How to commute to and around Paris
OK, you’ve landed in Paris — bienvenue à la ville de l’amour !!
Now what ?
As you’ll soon discover, moving around Paris is very easy — you can use public transport (metro, RER and buses), Velib (a public bicycle service) and even Autolib (a public electric-car-rental service); you can take Uber, taxi and even a bike-taxi; or you can just walk everywhere (even if it takes you an hour to get to your destination, chances are the walk will be gorgeous!)
But when you’ve just arrived everything might seem a bit overwhelming — and this article should help make it easier for you.
The first thing you need to identify when you land is which airport you’re at. The 2 main are Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport.
Arriving to Paris City Centre from Charles de Gaulle airport
The main international airport is Charles de Gaulle and it’s located north of Paris. To get to the city centre you can take an Uber or a taxi, which will cost you around €45. An Uber pool is around €35, and might be worthwhile if you have a lot of luggage.
If your luggage is manageable though, you can easily catch the RER B train and it will be much cheaper. All you have to do is follow the Train signs at the airport and buy a single ticket to Paris City which is €8. Then follow the signs to the train in direction Paris (southbound), et voilà.
In 35 minutes you should arrive in Gare du Nord and from there you can easily move to any other line that will take you to your final destination, or catch a taxi/Uber which will be much cheaper once you’re in the city.
Arriving to Paris City Centre from Orly airport
The second airport in Paris is Orly, located south of the city. To get to the city centre you will be able to catch a bus that costs €8 and will take you to Denfert-Rochereau station, where you can take the metro or RER line that you need to reach your destination. Tip: make sure to always validate the ticket when you hop on the bus, as inspectors can fine you if you haven’t done so.
Beware though if you’re taking this bus from the city to Orly airport — it can be a nightmare during high season or rush hours! Allow at least half an hour extra for your trip if you’re travelling during peak traffic.
I say this from experience- I lost my (budget) flight to Barcelona due to a traffic jam on a 23rd December at 5pm… and I can tell you the cost wasn’t quite budgetary in the end.
From Orly you can also take the Orlyval train to Antony station, where you will be able to take the RER B to the city centre; this ticket costs €9.30.
Moving around Paris by metro
Within the Paris metro system you have the urban metro lines and the Réseau Express Régional (RER). The 14 metro lines will take you pretty much everywhere within the city, and the 5 RER lines will take you to the surrounding suburbs (they also stop in some stations in Paris so they could suit some inner-city-trips as well).
You can get a map from the ticket office inside every station, or you can save the online version from here.
Google Maps is synchronised with all public transport in Paris, so you can easily check the best route from place to place.
What ticket should I get to take the metro in Paris?
The right ticket to buy will depend on how long you’ll stay and how much you’ll move by metro. If you will stay for a couple of days, you want to get the “10 single tickets’ book” — just go to the ticket machine, select “Single trip” and then select 10. Usually a single ticket is €1.90 but if you buy 10 they’ll cost €1.45 each (you pay €14.50 in total).
If you’re heading to nearby cities (Ile de France), you need to check the region (the metropolitan area covers Regions 1 to 5) and buy the appropriate ticket fare (for example, Versailles is located in Region 4 and you need to take the RER C to get there).
In Paris, single tickets will only work for the part of the journey that you make in the same type of transport, not for the complete journey towards a specific destination; for example, if you have to take a metro and then a bus, you’ll need 2 single tickets. If you need to take a RER and then a metro you’ll be able to use the same ticket, as long as it includes the further part of the journey (i.e. the RER fare).
Therefore, if you think you’ll be taking more than 4 journeys during the day, you may want to get the day ticket (€7 for inner-city and €9 for areas 1–5).
In any case, if the whole thing is way too confusing you can always go to the Ticket box and ask for help… not guaranteed that the person will speak English though so better be prepared!
I hope this helps you find the perfect transport method to move around beautiful Paris — if you have any comments or questions please post them below!
Merci et à la prochaine 😊
