Paris Walk 02: Discover the Métro

Note: Do this walk very early in your stay! You may want to break this walk into two parts; if you do, end the first part on Tour Stop 7 at Charles de Gaulle-Étoile. One of the purposes of this walk is to help you learn the métro system and encourage you to see more than tunnels and trains when you use it. Saving this walk until later is probably a mistake.It’s best during daylight hours—avoid morning and evening rush hours.You may think that this is a great walk for a rainy day. After all, it’s in the métro, right? You are in the métro most of the time, but I do ask you to go outside a few times; take an umbrella if it’s raining.Take your own métro map with you. You’ll need it at the end of the walk. You’ll need a métro pass or at least four tickets because you’ll go in and out of the system several times. Note that there is always the possibility of a strike or a slowdown. They are usually announced in advance; therefore, avoid doing the walk on those days. There are always some stations closed for renovation work. This means you may have to skip a certain station or modify the route. Don’t let this discourage you. Getting around on the métro is easy, even when there are a few interruptions—the renovations always make the métro better.

One final precaution: There are rarely restrooms in the métro stations!