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Getting There By Air:

Aéroports de Paris (ADP) (website: www.adp.fr) is responsible for the two major airports in Paris: Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly.

Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG)
Tel: (01) 4862 2280.
Website: www.adp.fr

The city’s main airport is located 23km (14 miles) northeast of the city. There are three terminals: CDG 1 serves international flights; CDG 2 serves national and international flights; and T9 has charter flights only (national and international). CDG 1 and CDG 2 are linked by free shuttle buses. Air France coaches and RER line B (see below) link Charles de Gaulle airport to Orly airport (journey time - 50 minutes).

Airport facilities: Facilities include bars, restaurants and boutiques, post offices, newsagents, chemists, banks, ATMs, bureaux de change, wireless Internet, insurance facilities and car parks. There is no left-luggage facility. Car hire companies at the airport include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National Citer and Sixt.

Business facilities: Fully equipped meeting rooms, offices and a VIP lounge are located within the recently revamped Roissy Charles de Gaulle 1 Business Center (tel: (01) 4862 2290), accessible from the departures level near gate 34, by taking the escalators to the shopping level.

Transport to the city: The RER line B (tel: 0892 687 714; website: www.ratp.info) runs frequently throughout the day 0456-0014, departing from the TGV station of CDG 2 to the Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, St-Michel and Denfert-Rochereau, where there are métro stations (journey time - 30-45 minutes). Two bus services with SNCF bus de nuit (tel: 0810 020 202), run from the airport to the city center when the train line is closed. One service takes passengers to Gare du Nord and Châtelet, the other to Gare du Nord, Châtelet, Gare de Lyon and Gare d’Austerlitz (journey time - 45-60 minutes).

The Roissybus service operated by RAPT (tel: 0892 687 714; website: www.ratp.info) departs from the three terminals to rue Scribe, métro Opéra (journey time - about 60 minutes). The service operates daily 0600-2300. RAPT bus services 350 to Gare de l’Est and 351 to Nation also serve Terminals 1 and 2.

Air France coaches (tel: 0892 350 820) depart every 15 minutes from CDG 1 and CDG 2 - running daily 0550-2300 to Place Charles de Gaulle (journey time - 40 minutes). Buses also depart daily 0700-2100 to Paris-Montparnasse, rue du Commandant Mouchotte, Gare de Lyon and boulevard Diderot (journey time - 50 minutes).

The Blue Shuttle (tel: (01) 3011 1300; website: www.bluvan.fr) is a door-to-door airport minibus service that is often cheaper than a taxi. Places must be reserved at least two days in advance (journey time - 1 hour 15 minutes). Ticket prices vary according to the number of passengers and the time of booking, the cheapest rate is only available if booked at least three weeks ahead.

A taxi to the city center costs between €40-50 (journey time - 45-60 minutes).

Paris-Orly Airport (ORY)
Tel: (01) 4975 1515.
Website: www.adp.fr

Orly is located 14km (9 miles) south of the city, on the A6 motorway. There are two terminals linked by navette (shuttle). Orly Sud handles mainly international flights, while Orly Ouest handles mainly domestic flights.

Airport facilities: These include bars, restaurants, wireless Internet, boutiques, banks, foreign exchange, dry cleaners, supermarket, pharmacy, post office and a hairdresser. There is no left-luggage facility. Car hire companies at the airport include Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National Citer and Sixt.

Business facilities: The fully equipped Orly West Business Center (tel: (01) 4975 1233) has several meeting rooms, offices and a VIP business lounge in the west terminal. Access is from the departure level, by an escalator located at the entrance to hall three.

Transport to the city: A combination service of RER line C (tel: 0892 687 714; website: www.ratp.info) and the ADP navette (shuttle bus) departs from both terminals and stops at the Gare d’Austerlitz, St-Michel, Invalides and Porte Maillot (journey time - about 35 minutes). The service operates daily 0545-2315.

Orlyval (tel: 0836 687 714) is the Val train shuttle link to the RER line B station of Anthony, which has métro connections to Denfert-Rochereau, St-Michel and Châtelet-Les Halles (journey time - 30 minutes). Trains run regularly 0600-2300.
Frequent RATP buses (tel: 0892 684 114; website: www.ratp.fr) stop at place Denfert-Rochereau. The ‘Orlybus’ runs to Denfert-Rochereau RER and métro station daily 0600-2330 (journey time - 25 minutes). The ‘Jetbus’ runs to métro Villejuif-Louis Aragon (journey time -15 minutes).

