 | Paris Transportation | Tips 41 - 50 of 1508 |  |
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Paris has started to follow the example of other French cities such as Nantes, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Lyon, Nancy, Orleans or Bordeaux, and has built its first tramway line, the T-3. It bears the number three because there are already two such tramways, the T-1 and the T-2, operating in the northern and western suburbs.
The new line goes along the boulevards at the southern edge of Paris. While building the tracks and stations, they took the opportunity to widen sidewalks, plant trees, build new cycling paths* and install an attractive new street lighting system, so as to upgrade an area which until then was more of a motorized jungle than a habitable urban neighborhood.
In most places there are now only four lanes for motorized traffic, instead of six.
The new tramway T-3 began operation on Saturday, December 16, 2006. On the first weekend 120,000 people tried it out. One of my sons was among them, because the new tramway goes right by his front door in the 13th arrondissement.
*Unfortunately the new cycling paths along the T-3 are not much use because they dip sharply several times per block, so only the slowest cyclists can use them. The mayor has publicly acknowledged this problem, but as far as I know there has not yet been any decision about how to fix it.
Second photo: The Tramway under construction at Place Balard in June 2006.
Third photo: An information stand about the new tramway system, in the Mairie (city hall) of the 14th arrondissement.
Fourth photo: Here's a look at the tramway T-1, which operates in the northern suburbs between Gare de St-Denis and Noisy-le-Sec. Here the trams do not look as modern as the ones on the T-3, and here they have not managed to plant any trees or put in any bicycle routes, at least not in La Courneuve where I took this photo.
Fifth photo: The T-3 at Porte d'Italie, as seen from the 28th floor of Chambord Tower. Leave a Comment Theme: TrainWebsite: http://www.tramway.paris.fr
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| | | | From the Airports to Paris: RER from CDG to Paris with a Stroller | Tip Rating: | | | | |
If you really want to save a lot of money you can always take the RER into Paris. Our RER tickets were only $7.85E pp, one-way. Think about that versus a $40 E taxi ride with traffic? Here's how to do it: 1. When you get off the plane, go to the first restroom you'll see. A veteran traveler to CDG that helped me with the RER planning said to eat an energy bar. Yes, you will need it after such a long flight and you will be doing quite a lot! After dealing with luggage and customs, go to the elevator and go down to level ("niveau") 3, departures. The on-airport shuttle("navette") stop is near door ("porte") 22. Board a #2 (green route) shuttle bus and get off at the only stop, which is the CDG1 RER station. The shuttle is free and frequent. The buses we encountered on our arrival and return had stairs, so be prepared to lift up your stroller and luggage. 2. Go to the ticket counter inside the station - they accept credit cards. 3. If you have a stroller, go to the glass booth near to the turnstyles. Tell them you need to to use the gate because you have a stroller. They will tell you to Insert your ticket into the turnstyle, retrieve it, and then proceed to a gate to the right that they will have to unlock. Don't forget to keep your ticket!4. Go down to the appropriate platform. It will be marked. There were escalators. When I asked the gentleman that opened the gate about an elevator, he said escaltors. 5. When the train comes you should get in last as people will move to make room for you. They will be more mobile than you. You can sit on pull down seats near any doorway or if you can figure out where the end of the car is, there is lots of standing room there for you. 6. Enjoy the ride and when you get off look for the exit signs "Sortie" and "Ascenseur" (elevator). The elevator was out of service at Denfert Rochereau the morning we arrived. We were lucky it was only about a flight and a half up to the exit level!Read more about my packing tips to understand how we were able to carry everything. Leave a Comment Theme: Train
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| | | | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Down by the station, early in the morning ... | Tip Rating: | | | | |
The kids' song I have picked up in the heading continues " ...see the little puffing billies all in a row".
The long distance railways in France are run by the SNCF and 'puffing billies' definitely are not part of their fleet! Many of the trains, such as the ones in the photo, now are TGVs (Train a grande vitesse, tr 'High Speed Trains') which cruise along at over 250km/hr, it's interesting to think that the Ferrari also appearing in my 'transport tips' would have no speed advantage! What's more, these do not have to contend with traffic and many are express to their destination, which means that it is possible to get quite a way from Paris on a day's return excursion.
