I've always used the metro in Paris, mainly because It's usually raining when I'm there. This year, we are going in June, so I thought it might be nice to use the bus in order to see more. Can anyone give me an overview of how it works? For example, I know for the subway, to look at the last stop of where I'm going so that I know which one to get on. Are the buses the same way?

Also, does anyone have an app for the bus system that they can recommend?

Thanks everyone.

www.ratp.fr

Pop into one of the train station information kiosks and pick up a bus map of Paris - showing the relatively few bus lines that cross town - few at least IME compared to places like London.

London being 10 times bigger than Paris, that is not suprising.

To use bus, you use the same ticket as for the metro. So if you don't like bus, you won't lose money.

If you take bus the morning, you will be not really comfortable, because people go at work and the buses are crowded. From the end of morning to around 4pm, this is rather quiet, you can take a seat. After, people come back at home, so it's crowded.

Personally I always have prefered take the metro, because whatever the moment of the day, it will be never as crowded as buses could be sometimes. And it's faster.

During my last visit to Paris a few years ago with my mother, it was easier for her to use the busses than the Metro (fewer stairs), so we ventured on them for the first time. The bus routes are numbered and if you get a good map, you should be able to navigate fairly easily. What I liked was that inside the bus, the next stops were displayed on a digital scroll and announced over the PA. Sure, it was slower than the Metro sometimes, but the view is better! No reason not to give them a try.

Pick up Metro map #2 at a Metro station, which shows all the bus routes & stops. The bus-stops/kiosks indicate which buses stop there. For busy streets, you might see 2-3 stops one right after another - so look for your bus number above the bus-stop. At these stops, there is a map that show the other stops in the immediate area. This is useful if you have to change buses and the "new" bus doesn't stop at the same exact place the old one did.

We almost never take the metro - you can see more from a bus. Many times I've put together a zig-zag or circular route through Paris using connecting buses. This allows us to see areas in Paris that we might not see otherwise. If something looks interesting from the bus - we'll get off & explore.

Like emma stated - early morning buses tend to be crowded and also when school gets out.

Stu Dudley

Because London´s Tube has such very limited city coverage, London´s needs a lot of bus lines. The Paris métro has stations in every corner of the city and is very convenient. The bus lines basically supplement Paris´ much more extensive métro network.

However, I ride the buses often, particularly in warmer months. When I need to be somewhere at a specific time, the buses are probably not the best choice because of the unpredictability of frequencies and surface traffic. Here are a few rules about riding the buses in Paris:

1. When waiting for a bus at a designated stop, you must signal that you want to be picked up. Buses will not automatically stop at all designated bus stop.

2. Most bus shelters have an electronic board indicating the estimated arrival time of each bus scheduled to stop there.

3. Boarding is done in the front, or the front and middle on double length buses (called <i>boas</i> by the Parisians. On the double length buses, at the middle door there is a green button that you must push to open the door for boarding (assuming it does not otherwise open).

4. No matter what type of ticket or pass you are using, you must validate it when boarding. The driver confirms you have a good ticket by the sound the kiosk makes as you validate.

5. Customarily, when boarding one acknowledges the driver by saying <i>bonjour</i> or <i>bonsoir</i>.

6. After boarding, do not stand at the first available open spot. Please move toward the back of the bus allowing others to board behind you.

7. Generally, Parisians are very courteous about giving their seats to the elderly or mothers carrying children.

8. Route maps are displayed within the bus for easy reference. There is also at least one electronic sign displaying route information in real time.

9. Indicate your desire to disembark at the next stop by pressing one of the many red buttons in the passenger cabin. When a stop request has been made, a red lettered sign will illuminate at either end of the bus with the words <i>Arrêt Demandé</i>.

10. Disembarking is done at the rear of the bus.
_____

Fare schedules

1. Generally one ticket t+ will take you anywhere on the bus during normal hours. Bus route maps do not indicate zones as do the métro/RER maps.

2. There are special buses or tramways which require special ticketing. These are:

a. The night or Noctilien buses
b. The Roissybus, Orlybus, CDGVAL or other airport buses such as the 299, 350, and the 351.

