How to get in Paris
Saint Lazare Station
Towns: Rouen, Deauville, Le Havre.
Metro station : Saint Lazare : line 3, 12 , 13 & 14
Montparnasse Station
Brittany, Atlantic coast and TGV trains to Southwest France.
Town: Tours, Brest, Bordeaux, Poitiers, Nantes.
Metro station : Montparnasse Bienvenue : line 4, 12 & 13
Gare du Nord
Northern France, Belgium, Nederland with Thalys
England with Eurostar
Towns: Lille, Brussels, London, Amsterdam, Koln.
The trip to London takes 2 hours and 20 minutes. Aim to arrive at least 30 minutes before departure time. If you still need to pick up your ticket at the station you should arrive an hour before your departure.
Metro station : Gare du Nord : line 4 & 5. RER: line B, D & E.
Gare de l'Est
Eastern France and Germany with TGV and ICE
Towns: Reims, Strasbourg, Nancy, Metz, Luxembourg, Munchen, Francfort, Dusseldorf
Metro station: Gare de l'Est: line 4,5 & 7.
Gare de Lyon
South & Southeast of France and Europe.
Towns: Lyon, Turin, Milan, Barcelona, Dijon, Geneva, Valence, Montpellier, Avignon, Marseille, Nice.
Metro station: Gare de Lyon : line 1 & 14. RER: line A & D.
Gare d'Austerlitz
Loire Valley and ordinary trains to Southwest France, Spain and Portugal.
Metro station: Gare d'Austerlitz : line 5 & 10. RER line C.
There a a number of different kinds of trains:
• TER Regional trains and normal day or night trains operate to and from most cities in France and are usually your best bet for destinations all over France. These are the trains you'll find yourself on if you have a Eurail pass, and don't want to pay extra for reservations.
• TGV - the world-famous high-speed trains run several times a day to the Southeast Nice(5h), Marseille (3h) & Avignon (2.5 h), Geneva (3h) or Lausanne, Switzerland and Dijon (1h15) , Bordeaux (3h), Rennes (2h) and Lille (1h). Eurostar to London (2h40) and Thalys to Brussels (1h20) use almost identical trains.
• Thalys - a high-speed train service running daily to/from the Netherlands and Belgium - it can be a bit expensive compared to normal trains
• Intercity trains leave for all parts of Europe, including overnight trains to San Sebastian in Spain, Porto and Lisbon in Portugal.
• Eurostar - the Eurostar service connects Paris with London directly and Brussels indirectly, as well many other destinations indirectly through the various west European rail services. Travel time between Paris and London Waterloo International currently averages at 2 hours 40 minutes and will decrease even further with new tracks being laid up to 2007.
2. Car rental
Several motorways link Paris: A1 and A3 to the north, A5 and A6 to the south, A4 to the east and A13 and A10 to the west. Traffic jams are significantly worse during French school holidays.
Online visual traffic information (click here)
3. Taxi
The taxi could be any car model. They're usually large sedans. Important warning, if the taxi doesn't have a meter inside, don't take it...
When you call a taxi company to come pick you up, the driver starts his meter running from the moment he leaves from where he is when you call. If the taxi is far from you when you call, it's possible to already have 7 euros on the meter when he arrives. In general, they usually send the closest taxi but, there may not always a taxi close by.
Tips for the driver, usually around 10% of the fare but not mandatory.
Here are some rules you should know when it comes to taxis :
- You don't have the right to hail a taxi less than 50 meters from a taxi stand. The taxis that are waiting there have priority over taxis that are passing by.
- At a taxi stand, you have the right to choose the taxi that you want (nothing obliges you to take the first one in the line).
- A taxi can refuse to take on passengers if he is at the end of his service (each taxi only has the right to work a certain number of hours a day, and the end of their service is posted on a meter in the back of the car).
Taxis Bleus: + 33 1 49 36 10 10
Taxis G7: +33 1 47 39 47 39
4. Helicoptere
Paris helicoptere
Heliparis
4. Limousine
American Limousines
Gabriel Limousine
Baron Limousines