An American in Paris!

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Bus

To move within Paris intra-muros, you have two options: the bus and the subway. The bus is slow and quite inefficient during rush hours but it is also cool, romantic and gives you a unique way of visiting Paris. The bus map is a horrible thing to look at therefore I am not including it here. If you really want one, go to a subway station and ask for a bus map. People taking the bus usually take the same every morning to go to work (those are the lucky people who live *and* work inside Paris).

Subway

As opposed to the bus, the subway (called metro) is fast, efficient and stinky. You will take it all the time, unless you are a very rich person traveling by cab. Here is a subway map. Paris has 14 lines designated by numbers (not colors!). Tickets are sold in every station. The metro runs from 5.30am to 12.30am. Both buses and subway are run by the same company: RATP.

Night bus

The night bus (noctambus) is very useful when you are trying to go back home after 1am - but it's never going to happen, right? :) Check out a map in a subway station and look for the nearest station before you get completely wasted.

Cabs

The cabs (taxis) are usually quite expensive in Paris, but in case you really need one, here is a good company: Les Taxis Bleus, 08 91 70 10 10. They run 24/7.

RER

To go to the suburb, you will have to take a special type of subway called RER. It has larger cars, goes faster and is a bit more expensive. There are connections between the metro and the RER as indicated on the metro map. There are 5 RER lines, designated by letters: A,B,C,D and E. Some of them are run by the RATP, some by the the French Commuter Rail Company (SNCF). This is important to know because in case of strikes (which happen quite often in France), some lines work perfectly and other don't. Parisians know this perfectly but AIPs usually don't.

Train

To really get far out of Paris and visit your friends on the Cote d'Azur, you will have to take the train (SNCF). Unlike the metro or the bus, tickets need to be purchased in advanced either online (sncf.com) or in a train station. There are five train stations in Paris: Gare de Lyon, Gare Saint-Lazare, Gare du Nord, Gare d'Austerlitz and Gare Montparnasse. Pay attention to which one you have to go to depending on your destination. Otherwise, you status of AIP shall be quickly discovered.