Paris - I love your public transport system

Paris public transportation system

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After experiencing Paris's public transport system for almost a week, I can conclude that Paris public transportation system is kind of Europe's oldest and has most diverse subway stations. It was built a hundred years ago but it still remains in good conditions until today, all thanks to the extremely good planning of the French.

I personally feel Paris's metro system is a bit dirty and with lots of homeless people, I have met many sleeping on the ground at the metro gates.

Even so, traveling in Paris is not complicated if you study it carefully, knowing how to buy tickets to suit your schedule and my great schedule will save you a lot of money.

My first impression of the metro system

My first impression of the city of Paris was via the metro system. It was a dense public transport and it had the air of hundreds of gentle lines of order like the hardened ants.

At 10 am on December 7, 2016 I have arrived at Paris via Charles de Gaulle airport:

Arrival at Charles de Gaulle Airport

When going from Charles de Gaulle airport I found my way to the gate of the tramway in the airport to get to Terminal 2 and from there take RER B to the city center. It was around 10€ and you can get it from the lounge where there is an information counter in the airport. If you buy a ticket at the train station you have to queue for quite a long time and risk that the vending machine might not pick up your card. There are many stops of this train anywhere in the center, including Notre Dame or Gare de Lyon.

I have an experience going from CDG airport to central Paris and vice versa super cheap: Normally if I take the RER B train to the center, the fare is 10 euros, an exorbitant price and very wasteful. If you go back to Paris many times by plane at the CDG, and it costs 10 euros each time, the overall cost will be extremely expensive. There is another way that you can refer to it using the Easybus, a bus transporting passengers from the CDG airport to central Paris, which costs only 2 euros/way.

Easybus - cheap but not comfortable

This bus stop at CDG Airport is at 5 (Sortie 5) ground floor at Terminal 2 F, while the center of Paris is 3 Place Andre Malraux, outside of HSBC building opposite the theater. The Comedy Theater and just a minute's walk to the Metro Palais Royal / Louvre train station.

One thing to keep in mind is that once you go with Easybus for a little while like me, you will know that the bus will be small and you will have to wait another 30 minutes to get there. For that reason, quite a few reviews are not good for this company on TripAdvisor.

Another way to go to CDG airport -but this way is not very good and do not encourage you to do- is when going from central Paris to CDG airport you will arrive to the same station waiting area if you go by Metro. If you travel around the city, buy a ticket and go to the airport to buy an airport ticket, so you will still be able to buy a 2 euro ticket to go to the airport instead of buying a 10€ ticket.

But if you use 2 euro ticket, you will not be able to get out of the Metro Airport area because your ticket is not valid. At this time you can say that you are a foreigner and you do not know or do not say anything, the staff at the airport to see you are awkward at the barrier, they will use the card to open the fence for you. This is generally cheat, although I find that many other foreigners are in the same situation, maybe they do not know the truth.

If you travel through Paris via Orly Airport:

Orly airport is the second airport in Paris after the CDG. This was the airport I flew from Paris to Barcelona. The airport is quite convenient here you can take the shuttle bus to central Paris and the end point is Denfert-Rochereau.

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I sometimes go to Orly and I also take the bus, but I advise you to remember that the last bus of the day was at 10pm, because of no night flight activity.

Ticket price is around 8-10 euros per visit. In general, the fare between Paris and the airports are quite expensive, so if you're coming from another EU countries to Paris, you should consider going to the train to reduce costs, in the center and not take transit time.

If you go to Paris via Beauvais Tille Airport (BVA):

Currently this is a very rare airport when people travel to Paris to fly here because it is far from the center (Paris 50 miles ~ 80km). Perhaps the only reason for us to fly to this airport is that Ryan Air has a flight that arrives here. .

Once I had a trip to Paris when accompanying Ms. Hien but we were unaware that she had booked Ryanair flights, and the airplane took us to Beauvais Airport.

There are two ways to get from Beauvais Tille Airport to Paris city center.

1. Bus: The airport shuttle bus runs continuously for 20 minutes after each arrival, the last stop in Paris is the Concorde-La Fayette hotel car park in Porte Maillot. Ticket prices are 17 euros if purchased at berth or 15, 50 euros if purchased online.
2. Train: SNCF runs between Beauvais and Paris every hour, but it takes you 15 minutes by taxi from BVA airport to the pier.

