Access to Paris Metro Stations
 

My wife and I are going to spend a week in Paris in October. We would like to use the metro, but I am concerned about the number of steps to access the trains. We are in our seventies and a lot of steps could be more than we want to attempt. Any help with what can we expect?

Use the bus system. The metro can have a lot of steps and hallways when connecting from one line to another.

I agree - the buses will generally be MUCH easier than the metro if one has any sort of mobility issues. It's not just the steps - many stations have very long walks to or between trains.

And yet another vote for the buses. We LOVE them, and they often get you door to door. The steps and correspondances in the metro can be absolutely KILLING to my knees!! Get a Carte Orange/Navigo card if your dates fit it pretty well. But the carnet transportation tickets now allow bus transfers so it isn't quite as important.

Here's another huge recommendation for the buses.

The metro is full of stairs and long hallways. Some stations have escalators, which may or may not be operating at any given time, but often several double flights of stairs are involved to get out of the station.

also 70 and with bad feet that finally forced me to learn the bus system. Wish I'd done it years ago, so much more enjoyable than the metro.

You can even map out some of the places you want to visit at http://www.ratp.info/informer/anglais/index.php

Put in your starting address, and the place you want to go, and chose bus !

The metro is changing little by little. For example, the Bir Hakeim station which is very much used by those visiting the Eiffel Tower has just reopened with elevators that it did not have before.

Still, in any station, you just never know what will be required to get to the street. And, it's easy to miss elevators and escalators, even if you're looking for them.

That is sort of like saying "it's hard to find bus stops," isn't it?

If someone can find bus stop signs, they can also find escalator and elevator signs, which use the normal interational icons.

I am yet to see a Metro station I thought was user friendly!

I, too, am in my seventies and in Paris I found that bus riders were a different breed. More than once someone younger than I offered me a seat. I usually refused but I appreciated the offer.

Another aspect of bus riders is that they seem willing to offer help even when they do not speak English!!

I remember once I was tracking the stop on my map so I would know when we were approaching out stop at Raspail and Montparnasse. I got help even though I really did not need it. I accepted it, however, and thanked my benefactor as best I could with my very limited French.

So yes, I prefer the bus. I can see where I am going!!

I have never thought it was easy to find elevators in the métro, especially in the bigger stations.

The bus routes are easy, as is finding the stops. I love riding the buses in Paris! In fact, one of my favorite things to do if I have no plans for a day in Paris is to get on a bus I've never been on before and ride it to its end and get out and take a look-see. Had some wonderful travel experiences doing that.

Paris metro and its stations are NOT easy for anyone with any sort of physical limitation. Yes, there are a few mores stations that are getting elevators to the street level, but the bigger issue is the sometimes considerable walking distances and stairs required to get from the platform to the elevator or to a connection. I never realized just how much an issue this is until traveling with my slightly mobility limited mother. After the first day we started to ride the buses and never looked back.

kerouac: even if EVERY metro station had working escalators/lifts at all times - the long walks to the trains and transfers between lines would still make most stations difficult for many people . . . . . . .

Dsody,

Another vote for the bus. The seats were more comfortable, and the bus was cleaner, and the view was better.

Pick up a bus map at any metro station, or use the online map at
http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cartebus.php

Our Carte Orange also worked on the bus.

The bus drivers were friendly and helpful.

I initally used Metro, but after what seemed like endless stairs, a mile long walk under the Montparnasse to change trains, I reconsidered and carefully studied the bus map. Look at it before you arrive, and take Avalon's recommendation to plot out your bus routes.

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for asking this question. My husband had knee replacement surgery, and this information will help for sure.

Another thing I really like about most buses in Paris is the display that tells you what stop you are approaching ! Haven't missed a stop I wanted yet.

I like the buses, too, but some of you are not being fair about the amount of walking that the metro requires. Sometimes <b>a lot</b> of walking is required in the main transfer stations (Ch&acirc;telet, Montparnasse, R&eacute;publique, etc.). However, it should be pointed out that the vast majority of metro stations in Paris are <b>simple</b> stations with no transfer and therefore absolutely no long corridors -- just a simple set of steps going down to the station.

I would say that metro line 1 is probably the easiest one for people who don't like stairs. It was built using the open trench system, meaning that it is directly under the roadway and never any deeper than that.

I think that it is wonderful that tourists have all the time they need to wait for buses and ride through Paris at a leisurely pace. However, on a cold and/or rainy day, the bus suddenly becomes much less popular.

Avalon.....as you mentined the display in the bus showing the up-coming stop was a great value to me also. I just returned from a month in Paris and always ride the buses all over. I did not see one display on any of the buses I rode and am thinking they have been replaced by the recording now heard announcing the next stop. I also noticed that more bus stops now have the time display for the next bus arriving. Last year I saw only a few installed but every stop I was at this year had one.

Has anyone else noticed the ticker-tape display is gone off the buses ?

Thanks everyone for the info. The buses sound like our best choice if I can just figure them out on the RATP web site. So far it has not been easy for me to retrieve the info on bus stops and lines. I will keep trying.

