BUG - Backpackers Guide to budget travel in Paris, France

Paris has an excellent network of public transport operated by RATP (Regie Autonome de Transports Parisians; website www.ratp.info) comprising buses, trams (in some suburbs), suburban trains, RER (suburban trains that go underground through the centre) and the métro (subway). Métro stations are located about a five minute walk apart and the trains run around every two minutes. Most trains come with their own accordian player.

The Parisian transport network is divided into six zones and the price of your ticket will be reflected by the zone you are travelling to. This zone system applies mainly to the RER and suburban trains, but all the métro stations can be reached with a single ticket or a single zone travel pass even though some métro lines extend as far as zone three. If you have to venture out into the suburbs where there is a choice of métro, train or RER it works out much cheaper to take the métro - this applies mainly to excursions to La Defense, Château de Vincennes and St Denis.

METRO

The Paris métro is one of the world's best public transport systems with 15 lines, 294 stations and 201.5 km of track. The route map looks like a tangled mess of coloured spaghetti with lines and stations everywhere. Once you've mastered the confusion, you'll appreciate that there is a station within a five minute walk anywhere within the city.

Free colour maps are available from tourist information centres and all métro stations (just ask for un plan du métro, s'il vous plaît) or you can download them in PDF format from the RATP website (www.ratp.info). If you are lost, you'll find a map of the local area at the entrance to each station.

Each métro line is numbered with the direction indicated by the destination at the end of the line. It is quite a simple system when you consider that the trains always run on their own line and stop at each station indicated. If you have to make un correspondance (transfer between lines) you need to follow the signs indicating the line number and direction (the station at the end of the line). This will lead you down endless corridors, past newstands and accordian players, up stairs and escalators eventually leading you to another platform where you can hop on a train. The Sortie sign indicates the exit.

Although most of the métro system is designed for efficiency, some stations are elaborate works of art. Take a look at Louvre-Rivoli with its art from the nearby Louvre museum or the beautiful murals on line one at Bastille; or for something completely different, check out the polished brass submarine architecture on the line 11 platform at Arts et Métiers. Line 14, the first new métro line since 1935, offers a completely high-tech experience.

The métro runs from around 5.30am to midnight.

RER

The Reseaux Express Régional (RER) is a suburban train network jointly operated by RATP and SNCF which runs underground through the city centre where it acts like an express métro.

The RER is integrated with the métro and regular métro tickets can be used on the RER within zone one. Within the city limits the RER is a great way to quickly get across town. Line A covers the east/west axis from the Arc de Triomphe to Nation. Line B speeds you from north to south taking you from Gare du Nord to Cité Universitaire. Line C covers a few areas left out by the métro connecting Gare d'Austerlitz with the Notre Dame (St Michel), the Musée d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower (Champs de Mars), the Statue of Liberty (Javel) and Porte Maillot. Line D is a good express route between Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon.

If you are heading out into the suburbs, for instance if you want to visit Versailles or get to one of the airports, you will need to buy a separate ticket to your destination.

SUBURBAN TRAINS

Although some of the suburban train lines have been converted into the RER, there are still many suburban train services which operate from all the main Parisian train stations. You're not likely to use these services unless you're visiting friends who live in the suburbs or you're trying to get to hitchhiking spots or sights on the outskirts of Paris such as Fontainbleau, Versailles or Chantilly.

Paris Visite and Carte Orange travel passes are valid on suburban train services as long as the station falls within the zones for which the pass is valid. You will need to buy an individual ticket if you don't hold one of these passes. If you are given a large SNCF ticket, you will need to validate it at one of the orange date-stamping machines on the platform.

TRAM

Paris has two tram lines, which are listed on métro and RER maps as lines T1 and T2. T1 runs through the northern suburbs linking St Denis with the northern reaches of métro lines 5, 13 and 7. T2 connects with RER C at Issy val de Seine and runs along the western edge of the Seine to La Defense. This line may be handy if you need to visit people in the business districts adjacent to La Defense.

BUS

Paris is also well served by local bus routes which can provide a good sightseeing tour of the city since you're not stuck underground on the métro. The Balabus is a special bus route from Gare de Lyon to La Defense which has been designed to take in many of Paris's major sights. Other bus routes may be a little more confusing for the visitor, since stops aren't marked as clearly as the métro.

Paris Visite and Carte Orange passes are valid on buses. Otherwise you can validate a métro ticket in the composteur machine on board the bus. You will need to validate one métro ticket for a short trip, however longer trips within the city limits require two tickets to be validated and trips into the suburbs may require up to six tickets to be validated making the bus a more expensive and confusing option than the métro.

Once the bus, train, tram, RER and métro lines cease operating for the night, a special night bus service known as Noctambus takes over. This service operates from 1am till 5.50am with 18 lines terminating at Châtelet. You can use Paris Visite and Carte Orange tickets on Noctambus, otherwise you will need to pay €2.70 for a special Noctambus ticket - regular métro tickets can't be used on the Noctambus service.

