Paris Apartments - Transportation

The Metro opened on 19 July 1900, its first line being from Porte de Vincent to Porte Mallet (not surprising it is now the line number 1). Fulgence Bienvenüe was the engineer in charge of construction, the architect Hector Guimard being responsible for the Art Nouveau entrances.

The system has 199 km (124 miles) of track and 15 lines. There are 368 stations (not including RER stations), 87 of these being interchanges between lines. Every building is within 500 meters of a Metro station. There are 3500 cars which transport roughly 6 million people per day. There are 15,000 employees of the Metro (1989 statistics).

With the Metro and bus services, getting around Paris is easier than having a car, since you don’t have to worry about parking, and you will find a station in almost every block around the city. It is Paris' most popular transportation and is also safe (but be careful of pickpockets).

The individual Metro ticket is 8FF; packet of 10 tickets (a Carnet) is slightly more reasonable. Cost of RER tickets depends on distance traveled. Within central Paris the cost is the same as Metro tickets, and the same ticket is also valid on both systems and the buses.

Full information is on the RATP site http://www.ratp.fr.

http://www.paris.org/metro for Metro and bus maps.
 

Paris Vacation - Museums and Monuments

The Museums and Monuments Pass or “Carte des Musees” allows you to visit more than 70 museums and monuments in Paris and, what is best, not to have to wait the long lines in many of them. You can buy it in the museums and Metro stations.

1 day pass 80F, 3 days 160 5 days 240. 

Many museums are free 1 Sunday each month. All information and prices: www.intermusees.com.

Paris Vacationer's Guide to Restaurants

Here are some sites which offer interactive information about specialties, types and prices of a great number of restaurants in the city:

Paris Restaurants

Cafes and Restaurants

www.pagesjaunes.fr  also for restaurants.

Tip: Services charges of 15% are already included in the price so tips are not obligatory but if you like the service, you can tip at your discretion.

Parisian Vacationers' General Information

Bonjour Paris is an interactive site with lots of information in English and French.

www.bonjourparis.com, AOL Keyword: Bonjour, featured on CompuServe's International Channel as Go: Paris.

Four years ago a group of American expatriate journalists living in Paris thought that it would be fun to write an out-of-the-ordinary online guidebook.

The wide variety of articles, all written especially for Bonjour Paris, covers the spectrum from vignettes of French life to travelogues to serious and light-hearted insights. They include amusing insights on cultural differences; interviews with fascinating people; book, film and arts reviews; and informative  articles on everything from antiques to wine. Their travel guides cover everything from the epitome of the luxury hotels and restaurants to the best of the less expensive places to stay and keep nourished. Bonjour Paris readers can find What's In and What's Out, restaurant reviews, and well-researched listings of museums, nightspots and myriad resources for visitors.

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