Reading this thread has me thinking I need to get out of my subway frame-of-mind and try out the bus in Paris. Although kerouac has reminded me why I hate taking buses here at home:

&gt;&gt;&gt;I think that it is wonderful that tourists have all the time they need to wait for buses and ride through Paris at a leisurely pace&lt;&lt;&lt;

Guess I'm type A, I'd rather be walking up a flight of stairs or through a transfer station than standing around waiting for a bus or getting stuck in traffic (I like to keep moving because it feels like I'm getting to where I want to be, I hate getting &quot;stuck&quot;)

I would like to try out the bus, though, just to see what it's like. So my question is, is it a good idea to avoid the bus during rush hour? Do the buses get stuck in traffic/delayed very often? And should buses be avoided on Sundays due to reduced service?

Sorry to take this thread off topic-I don't have any mobility issues, and I can see that the bus would be the better way to go for many people. I'm just wondering if in Paris, one is more likely to be held up by the bus than the metro.

Hi dsody, did you see the link like_2travel posted? You can click on the stops and it tells you all the lines that stop there. And the lines on the map have all the bus numbers than run along that route.

&quot;But the carnet transportation tickets now allow bus transfers so it isn't quite as important.&quot; Does this mean bus to bus or bus to metro ?

I just started to use the buses on my last trip, and I really preferred them to the Metro. However, while I found leaving our area (the 17th near Clichy) very easy with tons of buses, finding our way back wasn't quite so simple. Somehow we had a difficult time locating the stops....

One of my favorite things about riding the bus is seeing differnt sights -- one night the bus went around a bend, and there was the Moulin Rouge all lit up right in front of me! I don't think I would have ever made this a destination, but I must say I enjoyed seeing it all aglow -- like a postcard!

We are staying near Cambronne (Metro 6 and Bus 80) in April, and from the looks of the schedule, we aren't going to have many destinations that don't require at least one transfer. We can walk a few more minutes and will have access to Metro 6, 8 or 10, but just the same 80 bus (I think).

I was thinking of taking the Metro to Gare Montparnasse and from there getting the bus to where ever... I know the station is HUGE. Good idea/bad idea? Any thoughts?

kerouac - You hit on one of the reasons why it can be dicey for travelers with a mobility impairment to use the metro system - there are wide differences in making connections and unless one is intimately familiar with each station - as most visitors are not - it is impossible to predict how much walking or stair climbing is required on a given journey. Even if the origin and destination are relatively easy, there could well be a challenging connection en route.
My experience traveling with a mobility limited companion underscored that it is not easy for all.
I wonder if anyone has thought about a site that would tell potential passengers about the walk/stairs required by a specified itinerary - sure would be helpful? Or does that info already exist somewhere?

Apres Londee......the right lane is dedicated for ONLY buses and taxis do use it also. Sometimes if there is a delivery being made in that dedicated lane, the bus driver will turn out into the regular lanes of traffic but he immediaeley turns back into his own lane. The bus moves quickly by stalled traffic.

I did not find it a problem during busier times....you just might have to stand.

You must check your route for Sunday service........some buses do not run on Sundays. Those that do just are not as frequent. At no time in my month there from this mid Feb to mid March did I wait any longer than 10 minutes or so for a bus. Great service.

I used the Metro once back in the late 1960`s and since then ONLY travel by bus when in Paris. London too.

You might want to pick up the small navy blue booklet called &quot;Le Bus Parisien&quot; available at bookstores and some newstands. The department store BHV on Rue Rivoli sells it for 5.50 Euros.

Bus 38 (from Gare de Nord where Eurostar comes in) even have their own website.

I LOVE the bus !

Goldwynn, we returned from 3 weeks in Paris 3 months ago and I did notice some buses had the audio announcements rather than the visual display. Either is fine with me. I did notice that some of the bus shelters had a time display for upcoming buses. They were even fairly accurate.

In London last week we actually had a driver that called out each stop..I hadn't heard of that in yeaars.

Thanks goldwynn. I didn't realize there was a dedicated bus lane. I'm going to have to remember to give the bus a try next month.

Hi D,

You do not indicate that you are handicapped.

We took my mother to Paris when she was 87.

Here is how she negotiated the metro:

Walk slowly.

Rest when necessary.

Don't worry about missing trains, they run very frequently.

Never skip a chance to use the toilet.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Definitely take the bus. There may be a lift or escalators; usually there's not. I won't soon forget arriving at Abbesses Metro to find that particular lift out of order and having to climb an interminable circular staircase to get to the street - neither will the two tourists we passed who had to drag their enormous suitcases up step by step.

That's why they always announce in the metro trains ahead of time when the elevators at Abbesses or Lamarck-Caulaincourt are out of service -- so that people can change to the other station if necessary. Unfortunately, the announcements are only made in French.

Actually, although my parents suffered when they would come to Paris into their 80's, especially coming from a flat place like Florida, they were always extremely proud of what good shape they were in by the time they went home. Of course, this wasn't just the stairs in the metro but also the three flights up to my apartment.

I did take them on the bus from time to time, but they were more comfortable using the metro -- less waiting, more chance of getting a seat, faster to get across town.

&quot;But the carnet transportation tickets now allow bus transfers so it isn't quite as important.&quot;

“Does this mean bus to bus or bus to metro?”

Felschurch, the new ticket sold singly or in carnets allows transfers from one bus line to another, as long as you make your last boarding with one hour and a half from first boarding. However, the tickets sold onboard by the bus drivers do not allow connections.

http://tinyurl.com/29r4pc