Having come from a hick town in Canada I have never riden a metro or subway. Can someone walk me through the process. ( stop laughing now ) ha ha.
Where do you buy the tickets?
Are agents on duty?
Is the Metro well laid out and not confusing?
I will be staying at Duquesne Eiffel Hotel and I think Ecole Militare is the closet stop.
Thanks alot!
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You get the tickets from any metro station, as well as tabacs and kiosks. The same tickets work on buses as well. Generally the only people on duty are ticket sellers; you won%26#39;t usually find staff on platforms.
Metro lines are described according to their number and the final destination. Let%26#39;s say you are at the Ecole Militaire station and you want to go to the Bastille. Both are on the same line, #8, so you%26#39;d head for the platform that is line 8, direction Creteil-Prefecture.
Suppose, from the same place, you wanted to go to the Arc de Triomphe (metro Charles de Gaulle Etoile) you could either:
take line 8, direction Creteil-Prefecture and change trains at Concorde, taking line 1, direction La Defense.
or
take line 8, direction Balard, and change trains at La Motte Picquet Grenelle, taking line 6, direction Charles De Gaulle Etoile.
You can see the idea in this photo: …toldme.com/images/IMG_2994-640x400.JPG, taken from the metro at Place d%26#39;Italie.
One ticket does the whole journey - you only lose the ticket when you leave a station (%26#39;Sortie%26#39;). Follow %26#39;correspondance%26#39; signs to change platforms within a station.
It%26#39;s cheaper to buy a %26#39;carnet%26#39;, a book of 10 tickets than to buy 10 indvidual tickets.
Finally the metro can get _very_ busy in the morning and evening rush periods. I%26#39;d say rush hour, but the busy times last much more than an hour.
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Have been to Paris many times and have never used the Metro. However we do use the buses and are quite happy with them. Plus you get to see the scenery. We walk about 20 miles a day so we have been able to cover more ground riding the bus and resting in between. Works well for us - not everyone%26#39;s choice I%26#39;m sure.
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Thanks ColinMac for your help. Can anyone else add to this?
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Hi,
you may check the official website:
www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php
you will find useful information: map, fare, ...
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Error Repair - what else do you want to know?
If you really do want to be %26#39;walked through%26#39; the process, here goes - hope you don%26#39;t find it insulting.
Metro stations are signified by a yellow %26#39;M%26#39; , the word metro, or metropolitain.
Go down the steps (or in a few cases - up the steps, there are a few overground parts of the system).
Buy your tickets from the agent: not all will speak English so maybe go prepared with a pre-written note of your requirements.
Put your ticket into the access turnstile - AND RETRIEVE IT. The gate will open and you are now in the station proper. You may be asked to show your ticket if an official boards the train.
You will need to know which station is at the end of the line you wish to take, then follow signs for that particular destination. Don%26#39;t panic if you hear a train coming - there will be another one in a few minutes. Trains stop at all the stations on the line. Platforms are not shared with other lines so once you%26#39;re on your platform you know that all trains will take you to where you want to go. Make sure you%26#39;re going the right direction though!
Get a decent metro map and spend some time familiarising yourself with the lines / stations you will use for most of your journeys. It%26#39;s quite logical. Honest.
Hope this helps.
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I think ColinMac described it very well. As long as you know what line # you need and what the final stop is on that line in the direction you are heading you should be able to easily navigate the metro.
At first, even though we always had a map with us, we also got in the habit of looking at the big maps that are on the walls in the metro station. There are always plenty of signs showing you where to find the platform you need. There is also signage on the metro cars themselves. We would always just double check that when we stopped at the next station that we were indeed heading in the right direction. Even if you head off in the wrong direction, it%26#39;s easy enough to just get off at the next stop and walk over to the right platform. As long you don%26#39;t exit out of the station, you%26#39;ll be okay. Some stations are big and have a number of lines meeting at that station but just watch for the signage for the line # you need.
And all you have to do is put your ticket in the machine and go through. The ticket will pop back up and be sure to take it. If you are on a RER, you might need it to exit the station. Also, if you buy a multi day ticket, you use the same ticket for all journeys. So don%26#39;t forget to take it as you pass through the turnstiles.
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I find the following link very helpful with very basic %26quot;How to use the metro%26quot; insrtructions: http://tinyurl.com/2ngs2l
I hope you find it useful!
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Here is a another good metro sight--pictures of stations (beautiful art works in themselves) and lots of other information: http://metrorama.free.fr/Home.htm
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I had this problem too but I sat down with a metro map and now understand the instructions. I have only one query - and sorry if this is dumb - but how do you know which way the train is heading if you%26#39;re not at the beginning of a line?
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%26gt;%26gt; I have only one query - and sorry if this is dumb - but how do you know which way the train is heading if you%26#39;re not at the beginning of a line? %26lt;%26lt;
General rule : look up on the platform. There is a sign with the line number, the direction of the train and on most lines, an electronic display which shows the waiting time for the two next trains. (One line 14, there are TV screens and reminders on the platform doors)
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