please help, we are staying on ave george v near the 4 seasons. We bought 3 day metro passes. Now we have no idea how to get anyplace..does anyone understand the metro? Do you take say line 7 to the effel tower and line 7 to notre dame?

Every station has a map. Use your fingers to figure out your route and your transfers. It's pretty straightforward.

Or go to www.ratp.info/informer/anglais and fill in the form.

You are staying at George V, which is on line 1. To figure out your route anywhere, you need to know which direction you want to go. The direction is indicated by the last stop on the metro line. So, say you want to go to the Louvre, you take line 1 towards Chateau de Vincennes. Say you want to go to Eiffel tower (Bir Hakeim metro), you start out on line 1 direction La Defense, then you switch at Charles de Gaulle Etoile, following signs for Line 6 direction Nation. You just always need to know the end station on the line in the direction you want to take it.

Michael thank you, traveled to Italy on a tour we thought we could enjoy Paris on our own. Hope we get around ok

Actually you do not need to know the last station as long as you know the number of the line, although it helps. At the entrance of the last corridor to the platform, all the stops will be listed on a blue and white panel.

Dear joy2172,

I am groaning. Have you thought about buying a guidebook for Paris? Get the Michelin Green Guide Paris. It will cost less than your passes and tell you everything you need to know about Paris.

palatino82 thank you! We now can get to 2 places..we appreciate your help

Metro guide: http://www.atkielski.com/PDF/data/ParMetro.pdf

If, after having been spoon-fed the routes to two places, you still don't understand the principles, I recommend that you take taxis everywhere.

By the way, those schematics of the Métro network don't give you the information you need. This map (available on paper free at Métro stations) does:

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

When in doubt, take the bus, the signs are fairly simple and you can always ask the bus driver.

Metro is a piece of cake after the first trip. Palatino explained it well. My 14 yr old loved being the Metro master!

Also remember that in central Paris it is easier to walk one stop than to take the Metro and that making a connection (correspondence = transfer) often includes a walk equivalent to one stop in distance.

In the outer arrondisments, the distances between stops is longer and those rules no longer hold.

thank you to everyone that helped, it was my first post I had no idea people would post such mean remarks, maybe robespierre and hopscotch never needed help with anything. Anyway everyone else was really nice thanks

I don't know of more than one way to interpret "We now can get to 2 places.." after the navigation tools have been laid out for you, so I don't think my comment was mean-spirited in the slightest. It certainly wasn't intended to be.

If you can only get to destinations after someone has laid out the routes for you, you definitely should take taxis.

If you get a metro map you will find it is very simple to use...........

I used the Streetwise Paris laminated map and it had a decent sized Metro map. But the way that the Streetwise map was useful was that the streets were clearly outlined so I could tell what station I needed to get to or be at. From there I would rely on the giant maps at the metro station.

Like someone said, use your fingers to guide from point A to point B. It's not that hard, but just remember that within stations, sometimes the lines are on different levels (ie three different levels of subways), that was probably a bit confusing at first, but just get out there and explore, it's not that scary and just be sure to leave enough time. I think it's a great way to get around town. And even from the airports into the city.

Sorry a few folks jumped on you; you'll understand the comments once you're there because the Paris Metro is about the easiest to understand mode of public transportation there is. Just find your stop, and figure out how to get from where you are to that stop. It's color coded. Have faith in yourself...you'll find it to be a piece of cake.

Mademoiselle, Yes It does sound easier than I thought, the metro guides in the back of some of the guide books looked scary, but people make it sound ok that really eases my mind. You should check out anthonyga's response hes funny! thanks again

and if you find you're going the wrong way? Well, get off and make sure you go the other way! Nothing to it...easy as pie...
Paris is a GREAT City to walk in too...
Are you there now? Is that it?