Walking in Paris? Yes, you should.

And now I’ll tell you why.

As we’ve seen in the Hotspot Map at the beginning of the article, the best attractions, museums, and landmarks the city has to offer are all concentrated within the Paris Ring Road (city center) which is a circular area of approximately 9km in diameter.

If your accommodation is located within the ring (and it better should, as I more widely explain in the article Paris: The Budget), none of the points of interest you’re looking for should be so far outside of a short walking distance.

The advantages of walking are several: it’s healthy, it’s free, it’s stress-free, and most of all, it allows you to live in the city and observe Paris’ enchanting ecosystem from within. Sidewalks are everywhere and streets are safe to walk (the worst that may happen to you is finding yourself in the middle of a strike, but well, that’s also France isn’t it? 😉 ).

Also while visiting in winter, we have been walking more than 10km every day and really enjoyed it. Whenever you feel tired or a rainshower is just coming your way, you know that a Paris Metro Station is always conveniently near you.

The sidewalk view is in my opinion an integral part of the Paris experience: the artsy bistros, the cafès, the boutiques, the fashion, the creative details hidden in the urban decor, the sounds and lights of the City of Love… everything is best when enjoyed slowly and walking gives you the time to do it.

To ease your visit I would also suggest you download the app Maps.me on your phone (for free) and download the Offline Map of Paris to be able to navigate with the GPS also in the case you won’t have internet with you.

 

Public Transport: Metro

With over 300 Metro Stations within the city center, 16 Subway Lines, and over 4M users rides per day, the Metro is the pulsing heart and circulatory system of Paris. 

Efficient, reliable, safe, clean, and relatively fast, the Paris Subway is hands-down the most convenient transportation mode of the French capital.

To access the lines, you need a T+ ticket that can be purchased from automatic vending machines outside any of the stations. One-way ticket costs 1,90 Euro, while a carnet of 10 tickets costs 16,90 (I would suggest you go for it on your first day in the city!).

Here you can see the Official Paris Metro Map. I would warmly suggest you download it on your phone to have it readily available for when you’ll be in the Metro (where you almost certainly won’t have internet). It’ll help you immensely to plan your way through the city, to study connections, and to not miss your stop.

NOTE: The Paris Metro is not working 24 hours. It runs from 5.30 until 01.15 (or until 2.15 on Fridays and Saturdays).

Public Buses

Outside of the Paris Road Ring (denominated also City Center or Zone 1), the capital’s suburbs develop in other 4 circular concentric zones (Zone 2, 3, 4, and 5). (Here you can see and download the Official RER Map).

Although most attractions are concentrated in Zone 1, you may find the need to move between zones to reach airports or for one-day-trip destinations. Popular reasons to cross zones are to reach the Airport Orly (Zone 4), Versailles (Zone 4), Disneyland (Zone 5), and the International Airport of Charles de Gaulle (Zone 5).

The easiest and most convenient way to move between said zones is undoubtedly the Regional Trains RER, which are fast, reliable, frequent, and relatively inexpensive.

To get an RER, you’ll need to make an RER ticket from the automatic vending machines, which price varies depending on the number of stations you’ll be crossing. 

Here are some Example Routes and fares to give you an idea about prices and riding times:

• Charles de Gaulle Airport – Paris Centre – 10,30 Euro (35 minutes)
• Orly Airport – Paris Centre – 10,30 (30 minutes)
• Paris Centre – Disneyland – 7,60 Euro (40 minutes)
• Paris Centre – Versailles – 3,60 (80 minutes)

NOTE: if you’re using an RER to move only within Zone 1, you can also use a t+ ticket (same as for the metro/bus).

 

 

Taxis / Uber

Velib is the the capital’s bike sharing platform and works similarly to many others you find in cities around the world: you download the APP, get a subscription with caution (150 Euro) and then you’re ready to take and leave bikes from all the bike-racks spread through the city and paying very few for the time you use them.

The pros of the service are several: Paris has avenues and sidewalks that are easy to ride by bike, the service is cheap (0 Euro for rides < 30min, 1 Euro for rides up to one hour), possibly faster than the metro and surely less tiring than walking.

There are also electric bikes which can be rented in the same way and cost double than normal ones (2 Euro/hour).

Although on paper everything looks good; in practice there are also quiet some cons to Velib, the main one being that bikes and racks maintenance is not always well and often neglected (you can be lucky and find everything working, but also have nightmares finding and unlocking working bikes).

Further things you might define cons are the caution fee (150 Euro – which is mandatory), the hardships/stress you might feel if you’re not used to ride in big cities, and last but not least not having a helmet.

All in all, I believe that in the good season Velib is a decent transportation opportunity that can be thrown in the mix of low-cost, fast and effective ways to move around Paris (together with walking and metro). Just keep in mind that you might need some patience to get it working and used to it.

Here I leave you the link to the Official Velib Website and the Map of the Velib Docks showing the location and live number of bikes in each of them.

Renting a Car

Expensive, stressful, and slow; the antonym of convenience.

If you were asking yourself why car rental is at the end of the list, well…here is why!

Paris City Center is always very busy, traffic get often congested. Finding parking ranges from challenging to impossible and anywhere you’re going to park it’s going to cost you a lot (tariffs in Zone 1 range between 2,50 – 4 Euro per hour, more than 20 Euro for the 24 hours).

Furthermore, you may still need to walk quite some distances afterward from the parking to the attractions you want to see (which may not be so nearby).

All in all, if you put together the cost of renting (at least 50 Euro/day for an economy car), parking, and fuel; plus the stress and long-times required to move around; you’ll likely come to my same conclusion: renting a car in Paris doesn’t make sense! 

If you’re still thinking about it, trust me, abandon the idea, and embrace public transportation! You’ll thank me later:)

 

Conclusion

The magic, the lights, the art and the pride of Paris are best when enjoyed slowly. 

 As the city is filled to the brim with gorgeous parks, architectonical masterpieces, unexpected street art and postcard views, walking is for us the winner of all transportation modes in Paris.

Of course, walking the whole time it might be hard (because of time, energy, weather, etc.) and because of that there are the public transports (Metro and additionally the bus) which are cheaper, faster and more sustainable than renting a car or flagging a taxi. Velib on the side, is a good and competitive addition if you like biking.

 

Have you been to Paris already? How did you move around? Do you have any further suggestion or something you would like to point out about the previous article? Or do you simply need more information? Get in touch in the comments below 🙂

 Thanks for reading!

Paris Travel Guide

Content Summary

 

MAIN GUIDE PAGE

1) Paris: The Best 12 Places you Need to See

2) Paris: Hotspots Map and Guide to Public Transport

3) Paris: How Much it Costs to Visit?

4) Paris: What to Pack for your Trip?

5) Paris: 10 Curiousities you Didn’t Know About