3. The ticket t+ costs 1.70€ or ten for 13.70€. They may be shared and once purchased they never expire.

4. One ticket t+ may be used to make as many connections, in a single direction, as necessary limited to a 90 minute validity period.

5. A validated ticket t+ may not be used to connect to or re-board a bus having the same line number as the bus first used. Connections cannot be made to a bus traveling in the opposite direction.

6. Bus connections to the Métro or to the RER are not permitted. Bus to bus or bus to tramway or bus to funicular connections are allowed.

7. A single ride ticket may be purchased from the driver for 2€. Tickets so purchase are not valid for connecting purposes, they are single use only.

For more information (in the event I have forgotten something) visit this website:

www.ratp.fr

It's pretty much just like a bus in any city as to how you use it. Since you are at the bus stop for a particular bus, you don't have the issue as when you enter a metro station and have to look at the sign for the end point to figure out which side of the quai to get to. If you are at a bus stop, you must know where the bus is going and why you are taking it. They have numbers on the buses for their lines, on the top front,just like in most cities. YOu get on the one you want that you know where it is going. As with any bus, when in it, you have to pay attention to the stops so you know when to get out.

I never go to a bus stop without knowing what bus I want, but the bus stops do have maps on them, also, showing the various bus lines that stop there and their routes.

It sounds like you have never taken a bus in any city anywhere if you don't know how to find the one you want. YOu have to look at maps or online for the route you want.

London being 10 times bigger than Paris, that is not suprising>

Well yes but I think due to the lack of a high-speed metro (RER) network like Paris has more folks from the outlying areas of central London take the bus - and it is also cheaper whereas in Paris it used to be buses could be more expensive as unlike metro you may need a separate ticket if changing, etc - I suppose that has changed.

But Londoners I think, due to a terribly derelict metro system lacking an RER-type network, tend to hop on buses more than in Paris - and the Paris metro has the reputation of having a metro station about every 400 meters or so - Tube stations are farther apart, etc.

And for the tourist double-deckers are just fun to ride in London.

Like Stu Dudley, we prefer the bus because you can see the city.

Sasastro's advice is comprehensive and correct. Especially the part about greeting the driver.

I usually agree with Christina, but her statement that riding the bus in Paris is pretty muck like riding the bus in any other large city does not agree with my experience riding the bus in Boston, Chicago, LA, New York, or Miami. Since the poster seems to be coming from North America, this is relevant. The process in Paris is indeed much like that in Rome and close to that in London.

>>unlike metro you may need a separate ticket if changing, etc - I suppose that has changed.<<

Yep - it changed several years ago. Last year on our circular "route" through Paris, we used about 3-4 buses and one ticket per person.

Stu Dudley

You do have to know which direction the bus is going when you are at the bus stop. Sometimes the bus going the other way is just across the street, and sometimes not. The end point is marked on the front of the bus, so it is good to know where your bus is ending up, just as you have to do for the metro.

Bookmarking

Nikki's point about "directional" stops is a good one.

It is easy some places like the Louvre, where you just cross the street to get a bus in the opposite direction.

In other places, one way streets mean you have to walk to a parallel street that goes in the direction you want.

I have the greatest difficulty in the great "Places" -- Place de lOpera, Place d'Itallie, Place Denfert-Rochereau. That's where I am happy to have a paper bus guide.

>>It is easy some places like the Louvre, where you just cross the street to get a bus in the opposite direction.<<

Around the Louvre (except to the west) all streets are one-way streets. The Rue de Rivoli on the north side is one-way heading west, and you will need to go to the south side of the Louvre or 1 block north to catch buses headed east. Even on the west side of the Louvre, only 2 of the 6 buses can be caught across the street.

Stu Dudley

Correct. That's why I mentioned the procedure for one way streets.

Useful links for Paris public transportation:

http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/carteidf.php?lang=uk

http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ra...herche-avancee

You can print out bus route maps using this link. Just replace the number 69 with another bus route number.:

http://www.ratp.fr/informer/pdf/orie...loc=bus_paris/

You will see on the bus route maps that there are small directional arrows along the route that show the direction the bus is headed.