Having been to Paris a couple of times now I feel I can share all my Paris travel tips for how to get there as well as finding your way around the city to make the most of all it has to offer. I’m also planning a mega trip for summer 2025 which of course has a Paris stop in there! So many of the tips below are ones I’ll be using myself next year. If you’re looking for things to do in Paris check out this post about how I spend 24 hours in Paris.
How to get there?
For my most recent trip, I flew to Paris and quite frankly I think it was a bad idea. This is only because I flew from London instead of Glasgow and wasn’t in the air very long compared to how l spent in the airport. If I’d been starting from Glasgow I’d have flown as it makes more sense logistically (we live relatively close to the airport). Also, my connecting flight from London to Glasgow was cancelled so I had a bit of a nightmare getting home.
For travelling to Paris from London I will always recommend the Eurostar. I’ve found this to be the most reliable method for travelling to Paris. The bonus with Eurostar is the travel that you can book with them for other destinations. Unfortunately, the route I want to travel in 2025 isn’t available at the time of year we’re travelling so we’re going to Paris by Eurostar and then flying to our final destination a couple of days later.
What I will suggest if you travel Eurostar is to book Eurostar Plus. The legroom and the seats are the same as in Business class so it’s more comfortable but without the Business class price tag. The other plus is as someone with a chronic illness their support in the stations and on the trains is amazing. If you need accessible travel assistance this can be booked beforehand using their contact form.
If, however, you do choose to fly I would recommend getting the train from the airport into the centre of Paris. Go to a ticket machine and buy a ticket which will get you from the airport to the Gare du Nord for around 11 euros and you’ll be in the centre of Paris in approximately 45 minutes.
For taxis from the airport follow the signs to the official taxi rank as lots of unregistered taxis operate in Paris and they will charge a ridiculous fare compared to the ones you see advertised in the airport. Depending on the time of day be prepared to be in the taxi for a while as the roads into Paris can be heavily congested.
How to get around Paris?
As you can probably tell from the featured photo for the post, my favourite way to get around Paris is by Metro. In terms of accessibility, it’s mostly stairs in the stations as they’ve not been renovated to accommodate escalators. The thing I will say is the Metro is usually the best way to get to the tourist spots with minimal fuss. Traffic in Paris is pretty bad so I don’t try the bus as I think I’d be stuck in traffic rather than getting to where I need to be.
Whilst there are multiple-day tickets/passes that you can buy what I’ve found is the best value is buying a pack (or carnet in French) of single tickets which can be used and then thrown away after travelling. This can work out cheaper as you’re only buying the number of tickets you need for your trip. Just make sure you keep your ticket on you until the end of your journey in case there is a ticket inspector on the train or in the station.
Open Top Bus
As much as I say the traffic in Paris is bad, the open-top bus tours are great for seeing the tourist hotspots. The buses will stop at various locations throughout the city but I prefer to stay on the bus for the whole tour to get the full experience. It also means I’m not using the stairs on the bus too often. Trust me the best views are from the top! I don’t bother with the audio and just take in the views with my camera.
Overall my Paris travel tips seem to consist of taking the train and using the metro which I know seems pretty basic but sometimes you have to go with what works. I’ve never used Uber abroad as I hate being stuck in traffic so I’ll always pick a method of public transport that means I’m kept moving.