There is also a shuttle van, or if you want to go fast then you have to spend around 100-160 euros on a taxi fare. These last two options are all more expensive than the bus.

Types of transporation in Paris

If you ask me what facilities there are in Paris, I would say: Metro, RER, Bus, Trams or even horse carts. Commuting in Paris city center is very convenient and there is a wide range of facilities to choose from: Metro, RER, Bus, Trams, Autolib (rent a car), Velib (rent a bike) and Scootlib (rent a motorbike).

However, I still prefer to use the Metro system which is the same as Metro RER (local train system). It looks like a spider web running across the important points in Paris. A miniature world is present in these underground train stations: amateurs, cafés, all kinds of people (including refugees and immigrants)... People laugh, talk, discuss all things in the underground train station, sometimes you can see some guitar players and accordion. There is all kinds of people of all types of skin color walking and using the Metro RER. It must be recognized that Metro is not a better solution for commuting, especially at peak hours when Paris roads are always packed with vehicles.

In the early days I encountered many difficulties in travelling by metro in Paris because of linguistic differences, and the metro system here was more complex, and intertwined than the tram systems in Southeast Asian countries like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, while in other European cities like Rome or Athens it is extremely simple.

I always kept the though that going to Paris is best to go by train to see sights on the road, bridges on the banks of the Seine or the lives of the people here. If you look at the map of the convoluted train of Paris it is sometimes dull, the train station is old and complicated.

Metro system in the city:

The most popular trams in Paris are the Metro and RER, divided according to its service area. Paris is divided into five main zones, which are distinguished by five concentric circles, the RER serves all five zones, of which two zones (zones 1 and 2) in the center they have both Metro and RER. Train stations are available almost everywhere in the city, as they are built for hundreds of years and are extremely scientifically planned. RERs reach other destinations such as CDG Airport, Disneyland, Versailles and Orly Airport, and other suburbs and neighbourhoods of Paris.

The RER is divided into 5 lines A, B, C, D and E and the major destinations in Paris:

RER A - Red Line: Used to go Paris Disneyland (Zone 5), La Défense (Zone 3), Chateau de Vincennes, Galleries Lafayette.

RER B - Blue Line: Includes the Charles de Gaulle Airport

RER C - Yellow Line: Includes the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Orly Airport (Zone 4).

RER D - Green Line: Goes to Gare du Nord (take Eurostar to London).

RER E - Pink Line

The metro system currently has 16 metro lines with 16 different colours numbering from 1 to 14, plus 2 additional lines of 3bis and 7bis. A total of 381 stations. The Metro system in Paris is managed by RATP, running continuously from 05:30 to 00:40 daily from Sunday through Thursday, and from 05:30 - 01:40 on Fridays, Saturdays, and days before some holidays.

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How to use this system well

As far as I know, the best way to move in Paris is to first determine the journey to commute by metro in the city.

There are two things that I consider to be a great expert at when traveling in any big city, and by big city I mean here a city where you can get easily lost inside.

First, I found that the most important thing was that I had to determine the starting station (the nearest station to the vertical position) and the terminating station (point of interest) on the map.

Then as a rule, I will see the location of the stations in the Zone. If you are outside Zone 1 or 2, you will need to take the RER.

From then on I will determine the shortest schedule, through any transit point, Metro or RER. Try to choose a schedule with few points to change the train because the largest Metro stations have a long walking underground and takes a lot of time.

Walk to the departure station, find the door on the train in accordance with the schedule, buy the right line zone and go on board.

For example, I would like to go to Montmartre from the Université Paris Descartes. I identified 2 Metro stations near these two sites: Odéon and Abbesses. I can go from Descartes to Odeon, then take Metro Line 4 to Marcadet - Poissonniers and then catch Metro Line 12 to Abbesses. From here it is a short walk to Montmartre.

Honestly, I have to say that even though Metro and RER look a bit naive, you definitely need to distinguish these two types of trains because their scope of activity is quite different. When I was in the center I used Metro, not the RER, and always knew exactly which zone I wanted to go to buy the tickets for.

Note that if you do not have a ticket, but do not go to pay you will be penalized.

Fortunately, now that you have a tool to help you find your way underground in Paris, the RATP website will provide you with all the information of each train station, scheduled from point A to point B. Any time and place. You just need to click and wait for results only. It's so convenient, isn't it?

