Transport in Paris

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Thalys trains with service to Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany

The Paris transportation network of buses, trams, Métro, Autoroutes, trains and planes connect between Paris's many different districts and beyond.

Streets and thoroughfares[edit]

Cycling is common in Paris.

Paris is known for the non-uniformity of its map. The arrangement of streets, alleys, squares, boulevards, and avenues is a result of a superimposition of one street plan upon an earlier street plan.

As with the birth of most agglomerations, a first network of streets was formed by the built-up areas around paths, roadways and places of trade, and a second formed when land surrounding these was divided and sold for building. In the French tradition, a plot of land was usually divided in a series of long and narrow parallel plots extending to both sides of a central lateral strip reserved for a passage across it. Very rarely was a street planned in advance.

A few exceptions aside, Paris' growth remained true to this schema (for over eight hundred years) until the mid-19th century city renovations by Baron Haussmann involved the demolition of entire quarters to make way for a network of new boulevards and avenues that make much of Paris today. Many of the city's winding and narrow streets still remain, but one must search through the quarters behind the avenues to find them.

The 1970s city-limit-hugging circular Périphérique expressway was the first real change since the above, as were narrow expressways along the quays of the Seine river and a few inner-city underground passages. It is not the map of the streets that is changing most these days, but the streets themselves: a recent movement towards prioritising public transportation systems and eliminating "through-city" traffic has created barricaded bus/taxi/cyclist alleys, narrowing the passages reserved for automobiles and delivery vehicles. Although reducing traffic flow within the city itself, this traffic is often redistributed to the Capital's gateway thoroughfares.

Cycling in Paris[edit]

Main article: Cycling in Paris

Cycling is a popular mode of transportation in Paris. The Vélib' bike hire scheme was introduced in the middle of 2007 with over 20,000 bicycles available at hire points throughout the city.

Public transportation[edit]

The horse-drawn omnibus became Paris' first form of public transportation in 1828. The horse-drawn tramway was next to appear in 1871; as for motorised transport, steam-driven trams appeared in 1880 before being replaced by the electric tramway in 1888. The first attempt at local rail transportation appeared when the Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture was opened to passengers in 1875, but was outmoded in favour of the métro (the first porte de Vincennes-porte de Maillot line) that began operating on the 19th of July, 1900. Starting in 1905, the tramway began to disappear in favour of the motor-driven bus, though the tram has recently reappeared around Paris.

The Metro and Tramway, most of the Bus and a few sections of the RER are run by the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens), the government-subsidised company whose jurisdiction covers all transport touching the Parisian Capital. The rest of the RER, as well as the Transilien, are run by the SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français), the state-owned train company whose rail network covers all of France.


Main article: Paris Métro

One hundred years after its initiation, Paris's métro has 14 lines (not including two shorter navette lines and the Montmartre funicular), and 12 of these penetrate into the surrounding suburbs (as two, lines 2 and 6, form a circle within Paris). Most lines cross the city diametrically and only the above-mentioned inner-city circular lines serve as a unique lateral interconnection.

Walkway between Montparnasse train and Métro stations

Navigating from point A to point B involves connecting the metro lines together and determining the direction on each line. The direction is most often given using the last station names. So for each stop/transfer you should note the metro line number and the end station name(s)


Main article: RER



Main article: Transilien



Main article: Tramways in Paris





There are electric buses.[1]

Montmartre funicular[edit]

Main article: Montmartre funicular

National and international rail connections[edit]



National and international air connections[edit]

Paris had its first airport in the fields of Issy-les-Moulineaux (just to the southern limits of Paris by its Seine river's Left Bank) from the first aviation trials of 1908. Aviation became a serious mode of transport during the course of the first world war, which in 1915 led to the installation of a larger and more permanent runway installation near the town of Le Bourget to the north of Paris. A yet larger airport to the south of the Capital, Orly International Airport, began welcoming flights from 1945, and yet another airport to the north of the City, Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, opened its gates from 1974.


Chronology of Parisian transportation[edit]

  • 13th century. first mention of Charrettes and bacs.
  • 1854. The 25 public transport lines cover 150 km of Parisian streets. Different lines designated by a letter system then.
  • 1854, February. CGO (Compagnie generale des Omnibus) created after another concession grant. They had the right to shuttle and park their buses anywhere in Paris for a 30 year period, but this delay was later extended to 56 years (or until 30 April 1910). They also were granted the right to create two new lines serving Boulogne and Vincennes.
  • 1856. Loubat returns his CGO concession to the government.
  • 1873. first (horse-drawn) tram line opens
  • 1890. Paris has 300 km of public transport (divided between the (State-Owned) CGO and the Cies de tramways Nord et Sud).
  • 1897-1900. Metro planned and first line built
  • 1900. first motorized trams
  • 1905. First combustion-driven bus line along the rue de Rennes (14 km/h).
  • 1927. Busses equipped with air-filled tires.
  • 1960-1973. The circular boulevard périphérique expressway built.
  • 3 May 1983. First articulated buses enter service.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]