Oh Paris, My Paris -> Accomodation & Getting Around

October 15, 2018 by libertatemamo 32 Comments

Paris holds a very special place in my heart. Not only was it the first place I lived as an adult after I left home, but it was also the first place I fell in love.

It’s the kind of city that’s made for it, really. It’s romantic, intense, beautiful, and intimate all at once, the sort of place that takes your breath away when you see it for the first time. But it can also be imposing, distant, and overwhelming, the sort of place that drives you crazy the rest of the time. It invokes a dichotomy of feelings, kind of of like the famous French “pout” or the classic Brigitte Bardot smile. So darn sexy, yet so aloof at the same time. In many ways, you can’t help but fall in love!

And during my time there I got to know every inch of that contradiction.

When I lived in Paris I didn’t live there as a tourist. I lived as a local in a teeny little studio on the outskirts of town, cleaning houses for spare cash, and exploring corners of the city that no-one ever saw. I learned to love Paris in it’s essence for all that it was, both good and bad. And since I was fairly skint at the time, I became a pro at getting around and finding all there was to do for free, or close to free. I became Parisian in the year I lived there, and when you become Parisian it’s something that sticks with you for life.

But that was a long, long time ago…

Dad & I Decide To Go To Paris!

I haven’t been to Paris in many years, and to be honest it wasn’t really on my “list” to return until dad and I both realized we needed to renew our Danish passports.

As it turns out there are only two places in France you can get that done; through the Consulate in Nice or the Embassy in Paris. Dad had never been to Paris, but always wanted to go, so we decided this was the perfect opportunity. Not only would he get his dream of seeing the city my mom (who lived there in her youth) and I both loved, but he’d get to do it with his own personal “tour-guide” too. Awesome!

As an added bonus, thanks to this little 3-day escapade I get to share this adventure with you too, and pass on some of my “insider” tips & tricks for visiting Paris like a Parisian.

I could write books about all this, but for my own sanity and yours I’m going to keep it down to two simple blog posts. My first (today’s) will cover accommodation and how to get around, while my 2nd (coming later this week) will cover what we actually got up to, including my absolute favorite cheap/free & off-the-beaten-track things to do in the city of love. Let’s dig right in…

Layout (Get To Know “The Snail”)

One of the first things you need to learn about Paris, in order to get yourself properly oriented in the city, is the concept of the “escargot” (the snail).

Paris is divided into 20 sub-sections or districts, each of which is known as an “arrondissement”. The sections are numbered from 1 to 20 and arranged in a “snail-like” spiral starting at the very center of town, running clockwise and outwards from there. So, the 1st arrondissement is in the smack center, the 2nd is just above it (beginning of the snail spiral), the 3rd is to the right of that (next part of the snail spiral), the 4th below that, and so on. The outskirts of town are obviously the biggest numbers, with the 20th arrondissement (the final one) located in the East.

Once you understand the “escargot“, it’s pretty easy to orient yourself. For example, local Parisians will refer to places as being in the 1er (= 1st arrondissement), or 2eme (= 2nd arrondissement) etc. and once you have a mental picture of the “escargot” in your mind, you’ll know exactly where that is. In a similar vein, post office codes in Paris all include the arrondissement in the last two digits of their number, so 75001 is the 1st, whereas 75014 is the 14th. See how easy it is?

The next thing to understand about Paris is that each arrondisement has it’s own history and “feel”. Here’s a (very) brief synopsis of some of the more popular ones:

