Getting There

By Plane

Paris has two international airports: Aéroport d'Orly, 18km (11 miles) south of the city, and Aéroport Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle, 30km (19 miles) northeast. An Air France bus (Line 3; 19€ for a single journey) makes the 50- to 75-minute journey between the two airports every 30 to 45 minutes. A budget airport, Beauvais, is located about 70km (40m) from Paris.

Roissy-Charles-De-Gaulle Airport -- There are two terminals at Roissy-Charles-De-Gaulle Airport (tel. 00-33-1-70-36-39-50 from abroad, or 39-50 from France only; www.aeroportsdeparis.fr), which are linked by a free train called the CDGVAL.

The quickest way into central Paris is the fast RER B (Réseau Express Régional; www.ratp.fr), local trains that leave every 10 to 15 minutes between 5am and midnight. It takes about 40 minutes to get to Paris, and RER B stops at several Métro stations including Gare du Nord (sometimes referred to as Paris Nord), Châtelet-Les-Halles, Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame, Luxembourg, Port-Royal, and Denfert-Rochereau. A single ticket costs 8.70€ and you can buy it from the machines located in the stations at both terminals.

You can also take an Air France bus (Line 2; tel. 08-92-35-08-20; www.cars-airfrance.com) to central Paris for 15€ one-way; children 2 to 11 pay 7.50€. It stops at the Palais des Congrès (Porte Maillot) and continues to place Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, where you can take the Métro to anywhere in Paris. The journey, depending on the traffic, takes 45 to 55 minutes. The bus leaves every 20 minutes between 6am and 10pm and there are two additional buses that leave the airport at 10.30pm and 11pm.

The Roissybus (tel. 08-92-69-32-46; www.ratp.fr) departs from the airport daily from 6am to 11pm and costs 9.40€ for the 40- to 50-minute ride. Departures are every 15 to 20 minutes, and the bus leaves you in the center of Paris, at the corner of rue Scribe and rue Auber, near the Opera House.

A taxi from Roissy into the city will cost at least 50€, and the fare is 15% higher from 5pm to 10am, as well as on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Long, orderly lines for taxis form outside each of the airport's terminals.

Orly Airport -- Orly (tel. 00-33-1-70-36-39-50 from abroad, or 39-50 from France) has two terminals -- Orly Sud (south) for international flights and Orly Ouest (west) for both domestic and international flights.

There are no direct trains from Orly to the center of Paris; however, you can take the 8-minute monorail OrlyVal to the RER station "Anthony" to get RER B into the center. Combined travel time is about 45 to 55 minutes, and it stops at several Métro stations including Denfert-Rochereau, Port-Royal, Luxembourg, Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame, Châtelet-Les-Halles, and Gare du Nord (sometimes referred to as Paris Nord). Trains run between 6am and 11pm and the one-way fare for the OrlyVal plus the RER B is 10€.

Air France buses (Line 1; tel. 08-92-35-08-20; www.cars-airfrance.com) leave from Exit L of Orly Sud and from Exit B-C of Orly Ouest every 20 minutes between 6am and 11:30pm, stopping at Gare Montparnasse, Invalides, and Charles de Gaulle-Etoile. The fare is 12€ one-way, 19€ round-trip, and 5.50€ for children ages 2 to 11. Depending on the traffic, the journey takes between 30 and 50 minutes.

A taxi from Orly to central Paris will cost at least 50€, and the fare is 15% higher from 5pm to 10am, as well as on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Lines for taxis form outside Exit L of Orly Sud and Gate B on the arrivals level of Orly Ouest.

Beauvais Airport -- Beauvais airport (tel. 08-92-68-20-66; www.aeroportbeauvais.com) is located 70km (40 miles) from Paris and is served by budget airlines such as Ryanair, Wizzair, and Blueair. Buses leave 15 to 20 minutes after each flight has landed, and, depending on the traffic, take about an hour to get to Paris. The bus drops you at Porte Maillot (Métro: Porte Maillot). To return to Beauvais, you need to be at the bus station 3 hours and 15 minutes before the departure of your flight. A one-way ticket costs 15€.

