We have just taken a few taxis in paris and the one thing i wanted to share in case it is of use to anyone trying to make a decision is the following:

In general i found them reasonable and the perfect way to get to our restaurants when we weren´t sure how far the busstop was from the entrance. the minimum ride is 5.20 euros, I think.

If you hail a taxi on the street or go to a taxi stand, the meter starts at 2.20.

If your hotel or you call a taxi to come immediately it will have about 4-6 euros on meter.

However, if you RESERVE a taxi for a definite time.. it will arrive with about 8-9 euros on it.

JFYI

Excellent information, thank you. Do you have an estimate on how much you spent during your stay (and how long was that?). Just wondering for comparison to going metro/bus.

I'm not convinced a direct comparison is necessary. Suffice it to say that you can pay a maximum of €5.50 a day¹ for transport on RATP services. That's equal to the minimum one cab ride from anywhere to anywhere else will cost.

¹ That's for <i>Mobilis</i> cards. If you buy a <i>Carte Orange</i>, the maximum is &euro;16 for 7 days.

we bought packs of ten &quot;carnets&quot; (metro/bus tickets) that cost 10.90 euros for ten.

we only took the bus due to mobility issues with my mom. There is a good map on back of metro map. ask for it at any metro station (where you must buy the tickets.)

the airport taxi was 43 euros to orly from the louvre/comedie francaise area, but we had gotten stuck in a horrible accident traffic jam, PLUS the hotel had RESERVED the taxi.

most taxis were about 6-8 euros.
blvd haussman to geroges V.
or Tour montparnasse back to louvre area hotel.

since we had no choice, it was well worth the extra money. only the airport ride was uneccesarily higher than we had planned. the shuttle would have been 17 euros each.

we were there three nights.used 18 carents (9 each), and probably took 5 taxis, including the airport one.

the busses run very late and are excellent and frequent. if you are willing to walk two/three blocks, you can most always find a bus that will drop you within two blocks or so of your hotel .

robespierre, a knowledgeable poster here, has given precise ways to use the websites and print out large print maps for your trip.
click on his name.

Paris cabs drop the flag when they start moving which explains why there is already money on the meter when you call one telephonically.

There are certainly times, and places, when a cab is worth every penny and much more convenient than taking public transport otherwise they would probably be out of business.

Thanks. I was thinking after late dinners a cab would be nice. 6-8 euros would be affordable for us, 20 euros would not. Again, lincasanova, thank you for posting this information. And Robespierre, thank you too, I am using your tinyurl site information to get us from Orly to our apartment rental.

of course it all depends on where you are, and going to. our hotel was so central that we were never too horribly far from it.

It is only the reserved taxi that seemd to have a supplement (apart from the logical banner drop when he started coming) on it.

i am not complaining, just warning people, since our hotel clerk told me it was not much more expensive than hailing one in front.

however, that just wasn´t the case.. so.. i like to be informed.. and not have these surprises, no matter how logical they are.

the very nice taxi driver explained this all to me when i was surprised to see 9 euros on the meter. i asked him where the heck he had come from!

i think taxis are great, and we had very nice drivers, except one total pr... who was annoyed my mother was trying to close her window with the electric button. he started yelling at her that &quot;he would do it, MADAME&quot;!

enjoy!

ttt. thanks.