• 1st (Majestic & Classy) – this is where you’ll find many of the central sights of Paris including the Louvre, the Tuilieries garden, and the old Palais Royal. It’s a high class area, with lots of $$$$$ hotels too.
• 4th (Old & Gothic) – This is where you’ll find the oldest parts of Paris (île de la Cité, which also spills into the 1st), as well as the famous Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame De Paris.
• 5th & 6th (Student Area) – these are the “student” areas of town (the 5th is also known as the “Latin” quarter). You’ll find the Sorbonne University here, and lots of shops & activities catering to students. It’s a laid-back and vibrant area.
• 7th (Tour Eiffel & Art) – this is known for the Tour Eiffel & houses several large museums & galleries. Some of my fav art museums of all time are here.
• 8th (Champs-Élysées) – this is where you’ll find the most best-known boulevard in Paris, the Champs-Élysées, at the end of which is the Arc de Triumphe. If you want to shop at some of highest-end shops in Paris, this is where you go.
• 9th (Oh la la) – this is infamous for its red light district (Pigalle), which stretches up towards the 18th.
• 18th (Artists Area) – this is the “artists” part of town (a fab history). It offers the very best FREE views of Paris and also houses the beautiful Basilica of Sacré–Cœur. Super cool area that is not to be missed.
• 20th (Tombstones) – this is famous for the biggest cemetery in Paris, the Cimetière du Père–Lachaise. If you want to get off-the-beaten track go here!

It’s hard to say I have an absolute favorite part of town, because each part is so different, but if I had my choice of living anywhere in the city, I’d probably chose the 5th/6th for its relaxed student feel and abundant choices to eat & drink. I’m also a huge fan of the 18th, and have a special place in my heart for the 20th.

Note/ Why The Snail Shape? For those of an inquisitive mind, the history of the snail is rather interesting and dates back to 1860 when Paris was expanded from 12 arrondissements to the current 20 under Napoleon III. Originally the districts were just going to be numbered from right to left, but that would have placed wealthy Parisians in the west of town in the “new” 13th arrondissement. As it so happens there was an expression back in the day “on s’est marié à la mairie du 13^e” (= “we got married at the town hall of the 13th”) which basically meant you were living together UN-married, or rather living in sin (remember, there were only 12 arrondissements at the time!). So, after some disagreement the snail-arrangement was finally adopted, placing the “unwanted” new 13th in the SSE of town. I guess there weren’t any rich people there to complain about it?

Accommodation (Always A Challenge)

There are many things you can do “on the cheap” in Paris, but accommodation is one of the tougher ones. Unlike Madrid (for example) where there are a TON of really cheap hostels all over downtown, there are not really that many Paris. There are a few hostels (and they’re inexpensive if you can nab them), but hotels tend to dominate and most of the cheaper ones lie way outside of town. If you want to stay near the center, you’re generally dishing out a ton of $$$$.

On the other hand, Airbnb is super active. Paris has one of the BIGGEST Airbnb selections in the world, with over 65,000 homes listed on the site in the area (it’s kinda crazy really). The rentals tend to be fairly inexpensive (compared to hotels), and you can sometimes find pretty good deals, especially if you are traveling with a larger family and/or multiple people.

When I looked for our stay in Paris, hotels were totally out of the question (the cheapest I could find near(ish) town was ~$350/night), so we went with Airbnb and chose a place smack in the center of the 2nd arrondissement. It was small and ended up being rather disappointing in quality, but it was practical, reasonably-priced (for Paris) and the location couldn’t be beat. If I were to go back I would not chose this particular apartment again, but I’d certainly Airbnb it again.

Airbnb Tip#1: Only pick apartments with lots of positive reviews, and pay attention to review dates! One of the mistakes I made was not noticing that the last review on the apartment I chose was over a year ago {{face-palm}}

Airbnb Tip#2: Prices tend to rise (a lot!) during high season. Either book well ahead (if you can), or book right before you leave and see if you can negotiate a discount price by messaging the host (it sometimes works).

Airbnb Tip#3: If you’ve never used Airbnb before, look on the web for a referral to get a discount before you join. If you’d like to use ours click HERE and you’ll get $40 travel credit when you sign up.

Getting Around With The Metro

When I lived in Paris I pretty much lived my entire travel-life in the Metro. It’s a super inexpensive way to travel around the city, once you figure out how to use it, and you can literally get just about anywhere in a pretty predictable time.

