Paris is a walkable city. It is tightly packed, not sprawling, but busy in every way possible. Traffic can be ok or it can be horrible. Metro lines can be disturbed by a variety of issues. Your plans to bike can be foiled by the rain. Having a plan (and a plan B) and being prepared to execute seamlessly will go a long way.
Before you even consider how to get somewhere, remember that rush hour here is around 9 am and 7 pm, when streets are jammed, metros packed, and bike lanes crammed.
Google maps is a friend. It gives options for ways to get there that assume that all goes well — that a taxi or Uber is actually available, that you have your transit ticket and don’t get lost, or that you find bike parking at the end of your ride. For transit, Google maps tells you how often and at what time your bus or metro arrives.
Walk, transit, bike, taxi. In that order, that’s how to best get around. Get your directions and pick your route.
METRO (or bus)
Metro is largely the most efficient way to travel through Paris with 100 caveats. Buses are harder: they are traffic and they don’t circulate as often. I am not a fan of the RER.
Be ready to walk (through metro tunnels to your train or to your connecting train) and stand a lot, so mind your shoes and your shopping bags or luggage. Forget your sense of personal space and know that people will not get out of your way. It will likely be crowded, so respectfully sharpen your elbows and find a spot for yourself. Rush hour makes for very packed metro cars, not a time to be shy.
Tickets: On iPhone 15 and up (and your AppleWatch), there is the option of adding transit tickets to the Apple Wallet (open the wallet, add card, add transit card, find France/Navigo then choose your best option). It makes life very easy.
If not, go down into a metro station and try to purchase a Navigo Easy card. It’s 2 Euros and you can load it from a machine inside the metro station somewhat easily (if there’s no line) or from your phone (little cumbersome and you need good internet).
You can also just get tickets from a machine or at a kiosk. I don’t recommend them because they are small and weirdly shaped and they demagnetize next to cell phones and credit cards.
The first time you get a pass or tickets, get enough so you don’t have to stop again as it can be a major killer of time because of lines and because in some entries of stations there are no tickets sold.
On buses, you can buy tickets after you enter, either by text (there is a number inside the bus) or with cash that you’ll drop in a little contraption next to the driver. Watch for your stop and request one by pushing the button when the times comes.
UPDATE on pricing: “From January 2025, there will be a single ticket for Paris and the Ile-de-France region. The cost of this new Paris Metro ticket 2025 is 2,50€ and will allow you to travel within Paris and places like the Paris Airports, Versailles, Provins, and Disneyland Paris (on RER trains and regional trains).”
BIKE
Parisians use bicycles as a significant and efficient means of transportation for commuting. Many are electric and circulate on the network of protected bikes lanes, plus clearly marked bike lanes (look on the roads), in addition to access to the bus lane. Intimidating as it may seem, cars, buses, motorcycles, and pedestrians too are used to bikes and aware of them.
Renting an electric bike can be easy and a bike commute efficient with a few things to keep in mind. They are heavy and not at all perfectly maintained. Weather can change quickly. It will be a bumpy ride — hello cobblestone streets! Parking a bike can be complicated. Armed with the right expectations, biking through Paris is wonderful.
There are several options: Lime (my go-to), Dott, and Vélib'.
Lime is my go-to electric bike because I am used to it and because I find it convenient enough not to explore other options. They seem available when I need them and they are decently maintained.
Before you decide to go this way, download the app, set up an account, enter all your info. It is possible to look for nearby bikes and also to reserve one. You generally don’t have to because they are everywhere.
Before you scan the QR code and your paid time begins, check the breaks and tires and make sure the cell phone holder is not torn (rubber corners break easily). Adjust your seat, get biking directions to your destination, scan the code, stick your phone in the holder and try to secure your purse, backpack or other belongings in the basket (I put the strap of my purse through the handlebar). Give yourself extra time at the end of a ride for parking in a designated bike spot. Sometimes, if there are too many Lime bikes there, you will be forced to go to a different parking spot and that, of course, takes time.
Dott is Lime’s biggest competitor. The company operates some 9,000 blue electric bikes in the city and offers incentives like 20 minutes free travel with the code PARISJTM for new users and several kinds of passes, which Lime also offers. There is an app, of course, so operate the same as Lime.
Vélib' is the most used by locals. Launched in 2007, it provides over 19,000 bicycles with many docking stations across the city. The blue ones are electric, the green mechanical. The app shows you the rating for each bike available at a docking statuon and when it was last used. They are the most affordable option, particularly with a subscription. Three problems for me: Often, they are poorly maintained, they can only be parked at designed docking stations (if there is a spot available), and the process of getting a subscription/membership is cumbersome and includes a 300 euro deposit. That aside, it is worth exploring here.
There are now at least two motorized scooter rental services: Cooltra and Yego. I have not tried either because I am mortified and also because I think the onboarding process will be complicated, but still cool to see them pop up.
TAXI, UBER, BOLT
TAXI
Easiest of the three with a little preparation. Download a Paris taxi app, set up and account, put all your info in for the time you need a taxi. I use G7. There is also FreeNow (which works in other European cities) and CaoCao (order ahead, sort of private driver service). Enter your billing info and your hotel/apartment address as “home” so you are ready to hit the ground running.
You can schedule a taxi at your desired time. It is possible that no taxis will be available when you need them because of high demand. You can select the kind of taxi you want and the number of people in your party and if your whole system is set up, the end of your ride will be swift as the payment will be automatic from the app.
If all fails and no cabs are available, take to the streets and find one either in a taxi station (around metro stations/roundabouts) or one driving with a green light on.
Taxi is better than Uber and Bolt because it gets access to the bus lane, a potential life saver during rush hour. Otherwise, Uber and Bolt are cheaper.
Believe it or not, the inspiration for Uber was born in Paris where the founders were frustrated with not getting a taxi. It took a while for the service to work well in Paris but it is there. It is generally cheaper than taxis and just as available with the earlier caveat that there is no access to the bus lane, so sometimes slower in traffic. You can schedule one, if you really need to be somewhere by a certain time.
Uber tries to be a little bit of everything to everyone. UberEats is great. The bike service, rental cars, and transit are somewhat useless as you can go straight to the vendor (Lime, Sixt, Navigo).
Cheapest option and most unreliable, but if you have time, it’s worth it. It all looks easy on the app, until you have five drivers in a row cancel your ride and you’re ten minutes into trying to get a ride.
BEWARE OF RANDOM PEDICABS
They exist and they are convenient in a pinch, but ask specifically for how much you will pay. It is often absurdly priced.
RENTAL CAR
Dealing with a car in Paris is a pain, but not impossible. If you are renting it for a road trip, choose a location at the outskirts of town and leave right away. My favorite is here. Voiturier are the valet services and many restaurants, bars, even hair salons and shops have them. Parking apps are common (see photo). Garages, like Indigo, are not easy to navigate, but clean and safe largely.
FROM THE AIRPORT
Train is easy if you don’t have a lot of luggage and are not absolutely destroyed by long hours of travel. Cabs have flat rates - 59 Euros. Uber and Bolt are generally cheaper but sketchier pickup area and longer wait times.
The coolest thing I haven’t tried: MotoTaxi. With just a carry on bag, a motorcycle taxi will bring you into the city in 20 minutes for 80 Euros or so. More here.
Bon voyage!