As others have stated, at the Metro stop, pick the end point of the line, depending on which direction you want to go. Any station on that line will have those two choices of direction (except at end of course).

When you take the walkway to that platform of the line, at the top of the stairs you will see the list of stops that the train coming to that platform will take you, starting at the current one, followed in order by the next.

It is simple, trust me. The complexity I add to my trips on the metro is trying to decide what line to take to avoid transfers at certain stations,since it can be along walk from one line's platform to another's.

Ask the questions now, but as a suggestion don't just get specific directions anywhere....fish or teach to fish

Michel, great response, thank you.

A typical major tourist site will have a bunch of metro stations that will work, with some requiring more or less walking. For example, we got off at Alma Marceau on Line 9 to go to the Eiffel Tower. We had a beautiful walk through the 8th, the 16th and across the Pont d'Alma bridge. Iena Trocadero on Line 9 would have worked too - the walk would just have been different. A bunch of other stations that work for the Eiffel Tower have already been mentioned.

Joy this will help, once you know were you are going,
write down the Number and code color of the Metro line you are taking and the name of the exit you want, and the direccion the train is going,
so when you walk in the station, you look for your line, and then for the correct direction.

The Metro in Paris is VERY WELL MARKED you cannot go wrong if you READ the signs. READ, and READ them.

If you are taking more than one line and have to change lines, write of course everything, when you are exiting the train look for the sign CORRESPONDENCE, this mean changing of lines, sometimes in one station the Correspondence sign leads you to more than one other line that you could take. Again READ and choose the Line you need, that is why is good to have it written.
Inside the wagon there are signs showing all the stations so you could know when yours is coming ahead of time.
Of course if you wish you can double check with your map that you are in the right train by reading the names of the stations through the windows. But as I said reading the signs you can go wrong.

Welcome to the Fodor's message boards!

I'd grab the DK Eyewitness Guide to Paris. I really like the way information is broken down in a way that isn't overwhelming.

Occassionally its hard to understand "tone" in a message delivered via the internet so stick around and ignore condescention. It isn't usually the intention of the poster.

By the Paris Plan by Arrondissement. It tells you where the streets by number starts and ends and at which metro stops

Hi...

Reading this thread made me wonder...have you ever had any experience on any subway?

While the Metro is very easy in general, it would probably be quite intimidating for someone who had not had previous subway experience.

Sometimes it's easy for veterans to forget that -- but let's be tolerant of the veterans, too.

In any event, good luck, and remember, once you're inside the Metro, you may get lost, but you'll never have to pay twice. :-)

Just keep checking the maps and remember -- note the direction of the line, so you don't hop on the wrong-way train.

Chin up.

SS

Dear joy2172,

I reject your mean dismiss of my constructive advisory. Have fun.

For someone who has never taken a metro (I live in NYC) Paris Metro might be hard, but well worth learning. You can get everywhere very quickly, more quickly than a cab. The one trick is that you need to figure out the end-point of the route, to know which direction to go. Many signs in the stations themselves list all the stops in both direction. The "One" line will take you to many central places very easily, and it will be easy to branch out from there.

I think the Paris Metro is actually easier than the NYC subway system (I live in NYC). The Metro is clearly marked, so all you need to do is figure out which stop is closest to where you want to be, find out the line that goes there, and follow the signs. As previous posters have said, once you reach the correct line, there will be two signs - follow the sign with your stop on it.

Jeffrey-ssandr, You are correct..Not a subway person (don't even like the sandwiches) We travel in the US and a little in the caribbean, last year was our first European vacation and as I mentioned it was a tour (moving every 2 days, up at 5, bags ouside the door at 5:30 on the bus at 6) we loved Italy but the tour didn't include enough time to explore on our own. My husband suprised me with "Paris in the springtime" but trying to figure out how to get from one place to the next had me a little nervous. I feel much more confident now. First post and all it was very interesting all and all people were very helpful and I really appreciate it! Next year we want to rent a sail boat and tour the Greek Isles. If I had people suprised with my concern with the paris metro, wait until I try to navigate the Greek Isles!! Thank you everyone

You absolutely need to buy Rick Steeve's Paris guidebook. For a novice traveller who is worried about logistics, he will explicitly walk you through things like using the metro. Since your lodging is taken care of, you needn't consult his hotel reccommendations (which I think are a little suspect anyway), but the practical information he provides is aimed at travelers like you, and intended to give you the information you need to feel confident on your trip. Rick's style of travel isn't for everyone, but there are some subjects on which he is tough to beat.

A question for the Paris Metro savvy:

My initial trip to Paris will have Kleber as the closest Metro station. It appears that much of my Metro travel will take me north of Kleber (towards the Arc de Triomphe) and thus making a connection at Charles de Gaulle - Etoile.

Am I interpreting this correctly and if so, would it be more convenient (i.e. time, distance, safety) just to walk to Etoile directly and board the Metro there for destinations that ultimately take me in that direction.

Thanks in advance...

Kléber is a super short distance from CDG-Etoile. Unless it is pouring rain, walking is the best solution.

Just back from Paris and found the metro to be very easy. Trains run every couple of minutes. As another Fodorite said, pay attention to the stops at either end of the line so you'll be going in the right direction!

Do NOT worry about the Metro, it is sooooooooo easy. Funny, this was my third trip to Paris but the first time I used the Metro. Our hotel had the neatest map. Showed all the metro and RER stations. Had a key code..hard to explain but very easy to use. I never had the slightest idea of what the line numbers were, it didn't matter. The lines were all color coded, you could see the color of the line you needed, could see if you had to change lines and at what stations. We used the last stop on the line in the direction we wanted to go and thats how they are marked in the stations, and it was easy as pie. I will say that on the first trip as we decended into the "depths", the entrance looked like a huge mouth just waiting to swallow us up!!!!!! LOL After the second trip that involved a line change, we "high fived" each other when we popped out of the ground exactly where we wanted to be. It is NOT difficult. I had a harder time finding the train to Versailles at the Montparnasse station, but...that's another show.

Not only that - but you don't <i>actually</i> even have to know which Direction to go, because in the station there will be signs saying

<b>Direction Something -&gt;</b>
Station A
Station B
etc.

<b>&lt;- Direction Whatever</b>
Station C
Station D
etc.

As long as you know that your destination is Station D, you can find the correct platform easily by following the arrows. When you get to the platform, there will usually be another <b>Direction Whatever</b> sign across the tracks from you.

joy2172, I'll be staying at Hotel Prince de Galles on George v in the beginning of July - is that where you are? I haven't found any comments about it here and I'd like to know what people think of it.

We just returned from Paris and within a day of using the metro had no problem finding our way around. The lady at the information desk was very kind and helped us buy our carnets and the janitor around the corner helped to direct us! After that it was very simple. We live in a small city and do not have a subway system so this was new to us. But truly it is as easy as the previous poster say it is! Just keep a small metro map with you to plan your trip out prior to getting to the metro. Larger maps are in every station and easy to understand. Good luck!

Haven't posted this in a while: if you have a PDA or SmartPhone, you can download an awesome navigation program for subway and bus systems in several hundred cities all over the world. It's free.

nanika.net/metro