Air France coaches (tel: 0892 350 820; website: www.airfrance.com) operate daily 0600-2330, stopping at the Porte d’Orléans, Gare Montparnasse, Duroc and Gare des Invalides (journey time - around 30 minutes).

The Blue Shuttle (see Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport above) costs around €20 for a trip (with four people on the shuttle) into the city center (journey time - 1 hour). Taxis from the airport to the center of Paris also cost around €40 (journey time - 35 minutes).

Approximate flight times to Paris: From London is 1 hour 10 minutes; from New York is 7 hours; from Los Angeles is 10 hours 30 minutes; from Toronto is 7 hours and 20 minutes and from Sydney is 23 hours 25 minutes.

Getting There By Water:

The most convenient ports to Paris from Britain all lie on France’s northern seaboard and include St-Malo, Cherbourg, Caen, Le Havre and Dieppe.

Ferry services: The following companies run regular cross-channel ferries. Brittany Ferries (tel: (0825) 828 828 or (08703) 665 3333 (UK number); website: www.brittany-ferries.com) operates services from Plymouth to Roscoff, from Poole to Cherbourg and from Portsmouth to St-Malo and Caen. Condor Ferries (tel: (0825) 160 300 or (02) 9920 0300 or (0845) 345 2000 (UK number); website: www.condorferries.co.uk) operates from Poole, Weymouth, Jersey and Guernsey to St-Malo and from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. P&O Ferries (tel: (0825) 120 156 (France) or (08705) 202 020 (UK); website: www.poferries.com) sail from Dover to Calais and from Portsmouth to Cherbourg and Le Havre. Hoverspeed (tel: (00800) 1211 1211 or (0870) 240 8070 (UK number); website: www.hoverspeed.com) offers fast hovercraft services from Dover to Calais and from Newhaven to Dieppe.

Transport to the city: The best way for travelers to reach Paris from the ferry ports is by car or by rail.

Getting There By Road:

Motorways bear the prefix ‘A’ and national roads ‘N’. Minor roads are classed as ‘D’ (départementales) roads. Traffic drives on the right and drivers must give way to the right, unless the route is marked with Passage Protégé signs (a broad arrow, a yellow diamond or an ‘X’ on a triangular background) or the driver is at a roundabout indicating vous n’avez pas la priorité (‘you do not have the right of way’). Speed limits are 130kph (80mph) on motorways; 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways separated by a central reservation; 90kph (56mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (30mph) in built-up areas. Drivers who have held a driving license for less than two years have different speed restrictions to those who have been driving for longer - a maximum speed limit of 110kph (68mph) is enforced.

The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Seat belts must be worn by all front- and rear-seat passengers. Children under 10 years old may not travel in the front seat. A national driving license, the car’s registration document and a red warning triangle must be carried at all times, or the driver is liable for a fine. EU nationals taking their own cars to France are strongly advised to obtain a Green Card, without which insurance cover is limited to the legal minimum. The Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the car owner’s domestic policy. All headlamp beams must be adjusted for right-side driving by use of beam deflectors or by tilting the headlamp bulb-holder. The French police fine motorists on the spot for driving offences such as speeding. Random breath tests for drinking and driving are common; the maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio is 0.05%.

Further details on driving in France are available from French Government Tourist Offices. The Automobile Club de France (tel: (01) 4312 4312; website: www.automobileclub.org) can provide information and might offer reciprocal benefits to members of automobile clubs in other countries.

Emergency breakdown services:  On motorways: 112.
Auto Charonne Dépannage (tel: (01) 4024 0329; website: www.autocharonnedepannage.com)

Routes to the city: The Anglo-French Eurotunnel shuttle services allow drivers and passengers of cars and coaches to cross the Channel Tunnel (journey time - approximately 35 minutes) from Kent in Southern England to Nord-Pas-de-Calais in Northern France. The tunnel is linked to the UK and French motorway networks. Tickets are available for purchase at check-in on the day of travel or pre-booked with Eurotunnel (tel: 08705 353 535 in the UK; 0810 630 0304 in France; website: www.eurotunnel.com). Alternatively, there are numerous daily sea crossings to France (see Getting There By Water).