I took the TGV from Gare Montparnasse to Tours, a trip of 230km by road: the TGV ate the distance in about 1.5 hours, with one stop, and it was pleasant to watch the countryside scrolling past the picture windows. Saving time further, the train travels between city centres, avoiding the problems of getting to airports and the inherent airport delays. The fares are more or less comparable to discount airlines and you do need to pre-book your seat. Note though that the SNCF website does not seem to allow for bookings from some countries - I had to book through my local tourist agency. Yes, there also are discount fares for seniors, international seniors cards are accepted. Theme: TrainWebsite: www.sncf.fr/
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| | | | Trains: SNCF, TGV, etc.: Gare Saint-Lazare | Tip Rating: | | | | |
This is the station that was painted by Claude Monet in 1877. You can see the painting in the Musée d'Orsay, but if you don't feel like standing in line for the museum you could always come over and look at the station in person. Here's what it looks like from the back, from Place de l'Europe.
Second photo: Trains arriving at Gare Saint-Lazare.
Third photo: As at the East and North Stations, there is a major construction project underway here at Gare Saint-Lazare, designed to modernize the station, optimize access and create an attractive public square at the front.
Fourth photo: People waiting for their trains. From here you can get trains to the suburbs and to cities like Rouen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and Dieppe.
Fifth photo: These posters hanging from the ceiling are meant to suggest that all these folks have covered up their cars for the summer and have gone on vacation by train instead. This is of course rather tongue-in-cheek considering the actual vacation habits of French automobile owners, but it's a clever advertising campaign for that very reason. Leave a Comment Theme: Train
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| | | | Métro: Cheap & Convenient Transportation | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Paris's metro system is one of the best in the world-provided that there are no workers' strikes! On a normal day, however, you can expect efficient service. There are around 10 lines that serve 300 metro stations so there is extensive coverage available.
Tickets can be purchased as a carnet (10 tickets) at 10 euro. If you are planning on traveling by metro, RER, and bus for a week or so, consider purchasing a Paris Visite pass. This is a pass that allows one to ride public transportation and it's sold in 1-3 or 5 day increments. The cost ranges from 17 euro (1 day pass) to 37 euro (5 day pass) andn you purchase the pass at any metro station.
Several metro tips:
Keep your metro ticket until your journey ends. There are inspectors who do give citations if you have no ticket.
Be sure that when you need to exit a station look for the sign saying 'Sortie' and not the one that says 'Correspondance'. If you follow the 'Correspondance' sign, you will transfer onto another metro line! The opposite is true too so if you don't want to exit but transfer to another line, do not follow the 'Sortie' sign.
The older metro trains don't have automatic opening doors. In order to not look silly standing at the door expecting it to open automatically, please do crank the handle (unless someone else has done so already)when you want to get on or off the train.
Be aware that some stations have really long passageways: Chatelet for example.
Also line 1 is infamous for being the pickpocket line. The reason is that many tourists travel on line 1 which stops at many tourist sights. So do be aware of who is standing besides and in the back of you if the metro is crowded. Protect your bags, make sure they are secured properly, and please do not put anything of value in them. Use a money belt.
Be aware that some RER stops have stairs only access and no elevators and/or escalators. Leave a Comment Theme: Subway/MetroWebsite: http://www.ratp.fr Other Contact: Photo www.freefoto.com
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| | | | Métro: Métro Abesses | Tip Rating: | | | | |
This is one of the main tourist gateways for Montmartre. Sadly, on this visit, it was looking very run-down (photo 2): but there is an active programme of Métro station refurbishment, so let’s hope it soon receives a makeover. The main point of this tip though, is to point out that, unlike most Métro stations which are only at a shallow depth, Abesses has been tunneled under a hill. Don’t catch yourself out, as we were on our first visit, by climbing the stairs instead of waiting for the very large lift, it’s a long climb up!
Once you arrive at street level, spare a moment to admire the original Art Nouveau style entrance by Henri Guinard, apparently one of the most original remaining (photo 3). Theme: Subway/MetroWebsite: http://www.ratp.fr
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