Paris Metro (Paris, France)

Guides: Destinations > Cities > Paris > Travel Info > Paris Metro
Hotels: Countries > France > Paris

The underground Metro system is the most efficient way to travel around Paris. If you can't speak or read French, it may take a few tries to get the hang of the system, but once you get it you'll find that it is fast, simple and, most importantly, inexpensive. Moreover, it is a great way to experience a commonality of Paris living.

*How To Ride The Paris Metro*
   The underground system consists primarily of the Metro train and the RER (regional train) line. Tickets for each can be purchased at any Metro station. The first thing one should do even before purchasing a ticket is to acquire both an underground railway map and a map of the city that displays Metro station locations. Both city and metro maps are available at most hotels, Metro stations and tourism offices. Metro maps can be found posted on station walls; however, considering you are unfamiliar with the French language, it may be difficult remembering the necessary information (especially with connecting trains) and writing it down somewhere allows for a lot more mistakes than simply carrying a map.
   When you find on the city map what station is closest to the particular destination you want to go, you simply refer to the railway map to see which train (or trains, as there are connecting railways) runs between that station and the one nearest you. Every train must head in two opposite directions. Actually, there are two trains of the same name, each heading in an opposite direction (north and south, east and west, etc.). Therefore, there are two lists of 'final' destinations for each train. These locations will be posted throughout the railway stations as well, offering guidance as to which train you need to take. The easiest way to tell which direction a train is headed is to look on the railway map and find its final destination (there are maps that display both the Metro and RER rails). This is how you will navigate the metro stations, by following the station signs that post your train number or letter and thelist of final destinations, which distinguishes twotrains of the same number/letter (and color) traveling in opposing directions.
   For instance, if you were at the Museum du Louvre and wanted to get out to the Eiffel Tower, you know by looking at your city map that you need to head west to the Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel station. Simply locate on your railway map which of the stations nearest you receives trains that go to the Champ de Mars station. In this case, you would find that the Palais Royal Musee du Louvre station receives an RER line - line C (the yellow line) - that runs directly through to the Champs de Mars station with no connection needed. So, as you look for the RER-C train platform while inside the Palais Royal station, you would look for signs that lead to: RER C (yellow line): Versailles, Rive Gauche, Chateau de Versailles, St Quentin-en-Yvelines. Why these places? Because you know by looking at your railway map that these locations mark the final destinations of the RER C running west, as opposed to the east line, which would feature different destination names. (Simply look at the end of each rail line on your railway map to locate a train's final destination).
   Fortunately, you'll notice that often there are signs in the stations that not only display a train's final destinations, but also the stops it makes between your location and the final locales. Therefore, once you become oriented with which stations are near certain landmarks throughout the city, navigation becomes a lot easier, not to mention that knowing the direction you're headed will be no problem.
   Lastly, displayed on each train above the sliding doors is a map of the rail line of that train. If the station you're after is not on the map, you're on the wrong train. Keep in mind, however, that if you need connecting trains to get where you're going, than the subsequent connecting stations are what you should be looking for. If you have found your station on the map inside the train, simply correlate the train stops with those that are sequentially listed above the door to figure out your direction and how many stops there are before yours.