One quick piece of advice.... try not to venture too far from your accomodations late into the night. The metro stops running at a ridiculously early hour.... it can get you to where you want to go, but don't expect it to get you back. You might think, "no problem, we'll just take a taxi"... think again. It is almost impossible to hail a cab in Paris... they don't stop. The proper way to get a taxi in Paris is to wait at a taxi stand. This might not sound too difficult, but first of all, you have to find the taxi stand... once you're in the general vicinity its not too difficult because the line of people waiting probably wraps around the corner. We tried to wait, but nearly an hour later we couldn't take it anymore. We decided to head off on foot.... our luck of course, it was raining... we made it back to the hotel (which ended up being on the other side of the city) around 5am.... we were drenched and exhausted.

I've noticed a few weeks ago that the special ticket for tourists in the subway is actually much more expensive than normal tickets. The company : RATP offers you a 2 or 3 days ticket which costs a fortune. Paris and the suburbs are cut in 5 different areas ("Zones") and all what you need is a 2 Zones ticket not more (except if you have the time to go to Versailles to visit the huge castel or if you absolutely want to go to Disneyland Otherwise, who wants to visit the suburbs? Nobody !so there is no need to buy this special ticket for tourist, which "could bring you everywhere"(5 Zones!!). All what you need to visit the whole city is a 2 Zones ticket. If you buy a "carnet"(10 pieces), it will cost you 58 francs. If you stay a week or even less, the weekly ticket from Monday to Sunday is around 90 francs, I think this is definitely the best!

It is the latest metro line, opened in 1999. It's very different from other metro lines : the stations are much larger and better designed, and there's no driver so you can seat at the front of the train if you wish. It will take you from Madeleine to Bibliothèque François Mitterand in a 10 min ride.

The Regional Express Rail is another alterrnative to the Metro that the Paris neophyte may miss. Instead of the criss-cross numbered Metro lines that cover most of the city, the lettered RER lines (A,B,C,D) serve most of Ile de France through stations that are more spread out. The trains are cleaner, roomier and much faster than the Metro. If you're going clear across the city (e.g. Gare Austerlitz to the 16th Arrondissement) the RER makes sense.

While the Metro is truly indispensable in Paris, the bus system is often overlooked by visitors, many of whom may be intimidated by its complexity. This is too bad, because the bus is definitely the way to travel once you learn how to use it. It has two main advantages. Firstly, it goes different places than the Metro, and in different directions. It connects some neighborhoods more directly than the Metro, and can save some time. Secondly, it's above ground. You can see the sights more easily, and that typical Paris smell is gone. Plus, experience the harrowing roads of Paris without actually have drive yourself!