Exploring the romantic city of Paris can be both exciting and stressful if you dare to experience the city by car. With parking at a premium and Parisian drivers fulfilling their image as the one of the most reckless groups of drivers around, it’s no wonder that most visitors to this awe-inspiring city choose alternative means of transportation. One of the most convenient alternative modes of transportation is the Paris Metro.

The Paris Metro is what the Underground is to London – a fast, convenient method of transportation just meters under the city streets. The Paris Metro, however, is a much older subway system than the Underground: it first began service way back in 1900, which was years before the city streets were clogged with automobiles. Don’t let its age fool you, though, as the system is well designed and sufficiently meets the needs of the city. With over 200 kilometers of track, 14 lines, and 380 stations, the Metro truly meets the requirements of the 21st century. In fact, every building within the city limits is within 500 meters of a Metro train station.

Navigating the Metro is fairly easy, as each station posts a map of the entire subway network. Every subway line is color-coded and numbered, and is given a name according to the last station. If you do get lost, then just get directions from any one of the automated route finders that are located throughout the Metro.

Fares on the Metro are quite reasonable – 1.60 euros per journey, including any connections (buying a group of 10 tickets reduces the price to only .87 euro per journey). That means if you need to travel from one side of the city to the other, you’ll only spend a fraction of what it would cost in either petrol or taxi fare. Children that are three and under travel free, while kids from the age of four until nine are charged a reduced rate of .80 euros per journey.

Metro tickets can be purchased at the stations. Since the tickets can be used for any day of the year, it makes sense to buy two tickets if you plan a return trip on the Metro. That way you’ll save time by not having to wait on line on your return journey, unless you’ve already purchased a book of 10 tickets.

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