris Metro!. You won't believe this link until you
see it! Many other city metro systems are available for navigation
too! [ed. the link appears to be down! In the meantime the I have
a scanned map of the
metro available]
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