It’s not a perfect system. You often end up walking WAY more than you think you will (some of the interchanges are crazy, and there are staircases everywhere, very few of which are escalators), plus it does shut down at night (between ~1:15-2:00am to 5:30am). But with over 300 stations and trains that run every 2-4 minutes (during the day), there’s almost no-where you can’t get to whenever you want.

Metro Costs: A standard Metro ticket costs €1,90, but if you want to save a bit of cash, simply buy a “carnet” of tickets (10 tickets for €14,90) from a ticket office or vending machine, and then just travel as you wish (it’s what I always do). Tickets can be used for 1-way trips anywhere within the city of Paris. Plus you can transfer between Métro and RER networks, and even use them on buses too. For folks planning to travel more than this, you can also buy unlimited Visitor Passes, but I’ve never found them to be that useful.
Post-Edit: If you’re staying on longer in Paris, and/or want to travel to the outer zones (Versailles, Disney, plus airports etc.), another option is to buy a Navigo Découverte pass (costs €5), and then load it up with a weeks-worth of unlimited “all-zone” (1-5) travel for only €22,80. Thanks very much to commenter Molly Bob for this excellent tip!!

Metro Trick #1: A lot of people get really over-whelmed when they try to use the Metro for the first time, but there are really only TWO things you need to know to keep yourself on track. When you enter the Metro this is what you need to focus on:

1. The Number+Color of the line you want to take (inside the Metro this is typically indicated by a colored circle with the number in the middle)
2. The name of the station at the end of the direction you want to take (inside the Metro, you might not see this until you get close to the rails)

Example: The #2 blue line goes in a semi-circle around the top of Paris and the two stations at the end of the line are Porte Dauphine (in the West) and Nation (in the East). So, if you want to travel westward on that line you need to follow the directions for #2 blue, Porte Dauphine. If you want to go eastward, then you follow directions for #2 blue, Nation. That’s it!

This same method applies to interchanges too. Some of the interchanges in Paris can be HUGE (e.g. Chatelet is a MONSTER), but as long as you follow the signs for the number+color of the line you want to take, and then chose the right direction (= the name of the end station) when you get to the rails, you’ll not have a problem.

Metro Trick #2: Another little useful thing to know about the Metro is that, depending on the train car type, the doors don’t always open on their own when you arrive at a station (yup, really). Before you panic, know that you can open the door yourself by pulling up on the lever in the center of the door. It’s one of those things that can make you feel like a fool, until you know…

Metro Trick #3: This is more of a heads up than a trick, but it’s important to keep your ticket on you at all times while you’re traveling in the Metro. When you go through the turnstile to enter, the machine will read your ticket, stamp it and then spit it out again on top. Make sure to pick it up and carry it with you! You might need to re-scan the ticket if you change between Metro & RER (for example), but more importantly you can be fined for not having it on you. Metro officials are notorious for ambushing unsuspecting tourists at exits and slapping a €50 fine on them if they can’t produce their used tickets.

Getting Around With The Bus

I’ve always preferred the Metro in Paris, primarily because traffic in the city can make the bus system notoriously unreliable, but there are certain times the bus makes sense. In particular it can be a great way to “sightsee” the city for a cheap price (lots of bus lines run right past all the main tourist attractions), plus at night when the Metro shuts down, the Noctiliens or “night buses” are literally the only thing running.

There are around 64 RATP city bus lines operating throughout Paris and they can get you just about anywhere for the same cost as a single Metro ticket. When you board simply validate the ticket in the stamping machine. And when you want to get off, simply hit the red button to activate the “stop requested” sign. Easy peasy.

Google Maps Is Your Best Friend 

If you’re not sure about whether to take the Metro or the bus, or you simply can’t figure out the combo that gets you to where you want to go, then Google Maps is literally your best friend. Just plug in the address of where you want to go, click on directions & the “public transport” icon (the little train-looking icon at the top), and Google will give you a FULL set of options on how to get there, including Metro and bus lines, as well as how much the journey will cost and how long it will take. It’ll even give you an estimate via Uber at the very bottom of the screen (if you decide you’d prefer that route). Once you’ve decided which way you’d like to go, just click on the route itself and Google will show you a map with detailed instructions of exactly how to complete the travel. For someone who is “directionally challenged” like myself, Google Maps is literally the BEST thing since sliced bread.