Types of train tickets

Single Ticket

Retail: The price for a Metro single ticket is around 1, 80 euros (also known as the "Ticket t +").

You can also buy 10 tickets (Carnet) for 14 euros at the station's machine or buy right on the Eurostar if you're travelling from another city to Paris to avoid having to queue up for tickets at selling machine. When buying tickets, make sure to keep the ticket until you get off the train station at your destination (RER ticket is required, Metro ticket is not requires). It is not advisable to buy a single ticket if you travel to Paris for several days, and consider purchasing a Carnet ticket if you stay more than the other day.

Ticket Mobilis:

Similar to Paris Visit (see below), this is a day pass that allows unlimited travel throughout the day in certain zones. It will not be available for departure to the airport (unless you take bus 350, 351 to CDG airport, bus 183, 285 to Orly). The price is also cheaper. If you do not go to the airport for the day, consider buying this ticket

Zones Price Travel Area

Zone 2: 7, 30€ Central Paris

Zone 3: 9, 70€ Central Paris + La Défense

Zone 4: 12€ Paris + Versailles

Zone 5: 17, 30€ Paris + Versailles + Disney + Fontainebleau

Paris Visit:

This gives you unlimited travel for 1 to 5 days in Paris, you can choose some kind of Paris Visit here (Paris Visite) or always buy at the airport, apply for zones 1-3 or zones 1-5, away from the airport into the city always. The price for children is less than half. Remember that this kind of pass only works on the date on it, even if you buy in the evening it will not expire until 24 hours.

Jeunes Tickets:

Unlimited day passes on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays for people under the age of 26. Price: Zones 1-3 € 3, 65; Zone 1-5 € 8, 10; Zone 3-5 € 4, 75.

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Save money travelling in Paris

Here are some tips to save travel expenses in Paris that some Vietnamese students who had been studying in Paris for nearly 4 years told me.

First of all, I suggest that you look at your schedule, depending on what you choose Paris Mobilis or Paris Visit, if you go back and forth between the city and the airport you should consider Paris visit.

Example: To optimize the use of tickets, spend the least money on specific plans and tactics. If I have organised a 3-4 days trip to Paris I should clearly distinguish which day to go where. For day trips in the center where you can only take a scenic walk without a boat, or go further, buy Mobilis zone 1-2. For more than a day trip get Zone 4, to Disneyland Zone 5. If you are under the age of 26 but go on the weekend and take advantage of the Jeunes ticket only.

Keep in mind that buying T + tickets can be done on the bus, on the tram and on the metro.

Children under 4 are free, children between 4-10 years old will have to pay adult tickets but if you buy 10 carnet tickets, they will only take half the money for the kids, so you pay attention to this advantage offline.

Note: The above tickets are only valid for public transport in Paris. If you are interested in sightseeing then you should learn more about the pass in Paris, this will give you some admission free museums. There are 2 types of Pass museums: Paris Pass and Paris Museum Pass. The Paris Museum Pass is only valid for museums and monuments. The Paris Pass in addition to functions as the Paris Museum Pass you also get free public transport in Paris.

Safety issue when travelling by train in Paris

I would like to note that at the airport there can be scams such as buying tickets. You can buy tickets at vending machines, using coins or bank cards with smartchips to buy, cash is not accepted. But the most noteworthy thing is fraud and pickpockets on the subway. Many Vietnamese people have gone through this despite being extremely vigilant but still affected, because of their sophistication.

Even though you have hidden your wallet in a few lock classes and you always look ahead, there are always some unexpected situations not responding promptly, such as winter train pushing, which is when the thieves take advantage of loopholes. Often they are less likely to work alone and always have a companion.

They may be even very nice, polite, helpful and might talk to you so you cannot doubt they are a gang!

Sail on the Seine

I swear you that it is also very interesting way to book a ship ride along the Seine, watch the city and have dinner on board (full service catering), which will be an unforgettable experience. Ticket prices around Paris from the Jardin des Plantes to the Eiffel Tower are 16€ per day and 19€ for two consecutive days.

Take the train from Paris to the French and international destinations

The French train system is operated by the SNCF, with TGV (Trains à Grande Vitesse). The system stretches across France and you can buy tickets directly from the SNCF website or Trainline.