By Train

Paris has six major stations: Gare d'Austerlitz (55 quai d'Austerlitz, 13e), serving the center of France, with trains to and from the Loire Valley and Limousin, as well as night trains to Nice and Spain; Gare de Lyon (Place Louis-Armand, 12e), serving the center and southeast, with trains to and from Burgundy, the Alpes, Provence, the Côte d'Azur (Nice, Cannes, St-Tropez), and beyond, to Geneva and Italy; Gare Montparnasse (17 bd. Vaugirard, 15e), serving the west, and southwest with trains to and from Brittany, Normandy, Bordeaux, as well as trains to the northwest of Spain; Gare St-Lazare (13 rue d'Amsterdam, 8e), serving the northwest, with trains to and from Normandy. Gare de l'Est (Place du 11-Novembre-1918, 10e), serving the east, with trains to and from Strasbourg, Reims, and beyond, to Germany, Switzerland and Austria; and Gare du Nord (18 rue de Dunkerque, 10e), serving the north, with trains to and from Picardy, and beyond, to the U.K., Holland, Denmark, and Germany. Each station can be reached by bus or Métro; further information on each station can be obtained from SNCF (La Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français; tel. 36-35; www.gares-connexions.com/en).

Eurostar services from Paris to London and Brussels arrive at and depart from the Gare du Nord (www.eurostar.com). Thanks to the new high-speed track, the journey between Paris and London St. Pancras now only takes 2hrs15 (it's a little longer if the train goes via Ashford or Lille). Cheap return tickets to London are available for 88€ if you are flexible about the times and dates of your trip.

For information about train travel from Paris to other parts of France or other destinations in Europe, and to make reservations, use SNCF (www.voyages-sncf.com). Prices depend on the distance of the journey, when you make the reservation, and the type of train you book (the TGV, France's high-speed train service, for example, is usually more expensive than regional trains). For further information about international train travel try Rail Europe (www.raileurope.com). Warning: As in most major cities, the stations and surrounding areas are rather seedy and frequented by pickpockets. Be alert, especially at night.

By Bus

Most coaches arrive at the Eurolines France station, 28 av. du Général-de-Gaulle, Bagnolet (tel. 08-92-89-90-91; www.eurolines.fr; Métro: Gallieni).

By Car

Driving in Paris is not recommended. Parking is difficult and the traffic dense. If you drive, remember that Paris is encircled by a ring road, the périphérique. Always obtain detailed directions to your destination, including the name of the exit (called portes) on the périphérique (exits aren't numbered). Avoid rush hours.

The major highways into Paris are A1 from the north; A13 from Rouen, Normandy, and other points northwest; A10 from Spain and the southwest; A6 and A7 from the French Alps, the Riviera, and Italy; and A4 from eastern France.

The Channel Tunnel -- the undersea rail tunnel that connects France and the U.K. -- accommodates not only trains but cars, buses, taxis, and motorcycles. The Chunnel, as it is informally known, carries the Eurostar and the Eurotunnel, a train that carries vehicles under the English Channel (tel. 08-10-63-03-04 in France, or 08444 63 00 00 in the U.K.; www.eurotunnel.com), connecting Calais, France, with Folkestone, England; the journey takes a mere 35 minutes. It operates up to four shuttles an hour and prices start at 30€ per car.

Rental cars are available at all the major airports and train stations in Paris. You must be over 25 and have held a driving license for at least a year. The major car rental companies are Hertz (tel. 01-55-31-93-21; www.hertz.fr), Europcar (tel. 01-53-64-16-24; www.europcar.fr), Avis (tel. 08-21-23-07-60; www.avis.fr), and Ada (tel. 01-48-06-58-13; www.ada.fr).

By Ferry from England or Ireland

Ferry travel to France appears to be in its waning days, since more and more travelers are opting for low-cost flights or a much speedier passage through the Channel Tunnel. In England the two leading operators of ferries are P&O Ferries (tel. 08716 64 21 21 in the U.K.; www.poferries.com), which runs ferries from Dover to Calais, and Britanny Ferries (tel. 08712 44 07 44 in the U.K.; www.britanny-ferries.com), which runs ferries from Portsmouth to Le Havre. Irish Ferries (tel. 0818 300 400 in Ireland; www.irishferries.com) operates an overnight ferry from Cherbourg to Rosslare. Call or check websites for specific times, prices, and points of departure/arrival.