Paris - The Paris Métro - 4me

Plate XLII - The Paris Metro Trains…

For my trip to France I had obtained an international drivers license. I was being optimistic, brave or foolish – perhaps all three for I would not dare take on Parisian drivers – to start with they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Fortunately Paris has one of the most advanced public transport systems I have encountered anywhere in the world. There is no question - every site featured in this blog would have been less accessible without the marvelous Métropolitain underground transportation system or simply the Métro.  There are 16 major lines with fast and frequent trains throughout the day, and much of the night. The renowned Métro map or Plan de Métro, each line colour coded, and freely (in both senses of the word) available throughout the city has become a model for underground systems elsewhere in the world. Although somewhat stylized (and not a perfectly scaled representation of the surface position of its stops) it is intuitive to read and extremely user friendly. The Métro service is augmented by the Réseau Express Régional or RER which extends beyond Greater Paris into Parisian suburbs, and the two services are extremely well integrated with transfer points at major stations.

If all roads are said to lead to Rome, all lines it would seem lead to Châtelet–Les-Halles, said to be the busiest underground station in the world. Perhaps my previously mentioned routing faux pas on day one can therefore be excused. State owned, and already subsidized by the French government, a variety of short to longer-term tickets, such as the Carte Hebdomadaire, or Carte Orange (which also include the use of bus services), make travel on the Métro possibly the best value for money available in the city. Ask about them. Along with a reported five million other users every day, I loved the trains – one whiff of that distinctive scent of ‘Eau de Métro’ and you’ll know you’re in Paris.