I've been to Paris before and always used the metro. Now I'm traveling with someone who has some physical problems and needs to limit his walking. We're staying on rue Jacob near the Saint Germain church. Any suggestions on best routes around the city (to Opera, Haussman, Napoleon's tomb, Tour Eiffel,D'Orsay and Louvre, etc. and just how to use the bus system? Do I present my ticket and get it punched when I board? Do I pull something to indicate when I want to get off? Any help would be appreciated.

Here's a link for the bus map. <BR>http://www.paris.org/Metro/gifs/bus.map.jpg <BR> <BR>Paris Buses <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>Paris bus routes are numbered, and begin operation at 06h30. The last bus usually leaves the terminal between 20h30 and 21h30, but a few lines run until half past midnight, as indicated by signs at the bus stops. There are also night buses, called Noctambus, which operate hourly between Châtelet and the main gates of Paris from 01h to 05h. The night routes are labeled with letters rather than numbers. <BR>Maps of the bus routes can be found in bus shelters, inside the buses, and online. Most shelters display the name of the stop to help you keep track of where you are. If only a few people are waiting for the bus, signal the driver to stop. <BR> <BR>A special bus called Montmartrobus, bus line number 64, circulates in the Montmartre district. Its fare is the same as other buses. <BR> <BR>The Montmartre funicular railway travels up and down the hill to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur, each direction requiring one ticket. <BR> <BR>Fare Information <BR> <BR> <BR>Single tickets are 8 francs and can be purchased from bus drivers, but a booklet of ten, called a carnet (kar-nay), offers a good savings at 55 francs. They are available at subway stations, some bus terminals, and registered retailers, usually tobacconists and bookshops, displaying the RATP sign. <BR>You need only one ticket to use the métro but you may need several tickets on buses depending on the number of fare stages you ride; one ticket will take you to the end of the bus line. Two tickets will take you anywhere inside the city. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps. <BR> <BR>

The url given above is the same one I used 3 years ago to start thinking about the Paris bus system. Let me suggest that you get a good, detailed map of Paris (Michelin makes a good huge one and good smaller one, map #7)Until you can get your hands on a real bus route map, you can trace bus routes on the Michelin maps. I did that for several major destinations and found that it served one major purpose: I learned Paris streets. When I got there, I found that most of the major bus stop had a colored map posted on the back of the shelter kiosk. I soon learned to read those because I already knew the general layout. <BR>After a little sampling, we decided that the bus was preferable to the Metro. <BR>First, we did not have to descend into those caverns and walk long tunnels and go up and down endless steps. Second, we could see where we were going because we were above ground. Third, we found that the chances of someone talking to you are much better on the bus. The first day we rode it, an elderly French gentleman offered us assistance to get to where we were going. And on other occasions we had offers of assistance. <BR>The fact that the stops have names helps and you can pick out on a map where you are and prepare to get off at your stop. <BR>Now that I know the area along Boulevard Montparnasse fairly well, I can pick out my stop by glancing at the signs, even at night. But at first it was a little daunting. <BR>I think you will be able to handle the bus riding find. <BR>A carnet of tickets can be purchased at the Metro stations for 58 francs, up from 55 last summer. As you board the bus you must validate your ticket by sticking it in a little machine. Others will be doing it, so just follow their lead. Some of the French guides that have been put into English say that you should composte your ticket. So find the little ticket composter and composte your ticket.

Thank you Kathy and Bob for all the information!

Buses use the same tickets as the metro. You put them in a little machine behind the driver to punch them. If you have a Carte Orange you just show it to the driver - don't punch that ticket. The best bus map was the Grand Plan de Paris available from any metro cashier but I had trouble getting it in Feb - they may have discontinued it. There's a book called "The Paris Mapguide" which shows all the bus routes. This is frokm my Guide to Paris: <BR>"Here's my "Sort of Guide to Buses to Various Places.” These buses won’t necessarily drop you at the front door - some will get you closer than others - but they will put you within a few blocks. Keep in mind, it’s your responsibilty to take the bus in the right direction (a compass really helps here) and to check a map so you know when to get off. I make no guarantees about the accuracy, and if you get off the bus and a sign says “The Chamber of Commerce Welcomes You to Ames, Iowa” one of us has made a mistake. <BR>Arc de Triumph - you can take bus # 22, 30, 31, 52, 73, 92 <BR>Bastille - 20, 29, 65, 69, 76, 86, 87, 91 <BR>Eiffel Tower - 42, 69, 82, 87 <BR>Grand Palais, Petit Palais - 42, 72, 73 <BR>Hotel de Ville - 38, 47, 67, 69, 75, 76, 96 <BR>Invalides (Napoleon’s Tomb) - 28, 49, 69, 82, 87, 92, 93 <BR>Les Halles - 21, 29, 38, 47, 58, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 76, 81, 85 <BR>Louvre - 21, 24, 27, 29, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 76, 81, 85, 95 <BR>Luxembourg Gardens - 38, 58, 82, 83, 84, 85, 89 <BR>Madeleine, La - 24, 42, 52, 84, 94 <BR>Notre Dame, Ile de la Cite - 24, 21, 38, 47, 85, 96 <BR>Opera Garnier - 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 29, 42, 52, 53, 66, 68, 81, 95 <BR>Orangerie Museum - see Place de la Concorde <BR>Orsay Museum (Musee d’Orsay) - 24, 68, 69, 73, 84 <BR>Palais Royal - 21, 27, 29, 48, 67, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95 <BR>Parc des Buttes-Chaumont - 26, 60, 75 <BR>Parc Monceau - 30, 84, 94 <BR>Pere Lachaise Cemetary - 61, 69, 76, 26 <BR>Place de la Concorde - 24, 52, 72, 73, 84, 94 <BR>Place des Voges - 29, 69, 76, 96 <BR>Pont de l’Alma (Bateaux Mouches) - 42, 63, 72, 80, 92 <BR>Rodin Museum - 69, 82, 92, + those from Invalides but further <BR>Sorbonne, Latin Quarter - 21, 27, 38, 63, 86, 84, 87, 89 <BR>St Michel/St Germain (Intersection) - 21, 27, 38, 63, 86, 87 <BR>Trocadero - 22, 32, 63, 72 <BR>Tuileries - same as those to Louvre with 24, 72 closest" For more Paris information e-mail me – [email protected]

Being a New Yorker forced to take the subway to work every day, I never take anything but buses in the cities I visit. The Paris buses are wonderful and Fred's information is worth its weight in gold. Sometimes, I sit in the front seat (for the best view), and take a bus like the #24 all the way to the end just for sightseeing--try it, I'll bet you'll like it!

Thank you everyone for all your helpful information. <BR> <BR>Meg

Buy the Subway(Metro) 7-day pass, and it works for the busses too if I remember right. And their paper pass with the magnetic strip will even work after being put through the French washing machines! <BR>(I think a 7-day pass was about $US 35?)