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Train
Societe Nationale des Chemins de Fer Franceis (SNCF) is the national
railway service. Paris has five major stations: the Gare du Nord; Gare
St-Lazare; Gare de Lyon; Gare Montparnasse and Gare d'Austerlitz. Each
station has cafe, restaurants, banks, bureaux de change, ATMs and car
hire on the premises or nearby. The Gare de Lyon also has a tourist
office. The Gare du Nord is the French terminus of the international
high-speed Eurostar. All of Paris' major train stations are directly
linked to the metro network.
The Eurotunnel allows drivers and passengers of cars and buses to cross
the Channel (journey time is approximately 35 minutes) from Kent in
Southern England to Nord-Pas-de-Calais in Northern France. The tunnel
is linked to the UK and French motorway networks . Tickets can be purchased
on the day of travel at check-in or be pre-booked at the Eurotunnel
call center.
Subway
The metro system has 199 km (124 miles) of track and 15 lines. Every
building is within 500 metres of a m?ro station. Cost of RER tickets
depends on distance traveled. The 14 metro lines extend into zones one
and two in central Paris. Metros run from 05.30 to 00.30. Free transport
maps are available at m?ro stations, bus terminals and the tourist office.
Bus
Most buses run from Monday to Saturday (between 06.30 to 20.30, some
continue until 00.30). Services are reduced by about half on Sunday
and holidays. Night buses (Noctambuses) run on 13 routes from Monday
to Saturday (from 01.00 to 05.30 hourly) and run a reduced service on
Sunday, between place du Chelet by the Hel de Ville and the suburbs.
Taxi
Taxis can be hailed at airports, stations and at taxi ranks (arres taxis)
but can be hard to find, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. A
yellow light displayed on the roof shows that the taxi is available
for hire; an orange light means that the taxi is in use. Taxi's have
three diffrent rates: Tarif A for daytime journeys; Tarif B for journeys
after 19.00, on Sundays, holidays and in the suburbs and Tarif C (the
most expensive rate) for for the suburbs and airports at night and disricts
outside Paris during the day. Furthermore, there are additional charges
for pick-up, pick-up at a mainline station, waiting time, a fourth passenger
and for luggage.
Tickets
The same tickets can be used for bus, m?ro and RER (within zones one
and two only). Night buses require separate tickets. One ticket is sufficient
for a bus ride or an RER journey (within zones one and two) or a metro
journey (with changes (correspondances)). Separate tickets are needed
for changes between buses or between bus and metro/RER. RER tickets
must be purchased for RER journeys beyond zones one and two. Tickets
can be purchased from stations and tabacs, and should be validated on
entry and kept until the end of the journey to avoid fines. For longer
stays, the Carte Orange (with a weekly coupon (coupon hebdomodaire),
for sale at all m?ro stations, allows a week's travel in zones one and
two. There is also a monthly Carte Orange for zones one and two. The
Carte Orange ticket should be validated at the metro turnstile and displayed
to the bus driver.
Car
The A16 leads directly from Boulogne (near Calais) into Paris. The E19
motorway leads from Brussels into Paris (via the A2 and A1). Lille is
linked directly to Paris via the A1. Paris is surrounded by the often
congested P?iph?ique ring road. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways
(marked with an 'A') 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways separated by
a central reservation. National roads are marked with a 'N' and minor
roads with the letter 'D'. Driving times: Bordeaux - 6 hours; Marseille
- 7 hours 30 minutes.
Driving in central Paris is not advised. Most hotels do not have garages,
parking is difficult (illegally parked cars are towed away), there are
a lot of traffic jams, and Parisians tend to be over-nervous drivers.
Most legal street-side parking spaces are marked 'payant'. Paris also
has numerous underground and covered car parks in the city centre, these
include the Arc de Triomphe, place de Concorde and near Forum des Halles.
Many municipal garages close at about 23.00 and some are closed on Sunday.
Parking is usually free on weekends and on weekdays before 09.00 and
after 19.00.
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