Traveling Around Paris

Travel with Eurostar into the heart of Paris. The Gare du Nord (Eurostar Terminal) is located in the 10th arrondissement, close to Montmartre's Sacré Coeur, with quick metro links to the whole of central Paris. 

The Eurostar train pulls into the 19th-century grandeur of the Gare du Nord. Turn right for the taxi rank if you have lots of luggage. Bear left and follow the 'M' sign down the escalator for the metro and RER (commuter train). On your return, you'll need to go upstairs to check in.

Escape with Eurostar on a short break to Paris this summer.   This page will provide you with all the information you need for an exciting and stress free visit to Paris. 

Getting Around

The best way to get around is on foot or by metro, at least until you become familiar with the bus routes.  Free maps are available at the Gare du Nord and other metro or train stations. Buy a Paris Par Arrondissements (the Parisian A-Z) from any of the kiosks at metro entrances. This invaluable little book lists every street by arrondissement (the page it's on) and grid reference. Metros are also clearly marked.

Metro
The Paris metro is easy to use (once you get the hang of it), clean and swift. Lines are identified by their colour and number. The direction is given by the last stop on the line. Follow sortie for the exit and correspondance to change lines. Buy a carnet of ten tickets to save money and stamp your ticket in the machine before boarding.

Bus:  A great way to travel with a view, once you are familiar with the routes.  Alternatively why not purchase on of our Open Top Bus Tour Ticket valid for 2 days where you can hop on and off all day. 

Taxi:  It's often hard to hail a cab on the streets, so the best option is to find a rank, at train and major metro stations. The white light on the roof indicates the taxi is free. Taxis charge extra per item of luggage stored in the boot, and at night. Make sure the meter is turned on as you jump in. The maximum number of passengers is three. Taxi drivers don't expect a tip, but they appreciate it if you round up the fare.

Foot:  Central Paris is compact, and the best way to get to know it is on foot, particularly to feel the ambiance change subtly as you cross from arrondissement to arrondissement. But watch out at zebra crossings - just because the green man is lit up does not mean that Parisians will choose to stop.

River Boats:  At www.discount-paris.co.uk  we offer the Bateaux Parisiens river tours down the Seine.  Choose from a cruise with lunch or dinner or a simple sightseeing tour.  A touristy way to get around, but lots of fun.

Attractions in Paris

Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel), Paris
From 1889 to 1930, when the Chrysler Building went up, Gustave Eiffel's 312-metre tower was the world's tallest, designed as a temporary structure to wow the World Fair. Take the lift up to the top for dizzying views or to dine at Altitude 95 (first floor) or take the private lift (south pillar) to the exclusive Jules Vernes restaurant (second floor). You can take the steps, but 1665 steps may set the heart racing a bit too fast! Six million people visit the tower every year, so arrive early (9.30am), late (6pm) or off-peak season to cut the queues. At night, the tower dazzles in its new finery of 20,000 lights, which sparkle on the hour for ten minutes from dusk to 2am (1am winter).

Musee du Louvre, Paris
Home to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the Louvre is considered the world's greatest art museum, with an unparalleled collection of items covering the full spectrum of art through the ages.

Notre Dame Cathedral
During the day, the yellow stone of Notre Dame Cathedral gives it a friendly air, but at night its massive bulk glows palely over the Ile de la Cité, and you can see why its image haunted Victor Hugo, awakening Quasimodo from his dreams.  Used and abused as a warehouse during the French Revolution, Napoleon elected himself Emperor here in 1804 and the liberation of Paris was celebrated, in spite of German snipers, with the Te Deum Mass on 26 August 1944.

Sacre-Coeur, Paris
The bright, white silhouette of Sacré Coeur is as evocative of Paris as the Eiffel Tower. It's also a relatively recent monument, built after the Franco-Prussian war (1870) to heal the wounds caused by the Commune of Paris. Not to everyone's taste, the neo-Byzantine basilica at the summit of the butte (hill) of Montmartre is a wedding-cake, domed affair with bronze equestrian statues of Saint Joan of Arc and Saint Louis by H Lefebvre, and a bell tower containing the 19-tonne Savoyarde. See it from afar from the top of the Georges Pompidou Centre or the Impressionist Gallery of the Musée d'Orsay. Or get up close and take the steps leading up, through tourist-filled gardens, to the monument itself and its interior, glittering with mosaics of Christ with outstretched arm. Then climb 330 more steps to the dome for lofty views of Paris.