Buy tickets online

During my trip to northern France, outside Paris, I took a train to visit the castle of Mont Saint Micheal. You can go there via shorter routes such as going from Paris to the outskirts of the city without having to book in advance, but for long trips to other French cities you need to buy tickets with a reservation. Tickets are normally open before the departure about 90 days in advance, but tickets in July and July each year are available earlier. In order to buy a cheap ticket, you need to hunt for tickets very early, from the time they start to open sales you must be constantly monitored if there are cheap tickets to decide immediately.

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The websites to buy tickets:

OUI: no reservation fee

Loco2: no reservation fee

Trainline: no reservation fee

Rail Europe: costs EUR 4

To buy tickets online is quite simple, you just need to go to the website and the select step by step, fill in the place where to go and pay. These booking websites accept most international payment cards, and long trips will require you to book a seat on the train first.

Once you have purchased the ticket, you can print the ticket that they send me via email or save it as a pdf in your smartphone. Sometimes tickets are not self-printed, so in that case, you will have to get tickets at the vending machines, if you buy at Voyages-Sncf you will need to carry the card used to pay through the network, and this card must be a chip card, otherwise you have to get tickets from the counter. There is a ticket and you will have to validate before boarding the yellow validation station at the station.

Ticket policy:

If you purchase on Voyages France there are 3 types of tickets for you to choose, please remember to view the details of each type in the ticket price options

1. Non-exchangeable ticket: No refund
2. Exchangeable condition apply: Tickets are subject to change and are refundable before departure, 1 hour before departure will be 50% charge, after departure is not refund.
3. Flexible tickets: Free exchange even after departure.

Train stations in Paris

Here I would like to list down some most important train stations in Paris!

1. Gare du Nord is for Northbound trains: Lille, Amiens, Boulogne, Calais, Dunquerque, London, Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Cologne.
2. Gare de l'Est is for eastbound trains: Nancy, Strasbourg, Reims, Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, night train to Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Moscow.
3. Gare de Lyon is for the south-east trains: Lyon, Marseille, Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, Montpellier, Turin, Milan, Geneva, Bern, Basel, Zurich.
4. Gare d'Austerlitz is for trips to Limoges, Toulouse, night train to Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo, Toulouse, Perpignan, Narbonne, Lourdes, Biarritz, Madrid & Barcelona.
5. Gare Montparnasse is for South West trains: Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nantes, Biarritz, Lourdes, Brest, Rennes.

I saw that almost all train stations in France have baggage handling services, ranging from 5 to 10 euros. When you arrive at the station you can ask staff to see where this service is located in the station.

Trains from Paris to other cities in France and Europe

Below I summarized the train journeys from France to European countries and inland France, I will pay attention to the cheapest train fare for each stage, when booking tickets that look fare will see if it is the cheapest ticket or not.

1. Train to Nice, Lyon, Cannes Bordeaux or other cities in France the cheapest fare from € 20 or € 25 if booked in advanced. If booked on the right fare date can be up to € 130.
2. Trains to London or other UK cities with the cheapest fares from € 45, book tickets through Eurostar or Loco2
3. Train to Brussels fares from € 29, to Bruges, Amsterdam or Ghent from € 35, train time for 2-3 hours, booked via B-europe or Thanlys.
4. TGV high-speed trains travel to destinations in Switzerland such as Zurich, Basel, Bern, Geneva, from 25€, if you travel between cities in Switzerland you can book tickets through SBB.
5. Tickets to cities in Italy cost from € 35, buy tickets at Loco2 or Trentialia. This station allows you to take night train to cities like Milan, Venice to save hotel costs, departing from Paris Gare de Lyon at 19h11 'daily, often changing trains in Milan.
6. Train departs from Gare de Lyon every day at 10h07 and 14h07, takes 6h20 'to Barcelona.

Conclusion

To finish the article of travelling with public transport in Paris, I must say that Paris is not the city with the most convenient transportation system in the world, not all roads are wide, if not saying too many narrow streets, like Vietnam.

But I did not have much trouble moving around in Paris, I must admit that the great traffic consciousness of the people was one of the determinants of the city's traffic order at the present. At an early age, children were taught by parents about the rule of law. Many schools maintain the invitation to the traffic police to chat, popularize traffic law for students.

I admire Paris Transport Culture though many tourists and crowded populations

I personally find that the people of Paris have reached a very high transport culture, aboard the train and in the metro people are also very quiet. Although the transport network has been developed very modern and convenient, it is difficult to develop effectively without the high awareness of people. And in this case, I have found a good example in Paris.

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