Métro & Trains, Paris

They are seriously everywhere in Paris, but especially in & around the metro. Keep your hands on your things. My Dad was warned of this & decided to move his wallet from his back pocket to his front pocket. We were on an escalator leaving the metro & a man pretended to trip in front of him. At some point someone else came up to us to let us know my Dad's wallet was on the ground. They managed to get his wallet anyway. He didn't even know it happened, and he's a big guy, too. I was surprised that they decided to mess with such a big guy, but luckily in our case they only took his cash. If they hadn't told us what they did with his wallet we could've had many other problems as well. Pickpocketers have many tricks that they will pull, so try to avoid talking to people that are deterring your attention away from your belongings. Many times they act together. We were set up to go a particular direction by one guy when another guy took my Dad's wallet. Just know that if someone bends down in front of you, or acts like they're trying to brush something off your clothes, they may be trying to take something from you.

Just because of taking a wrong train to arrive airport, we've lost our airplane.. We have taken RER A instead of RER B and when we have understood and have wanted to change there was no RER A that could take us back.. To turn back you need to take a normal metro line that does heaps of stops.. In the end we've taken a taxi but it was not enough to cach our airplane.

When getting onto the Metro (subway system), there may be men who seem too willing to help a foreign tourist-no they don't work for the Paris Tourism Board.

These unscrupulous characters will 'assist' you in getting a ticket for the subway...they may buy a daily one-time ticket and charge you a longer-term ticket. The scam doesn't cost you too much but it feels like *** to get scammed no matter what the amount! Yes, I (we) got scammed this way and can still remember some of the details some 3 years later!

By the way, avoid Pigalle at all costs, nothing but bad news and con men/women there. Those champagne bottles don't come free and definitely not cheap!

The first night we were in Paris, my mom and I dressed up to go out, because it was her birthday. Coming back, it was about midnight, and we were taking the metro, since we were staying across town from the Eiffel Tower, which is where we had gone. While waiting for our connecting metro line, a French man starting inching closer and closer to us, so I moved over. Then he moved over and started whispering in my mom's ear, in French. So, as the train approached, we darted through the people in an effort to lose him, but we failed. He sat directly across from us and kept trying to put his legs by ours. When we got off on our stop, so did he, so we joined a big group of people and left with them. Luckily, he didn't want to leave the metro system, so he didn't follow us out, because we were afraid he would follow us to our hotel. Needless to say, it was frightening, but it didn't ruin my Paris experience. If someone is following you in the metro, find a big group of people and leave with them. If the person continues to follow you, go somewhere safe, such as a restaurant or something, and get help. If you go to a public place with a lot of people around, this usually detracts the person. And if it does happen to you, DON'T LET IT RUIN YOUR PARIS EXPERIENCE!!!

Almost every time I went to Metro train, I had to listen some musician inside the train. Believe me, it was annoying!!! They are not good musicians but they play loud. Their playlist is very simple - one french song, one german song, one american song and one russian song. Then they try to get some money from You. Give the money if you really like what you heard. During my visit to Paris I saw and heard only one musician, who really deserved some money. He was singer (usually they are with accordion)

Several times I was warned to stand behind the yellow line in Le Metro, or I might be pushed onto the tracks.

Finally I asked, "Why would anyone want to push me onto the tracks?"

"To get your purse." Was the reply.

"Well," I said, "If I’m going, my purse is going with me."

I did, however, stand behind the line and was never pushed into the tracks.

Un certain nombre de dispositions de sécurité vous garantissent un voyage dans les meilleures conditions. Pour sa propre sécurité il est préférable de respecter ces règles élémentaires.
A certain number of security arrangement guarantees you a journey in the best conditions. For his own security it is preferable to respect these elementary rules.

Attente sur les quais

Veuillez vous tenir éloignés de la bordure des quais, derrière la bande podotactile.
Please hold you distant of the border of the embankments, behind the sensitive strip for the blinds.

Fermeture des portes

La fermeture des portes est annoncée par un signal sonore. Dès qu'il fonctionne, merci de ne plus descendre, monter, ou gêner la fermeture.
The closing of the doors is announced by a resonant signal. As soon as it functions, thank you for more to descend, to go up or to embarrass closing.

Stations en courbe

Dans certaines stations, la voie est en courbe, ce qui peut créer un léger vide entre le quai et la voiture. Soyez attentif au pas en montant en voiture.
In some stations, the way is in curve, what can create a light emptiness between the embankment and the car. Be attentive to the step while going up by car.

Vidéo-surveillance

Afin d'améliorer la sécurité des voyageurs et des agents, un système de vidéo-surveillance et de sécurité permet d'enregistrer les images et les sons ainsi que l'activité des agents de sécurité, relatifs aux infractions commises sur les réseaux.
In order to improve the security of the travelers and agents, a system of video-surveillance and security permits to record the pictures and the sounds as well as the activity of the security agents, relative to the infringements committed on the networks.

Contact :

RATP, 54 quai de la Rapée,
LAC B916, 75599 Paris Cedex 12

If you're waiting in line to buy tickets in the Metro, you might be approached by people who will try to sell you old, used, worthless Metro tickets...so you don't have to wait in line. They hold the ticket out to you and pretend they're helping you out. It's hard to tell the difference between a new ticket and a used one...at least it was for me. This scam might take place mainly in the areas where tourists are just getting off the SNCF trains and trying to get onto the Metro. Someone told me about it beforehand. I did see it in action.