From Boulogne (near Calais), the A16 leads directly into Paris. The E19 motorway leads from Brussels into Paris (via the A2 and A1). Lille is linked directly to Paris via the A1. Paris is surrounded by the often congested Périphérique (ring road); its portes (intersections) are used to access the nearest point of entry to the desired destination. The N10 leads directly from Bordeaux to Paris, while from Marseille, drivers should take the A7 to Lyon, after which the A6 leads north to Paris.

Approximate driving times to Paris: From Lille - 2 hours 30 minutes; Brussels - 3 hours 30 minutes; London - 5 hours (excluding the Channel crossing); Bordeaux - 6 hours; Marseille - 7 hours 30 minutes.

Coach services: The majority of international coaches arrive and depart from the main coach station, Gare Routière Internationale Paris-Gallieni, at Bagnolet, 20th (tel: 0892 899 091). Reservations can be made with Eurolines (tel: 0836 695 252; website: www.eurolines.fr), with links to Paris from Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, London, Rome and many other European destinations.

Getting There By Rail:

Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF) (tel: 0892 353 535; website: www.sncf.com) is the national railway service, which is fast, efficient and generally reliable. A state-of-the-art high speed railway network (the TGV) spreads out from Paris to most major French cities, including Lyon and Marseille. Paris has six major stations - Gare du Nord, rue Dunkerque, 10th, Gare de l’Est, Place du 8 Mai 1945, 10th, Gare St-Lazare, place du Havre, 8th, Gare de Lyon, place Louis-Armand, 12th, Gare Montparnasse, boulevard de Vaugirard, 15th, and Gare d’Austerlitz, boulevard de l’Hôpital, 13th. Each station has cafés, restaurants, tabacs, banks, bureaux de change, ATMs and car hire available on the premises or nearby. The Gare de Lyon also has a tourist office. Information on the French rail network is available directly from SNCF or from Rail Europe in the UK (tel: 08708 371 371 or 08705 848 848; website: www.raileurope.co.uk).

Rail services: Gare du Nord is the French terminus of the international high-speed Eurostar (tel: (03) 2855 8212 or 08705 186 186 (in the UK); website: www.eurostar.com) train that runs from London Waterloo (journey time - 2 hours 30 minutes). Thalys’ services from Brussels Bruxelles-Midi also terminate here (journey time - 1 hour 30 minutes). The train station also contains Eurostar’s executive lounge. Eurostar also runs from London Waterloo to Disneyland Paris.

The Eurotunnel shuttle service is also available for drivers (see Getting There By Road).

Getting Around:




Public Transport
The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) (tel: 0892 684 114/7714; website: www.ratp.fr) is an integrated, five-zone system of bus, métro and trains that is both cheap and efficient (except during strikes, which are frequent).

The 14 métro lines extend into zones one and two in central Paris. Métros operate daily 0530-0030, lines are color-coded and designated by numbers. They are also clearly signposted with the names of the terminus station. The line 14 métro Météor runs from Gare St-Lazare to Bibliothèque François Mitterrand using modern driverless trains. Free transport maps are available at métro stations, bus terminals and the tourist office.

The RER (Réseau Express Régional) suburban express network has five lines (A, B, C, D and E) covering five zones and operating daily 0500-0110 with journey times generally much faster than the métro for distances covered. The system is linked to the métro network and some SNCF trains.

The bus system is easy to use. Bus routes are numbered and stops display the buses that stop there, while a map shows all the stops on the route and the bus times. Most buses run Monday to Saturday 0630-2100; some continue until 0130. Services are reduced by approximately half on Sundays and bank holidays. Night buses (Noctambuses) run on several routes, Monday to Saturday 0100-0530 hourly, with a reduced service on Sunday. The night bus service cuts between place du Châtelet by the Hôtel de Ville and the suburbs.

The same tickets are valid on the bus, métro and RER (within zones one and two only) but not night buses (see below). One ticket is sufficient for a single bus ride, for an RER journey (within zones one and two only) or a métro journey (irrespective of zone). One ticket allows for changes (correspondances) of lines on the RER and the métro, however, separate tickets are required for changes between buses or between bus and métro/RER. Tickets should be validated on entry and kept until the end of the journey to avoid on-the-spot fines. Tickets, carnets and passes are all available for purchase from stations and tabacs; only single tickets may be purchased from the bus driver.

