Getting around Paris by bus
 

We just spent a week in Paris staying in the 7th. We saw all the major sights without once using the metro or a taxi. On the first day we took a bus and were immediately hooked. It's easy to figure out the system, you can see where you are going, it's cheap, and you can get anywhere quite quickly. I would highly recommend the Paris bus system.

Gosh, I'll have to try that some time! Thanks for the report.

Are carnets valid for buses also? I was thinking of both buses and batobus when I visit this fall.

Yes, the <i>ticket 't'</i> that comes in a <i>carnet</i> is valid for one bus leg (no transfers).

If you have a <i>Mobilis</i> pass, you get a reduced rate on the Batobus that might make the pass more cost-effective than single tickets.

Carte Orange too right?

What was the traffic like though?

Which is faster, taking a metro 4 or 5 stops away or covering the same distance on a bus?

One of the nice things about Paris is that a lot of places define their location in relation to the closest metro.

The Paris bus system, called RATP, is as easy to use as London’s, and a little cheaper. You need a bus map: they are free from metro ticket offices and from kiosks of RATP at such places as the Gare du Nord. In fact better get two, ready to lose one. The map marks the metro stations, so if a place defines its location in relation to the closest metro you can find that, and take a bus. The bus map alone is not enough: you should buy also the Michelin Paris plan, and at the same newsagents the events magazine Pariscope. Equipped with these you have Paris in the palm of your hand. Lucky you.

Ben Haines, London
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The bus generally is slower than the metro. However, if the metro requires a change and the bus is direct then the bus could be faster. It also depends on the bus line. Some lines stops are spread apart and the bus has special lanes to travel in whereas others may stop very frequently and travel in the lanes with the rest of the traffic. I am a big fan of the bus as well. Its nice not to have to deal with all the stairs and what not and you can see outside.

Buses are definitely crowded during commuting hours, but otherwise quite enjoyable. You need a street map that shows where the bus stops are located. I bought one of the blue-covered ones with &quot;3 plans&quot;.. larger than pocket-size but fits in daybag pocket fine. Of course, it also has metro overlaid on the street map, and a plain street map, index, etc. Found at typical news kiosk/stand. Be aware that some routes 'loop around' and go out on one street but come back on another street.

We love the bus system--no steps, long walks for correspondance, see the lay of the land. There is one particularly good book that shows the bus lines on the actual street it runs on--L'Indespensible Guide. If you have a Carte Orange, you just hold up the cover--do not put the ticket in the canceller--or it WILL cancel your ticket.

We also enjoyed the buses on our last trip, must to our surprise.

Research Tip: The RATP website’s interactive map is marvelous for bus lines.

Go to this URL: http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cv_en/cartebus.php

Click on any bus line you want to research. A pop-up window will give you an excellent, printable graphic of the line. The graphic shows the beginning and end points, the direction of the bus route, and uses icons to represent the sites one might see along the way. Excellent!

Before our January trip, I copied each bus line graphic that I assumed we MIGHT use to Publisher, reducing the size to fit horizontally on legal paper, two maps per page and I printed on both sides of the paper. I printed out copies for every member of our party. All of us found this private visual guide to be quite useful.

We also requested at the Metro guichet the large map of the system, mainly because Mrs. Charles and I find the small bus route maps to be very hard to read.

Hope this is useful.

Charles

Soon another feature will be added to the great Paris transportation system. The first link of the new tram system will open in the Porte de Versailles district this summer. Eventually this tram system will completely circle the city following the peripherique around the city and connect to all the Metro lines. I often use the buses instead of the Metro as do my Parisien friends. You can put together a pretty good tour of the city using RATP buses instead of the costly tour buses.

Larry J

The RATP maps are really difficult to read because of the small print.
Bring a magnifying glass. Or better still, blow them up and print them before your trip.

It will save a lot of time and frustration.

Guaranteed

The large-format bus/street map mentioned by Ben can be seen on line at

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...eur&amp;fm=pdf

Robespierre, isn't a Mobilis pass a one-day pass?

This is what I'm looking at:
a 5-day Batobus pass at 16 euros

Ah.. I just looked it up - I could get a Mobilis or a Carte Orange for 1 week, and get the 5 day pass for 10 euros instead of 16.

Thanks for the tip!

I learned quickly that the best way to visit Paris was to take the bus because of two reasons: 1. You could see where you are going, and 2. I found bus riders much more willing to help.

I am not sure why that is but perhaps it is because I would have my map out and many times someone would offer to help.

The other thing that astounded me was that often younger people would offere me, a senior citizen, a seat. That rarely happens in the US!!!

Unless you need to go all the way across Paris at rush hour, I would recommend the bus.

The only tricky point is to figure out which lines do NOT operate on Sunday.
But, Paris being Paris, you sometimes find something you did not expect when walking to another place.

I remember the Sunday we were headed to Musee d'Orsay. We had to walk up to Boulevard Raspail from near rue de Rennes and Boulevard Montparnasse.
Had we not done that, we would have missed a super duper farmers' market set up in Boulevard Raspail. We were an hour later than planned getting to the museum, but looking at the market was very interesting.

Yes carnets are valid. Stamp your ticket when you get on. The long, hinged buses with rear doors usually have two stamping machines. One at the front and one at the rear.

In terms of time, I find the bus to be about as fast as the Metro and much more pleasant to ride.

One reason Parisians might be willing to give up their seats is the presence of signs posted on the bus asking people to give up their seats for senior citizens, disabled people, and pregnant women. I noticed those signs on my last trip and wondered whether the signs were needed because people had been reluctant to be helpful before or whether the French standards of civil behavior are very high.

The buses that operate on Sundays and holidays are shown on this map:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...aux&amp;fm=pdf

I'm also a huge fan of the buses versus the metro in Paris. Even with the traffic, I prefer to avoid the long correspondences, hallways, stairways, involved in using the metro. And, there are many more bus stops than metro stations, so the stops are much closer to your destination.

&quot;Nearest Metro Stop&quot; can be very, very deceiving - especially if you take the wrong exit and wind up walking several blocks out of your way compared to a different exit.

Sometimes getting to the &quot;nearest&quot; metro stop involves a transfer that takes longer and involves more walking than another stop.

Or, for Pere LaChaise, for example, it is actually far more preferable to get off the metro or bus at Gambetta and explore going downhill. If you enter across from Pere LaChaise metro, it's uphill all the way.

Another huge advantage of the buses is that you can hop off in an appealing neighborhood, for shopping or lunch or just to explore, and continue on later.

The Paris Mapguide has bus route numbers indicated on the streets and on the margins of each page. Along with this I carry the pocket route guide &quot;Le Bus&quot; which Gretchen mentioned. This tells you the names of the stops and overlays each route on a map of the city.

Plans du Quartier on RATP are handy for locating stops in places served by multiple lines. Opera is a prime example.

Robespierre has posted a very well thought out self tour utilizing several lines.

He also helped me out on one of mine.

From my hotel I walk down to the Bourse and take the 29 to Bastille, or to Place des Vosges, walking down to rue San Antoine.

Then the 69 to the Champ de Mars; the 82 to Porte Maillot; the 73 past Etoile to the Rond Point des Champs-Elysses; the 42 to Opera and then back on the 29.

Nikki, we have signs here too in Vancouver, for designated courtesy seats (usually up at front). They are generally ignored by young and abled who pretend to bury their nose in their book, or pretend to be asleep, thus ignoring anyone who may have a real need for the courtesy seats.