by Wendy
Here are a few transportation tips to consider when planning your visit to Paris.

Transportation to/from Charles de Gaulle Airport – Look into the Roissy bus. I’ve taken a train, taxi and shuttle before, but thought the bus option was super easy and efficient, especially if you pack light. The Roissy bus stop right outside the airport terminal was not hard to find, even in our jet lagged state. There is a kiosk nearby which sells tickets (about 12 euros). The Roissy bus dropped us off near the Opera Metro, and then we walked to our hotel. That’s the catch: the bus only goes to this stop and then back to CDG airport. If you are staying in a different neighborhood, you would need to plan a second mode of transport, such as Metro. During our ride, the bus was not crowded and only took about 45 minutes, but it was early on a Sunday morning.

Also easy was the Uber that my brother-in-law booked on his mobile phone for our return trip to CDG. I think it was cost-efficient for the 4 of us and it was nice not to have to drag our luggage several blocks to the bus stop.

Metro navigation – If we can figure it out, you can too. The map is massive, so you may want to do a little research to familiarize yourself with the stops closest to your hotel and sites you want to visit. After you know which stop you need, note the color and last stop – this will be the name of the Metro line you need. The corridors inside the Metro can be very long and twisty, especially when multiple lines cross at a particular station, but there are lots of signs to help you. Sometimes escalators and elevators seem very scarce, and it can get crowded. Relax, take your time, don’t get overwhelmed, keep track of your wallets and purses.

We spent some time looking for the Auber RER train station for our day trip to Disneyland Paris. It looked very close to the Opera Metro station – we didn’t realize that it was essentially the same station, accessed through underground tunnels. Getting to Disneyland Paris was very straightforward, and trains seem to run pretty frequently. The RER train can also be used for shorter journeys within the city, such as to the Arc de Triomphe.

Navigo Decouverte – This is a card that tourists can buy and reload week to week for unlimited Metro rides within the city. It’s valid starting on a Monday through Sunday, so you’ll need to consider the dates you’ll be in Paris and how often you’ll use public transportation to determine whether it is a good deal. I read about the card online and wanted to give it a try, as it’s similar to the London Oyster card and DC’s Metro Smartrip card, which I love.

It costs 5 euros for the actual Navigo Decouverte card, and about 22 euros for a week’s use. You’ll need a tiny headshot (3 cm tall by 2.5 cm wide), so I just cut an old photograph to these measurements before I left home to keep things simple. I paid cash to avoid any credit card confusion; I didn’t want it to automatically load money for subsequent weeks. Apparently the cards are gaining popularity with tourists, and some folks suspect the terms of the deal could change in the future. When I bought mine at a Metro station near Notre Dame (I think it was St. Michel), the agent said he only had one left.

The verdict? So convenient. I liked not having to mess with paper tickets – buying them before each journey and then keeping track of them for exiting. After Sunny noticed other women scanning their purse (instead of taking the Navigo Decouverte card out of the purse to scan), it got even easier. I was able to use the card for the RER trip to and from Disneyland Paris, and I got a discount on a Batobus ticket. I was under the impression that it included Roissy bus, but three different people told me it did not (I didn’t try since we ended up taking an Uber back to CDG).

Bikes – Paris has a popular bike sharing system called Velib. Lots of people love it, and it does look fun…but 1) I am wary of how well my poor cycling skills would do in city traffic and 2) I really love the freedom of walking and being able to stop and look at this or that, pop in a store or grab a drink on a whim. So I can’t speak to Velib, or the cool scooters and mopeds that zip around Paris with their helmeted drivers.

Boats – A boat ride on the Seine is a must-do in my opinion, as it offers such a pretty view of the city. There are companies offering different options with various amenities to choose from. During the June trip, we took Batobus, which allows you to hop on/hop off at locations along the river in Paris. The cheapest pass was good for a whole day (17 euros for adults, 8 euros for kids over 3 years) and the price seemed in line with some of the other cruises. We were really using Batobus for scenic purposes but it was interesting to learn that you could use it as a shuttle around the city (though it did take several slow minutes at each stop for people to disembark/board).

Whatever your preferred method of transporation, use your street/water smarts – and enjoy your experience in one of the world’s most beautiful cities.