Night buses require separate tickets, which allow one change. Weekly or monthly travel passes (see below) may also be used on night buses. A mobilis day pass is available for central Paris and for five zones including the airports. Paris Visites offer one, two, three and five-day visitors passes for Paris and its immediate suburbs (zones 1-3), or to include transport to the airports, Versailles and Disneyland Paris (zones 1-5). There are reduced prices for children. These are available for purchase at the airports, métro and RER stations and tourist offices.

For longer stays, the Carte Orange, with a weekly coupon (coupon hebdomadaire), for sale at all métro stations, provides good value. It allows a week of travel in zones one and two. There is also a monthly Carte Orange. Tickets covering more zones are also available. The Carte Orange reusable ticket should be validated at the métro turnstile and shown to the bus driver.

Taxis
Taxis can be hailed in the street or caught at taxi ranks (arrêts taxis) found at airports, stations and close to main road junctions. An available taxi can be difficult to find, especially when most in demand - Friday and Saturday nights. A yellow light displayed on the roof shows that the taxi is available for hire; an orange light shows the taxi is in use. Taxi ranks have telephones, so if there are no cars in the rank you can call one.

Tariff A applies during the day. Journeys after 1900, on Sundays, bank holidays and in the suburbs are more expensive (tariff B). The most expensive rate (tariff C) applies for the suburbs and airports at night and districts outside Paris during the day. There are additional charges for pick-up and various other situations, including extra passengers, luggage and waiting. Tipping is not compulsory but drivers expect around 10%.

Taxi numbers are displayed at the ranks and listed in the yellow pages. These include Alpha Taxis (tel: (01) 4585 8585), Taxis Bleus (tel: 0891 701 010) and Taxis G7 (tel: (01) 4739 4739).

Driving in the City
Driving in central Paris is not advised. Most hotels do not have garages, parking is difficult (illegally parked cars are towed away) and traffic jams (embouteillages) are frequent. While the average speed in the métro is 27kph (17mph), the average road speed is 18kph (11mph) and even slower during the rush hours (Monday to Friday 0730-0900 and 1700-1900).

Parking prices vary throughout the city but are in the region of €1.50-€5 an hour, for a maximum of two hours. Most legal street-side parking spaces are marked ‘payant’; coins of €0.20, €0.50 and €1 may be used for the pay-and-display parking machines (horodateurs). Paris also has numerous underground and covered car parks in the city center, costing around €2.50 per hour or about €15 for periods of 12-24 hours. These include the Arc de Triomphe, place de la Concorde and near the Forum des Halles. Many municipal garages close at around 2300 and some are closed on Sunday. The only good news is that parking is usually free on weekends and on weekdays before 0900 and after 1900.

Car Hire
The minimum age for car hire varies from 21 to 25 years. Drivers must have held a national driving license for at least one year. It is usually requested that the cost is paid for with the driver’s credit card.

Major car hire companies include Avis (tel: (01) 4418 1054 or 0820 024 034; website: www.avis.fr), Budget (tel: (01) 4587 08 23; website: www.budget.com), Europcar (tel: (01) 3044 9384; website: www.europcar.fr), Hertz (tel: (01) 3938 3000; website: www.hertz.fr), National Citer (tel: (01) 4438 6045; website: www.citer.fr), and Sixt (tel: (01) 4438 5552; website: www.sixt.fr). In addition, local firms include ADA, with numerous branches (tel: 0825 169 169; website: www.ada.fr) and Rent A Car (tel: (01) 5358 4000; website: www.rentacar.fr).

Bicycle Hire
There are over 200km (125 miles) of cycle lanes in Paris. Various maps and cycling guides can be found in bookstores and at some cycle shops. Bicycle hire companies include Bike’N Roller, 38 rue Faubert, 7th (tel: (01) 4407 3589), Paris à Vélo C’est Sympa!, 37 boulevard Bourdon, 4th (tel: (01) 4887 6001; website: www.parisvelosympa.com) and Paris Vélo, 4 rue du Fer-à-Moulin, 5th (tel: (01) 4337 5922; website: www.paris-velo-rent-a-bike.fr).

Scooters and motorbikes are available for hire from Atelier de la Compagnie, 57 boulevard de Grenelle, 15th (tel: (01) 4579 7724; website: www.atelier-de-la-compagnie.com).

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