Alternative Ways To Get Around

If you’re less mobile and/or decide the Metro/bus system is not for you there are a few alternatives you can try:

Uber: Uber is legal in France and very active in Paris (Lyft doesn’t operate here). There’s a bunch of different types of cars you can rent from regular Uber to UberPool (where you share a car with other guests = cheapest), UberGreen (electric car), UberAccess (accomodation for disabled) and UberVan (room for up to 6 people = most expensive). Read more about using Uber in Paris HERE.

Taxis: Taxis are all around Paris, but can (sometimes) be difficult to hail. One of the biggest “gotchas” with taxis is that they cannot (by law) pick-up passengers from the street if they’re within 50 meters of an official taxi stand. So although they might look available (i.e. their sign is lit-up) they won’t stop for you if you happen to be in the wrong place! You can call a taxi cab (although I’ve had hit/miss luck with this), but often the best option is simply to find an official stand and go there to wait for one. Read more about taking taxis in Paris HERE.
Useful Tip: Taxi’s fares are priced by the mile within Paris, but taxis to/from the airport have a FIXED price, so you’ll pay no more than €35 if you take a taxi to/from Orly into the city center, and no more than €55 to/from Charles De Gaulle. Taxis are always available at the airports, and for two or more travelers this can be a pretty decent deal (for comparison, to/from Orly the RER/Orlyval costs ~€12 each). My dad and I took one from Orly when we arrived.

City Bike (Velib’): This is something that didn’t exist back when I lived in Paris, but it’s become quite popular now. Velib’ bikes can be rented at ~1,800 stations across Paris, and they’re super cheap! A 1-day ticket costs only €1.70 and the first 30 mins of your ride are free. I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable biking through the main roads of Paris (drivers are crazy in the capital!), but there are several more sheltered biking trails that might well cater to a bike-wimp like me. Maybe next time…

River Shuttle (Batobus): The river shuttle (Batobus) in Paris takes you up/down the Seine, stopping at eight different locations along the way. They’re a cheap alternative to the many official tour operators on the Seine, costing only €17 for a day-pass, and they can be a very relaxed way to travel through the city.

Tourist Bus (Hop On/Hop Off): For those that like to take sightseeing tours by bus, there are several hop-on/hop-off style tourist bus companies in Paris that will take you around the major sights for between €30-50. Big Bus, L’OpenTour, and Foxity are a few of the companies to look at. Read more about hop-on/hop-off buses HERE.

What About Dogs?

My dad and I obviously didn’t bring Polly along on this trip (she stayed at home with Paul), but I was nonetheless curious about doggie rules around town, just in case we decide to come this way with the camping car down the line.

All-in-all Paris seems pretty accommodating of dogs. Many hotels accept them, as do most restaurants (lots of outdoor eating areas in Paris). As for public transport, dogs can only go on the bus if they’re small enough to be carried in a carrier, but they can legally travel on the RER or Metro with a leash & muzzle (you just need to buy a child ticket for them). Super cool! Lastly there are lots of dog-friendly parks & walks around town, although a few places do prohibit them.

For more about dogs in Paris read this detailed blog post from secretsofparis.com.

And Of Course Be Ready To Do Some Walking!

Paris is one of those towns where you’ll get a lot out of walking. The architecture, the cobblestone streets, the back-alley gems are best discovered by foot. There’s nothing quite like walking along the banks of the Seine, through the Jardin Des Tuileries, or down the curvy streets of the 18th. It’s an experience that everyone should have. Paris is too big to walk everywhere (thus the Metro), but it definitely merits several miles on foot. While we were in Paris my dad and I averaged 6 miles per day, which I think is just about right. Make sure you bring comfortable walking shoes!

Coming up next -> all my “insider” tips on the most interesting, inexpensive & off-beat things to see in Paris