There is also an open-top double-decker tourist bus service called L'Open Tour that runs a circuit of tourist sights. At €28 for a two-day pass (€25 for a one-day pass) this is a bit expensive although the unique position from the top deck allows for some excellent photo opportunities.

FARES

A single ticket (€1.50) will get you anywhere on the métro and within zone one on the RER. The best deal is to buy a carnet of ten tickets for €11.10. Just say "un carnet s'il vous plait", if you are wearing a black turtle-neck sweater and a scarf, the guy behind the counter will probably think you are a local. If you are planning to hang around a while, consider buying a weekly or monthly Carte Orange. Hold on to your ticket because you sometimes need it to transfer between lines and occasionally you might get stopped by someone in a snappy green blazer who will fine you if you don't have a valid ticket.

Paris Visite

The Paris Visite is a special pass for tourists visiting Paris. This pass allows unlimited travel on the métro, RER, suburban trains, trams, buses (including night buses) and the funicular railway at Montmartre. Although it seems a good deal, the Paris Visite Pass is quite expensive and you will really need to rely a lot on public transport to make the most of this pass.

The Paris Visite is available for a number of different zones in the Parisian transport system. The zone 1-3 pass covers all of central Paris plus excursions to La Defense, St Denis and Chateau de Vincennes. The 1-5 zone pass allows you to travel further afield to Versailles and Orly and Charles-de-Gaulle airports, while the 1-8 zone pass provides for all this and visits to Provins, Fontainebleau and Rambouillet. Unless you are really gung-ho about your sightseeing, it is probably better value to buy a couple of carnets of métro tickets rather than one of these passes. However a one-day 1-5 Paris Visite is a good option if you need to transfer between Orly and Charles-de-Gaulle airports, taking in a bit of sightseeing en-route.

Zones	1 day	2 days	3 days	5 days
1-3	€8.50	€14	€19	€27.50
1-6	€18	€27.50	€38.50	€47

Mobilis

This daily travel card is good for one day of unlimited travel on suburban trains, RER, trams, buses and the métro within the zones indicated on the pass. Unlike the Paris Visite, the Mobilis is not valid on some airport services. If you're not planning on going to the airport, it is better value than the Paris Visite pass although it still doesn't come close to the Carte Orange in terms of value for money.

Zones	Price
1-2	€5.60
1-3	€7.50
1-4	€9.30
1-5	€12.50
1-6	€15.90

Carte Orange

A weekly or monthly Carte Orange is the best value way to explore the city. At only €16.30 for a weekly two zone ticket this is way cheaper than buying a Paris Visite pass. It's worth buying one of these tickets even if you're staying in Paris only three or four days .

You will need to bring a passport sized photo with you when you buy your first Carte Orange ticket, the guy behind the counter will then ask you to write your name on the card. Remember that nom is your surname and prénom is your first name. This pass comes in a little plastic pouch which holds your photo card with a space for your monthly or weekly coupon. When buying your ticket you will will need to state whether you want a weekly (hebdomadaire) or monthly (mensuel) travel pass.

The Carte Orange allows unlimited travel on buses (including night buses), trams, the Montmartre funiculaire, suburban trains, RER and the métro. You will need to insert your weekly or monthly coupon into the turnstiles if you're riding the métro or RER, however you just need to flash your card (and the coupon) if you're riding buses, trams or suburban trains.

Weekly Carte Orange tickets are valid for a week from Monday to Sunday while the monthly pass is valid for a calendar month, so this type of ticket is a much cheaper deal if you buy it at the beginning of the week or month.

Zones	weekly	monthly
1-2	€16.30	€53.50
1-3	€21.60	€70.80
1-4	€26.70	€87.60
1-5	€32.10	€105.20
1-6	€36.10	€118.50

VELIB’ BICYCLE PROGRAMME

Velib’ (website www.velib.paris.fr) is a new citywide cycle programme that consists of over 20,000 bicycles at 1451 locations throughout Paris. That works out at around one Velib’ station every 300 metres.

To gain access to the bikes you can buy a one-day access card for €1, a weekly card for €5 or an annual card for €29.

Once you have an access card you can ride the bikes for free for up to half an hour, the second half-hour of a rental period is charged at €1, the third half-hour is charged at €2 and each additional half hour costs €4. In other words, a 25-minute trip is free, a 45-minute trip costs €1 and a 1 hour and 20 minute trip costs €3.

When you have finished with your bike, just return it to the nearest Velib’ station and pay any additional charges that may be due.

Each Velib’ station has machines where you can buy one-day and weekly passes and pay additional rental charges after returning your bike. If you want an annual pass you need to complete an application form from a Marie (arrondissement city hall) or one of 400 bakeries.