getting around in paris not now but in march

Howdy all!

We went ahead and booked our trip to paris yesterday. I think we found a good place to stay, price being the main motivator, and the airfare wasn;t too bad. I am a little concerned about how we will get around though. Our hotel is by the eiffel tower and I think it mentioned metro line 42. Is that a train, subway, is it called an underground like in london or what? I prefer a train that is above ground as I have issues with very steep escalators. I freak out. I had a minor melt down in london last year when I had to ride one. It was not good. So, point me to a map so I can figure this out.

I apprecaite it,

Kristen

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42 is a bus.

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thanks for helping me out but could you elaborate a little? How much is the bus? Do you buy a pass? Can you get a pass on line? Aren%26#39;t busses slow to get around? Where would the train station be in relation to the eiffel tower?

Thanks,

Kristen

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thanks for helping me out but could you elaborate a little? How much is the bus? Do you buy a pass? Can you get a pass on line? Aren%26#39;t busses slow to get around? Where would the train station be in relation to the eiffel tower?

Thanks,

Kristen

A single journey on any bus, metro or RER (regional express train) within zones 1 and 2 will cost EUR 1.50. Zones 1 and 2 cover all the main sights.

A better bargain is a %26#39;carnet%26#39; - say it Kar - Nay. This is a batch of 10 single tickets for EUR 11.10.

Better still is a one day transport pass called Mobilis (mow-billy) which costs EUR 5.60 This is valid for one day from about 0530 to about 0100 the following morning. It%26#39;s valid on buses metro and RER.

Best bargain of the lot is the Carte Orange; however this will only be beneficial if you are there for more than 3 days starting on a Mon Tue or Weds. There%26#39;s a load of info about this on TA - you can do a search in the white box above for details. Price EUR 16.30.

Buses can be slow to get around but you see a lot more than you would from a metro which is mostly underground. There are some overground sections on some lines but highly unlikely that your entire trip would be overground.

Metro stations near the ET are Champ de Mars and Ecole Militaire. Have a look at this map:- www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/carteparis.php…

Enjoy.

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Sorry forgot to say you can buy the tickets at all metro?RER stations. In most cases you would not need to use an escalator to get to the ticket office / ticket machines. These are usually just down one flight of stairs.

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You need not worry about steep escalators in the Metro system. Many Metro stops only have stairs, not escalators, to get in and out. Many of the metro stations which have escalators going up from where the train drops you off also have stairs you can use instead. A couple of stations provide elevators. There are also some larger Metro stations (usually the ones which also have RER train stations) which have long distances between where you might get off one train and transfer to another train. Those stations tend to provide flat walking escalators which you can choose to use or not. I think this %26quot;escalator thing%26quot; will be less of a problem than you anticipate.

Many of the Metro stations are very unique in their decor and you miss part of Paris by missing Metro stations. That%26#39;s just my opinion.

I would say, if you arrive at a station which doesn%26#39;t require you to take an escalator down to get to it, you will probably have other acceptable options within the station itself.

Another thought is that most stations have more than one entrance and exit to the ground level. If one entrance has an escalator, another entrance might very well have stairs.

The French have very strong leg muscles from all the the walking they do and that includes going up and down all of the stairs in the Metro system. For you it could turn out to be more of a plus than a negative. Be brave and check it out! And Enjoy Paris. It is the best!

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