Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Board your bus through the front door. (Families with strollers can use any
doors—the ones in the center of the bus are wider. To open the middle or back doors on
long buses, push the green button located by those doors.) Validate your ticket in the ma-
chine and reclaim it. With a Passe Navigo, scan it on the purple touchpad. Keep track of
what stop is coming up next by following the on-board diagram or listening to recorded
announcements. When you're ready to get off, push the red button to signal you want a
stop, then exit through the central or rear door. Even if you're not certain you've figured
out the system, do some joyriding.
More Bus Tips:
Avoid rush hour (Mon-Fri 8:00-9:30 & 17:30-19:30), when buses
are jammed and traffic doesn't move. While the Métro shuts down at about 24:30 (Sun-
Thu, later on Fri-Sat), some buses continue much later (called
Noctilien
lines,
www.noctilien.fr
).Notallcitybusesareair-conditioned,sotheycanbecomerollinggreen-
houses on summer days.
Carnet
ticket holders—but not those buying individual tickets on
the bus—can transfer from one bus to another on the same ticket (within 1.5 hours, reval-
idate your ticket on the next bus), but you can't do a round-trip or hop on and off on the
same line. You also can't transfer between the bus and the Métro/RER systems using the
same ticket.
For a list of Paris' most scenic and convenient routes, see the sidebar. I've also listed
thehandiestbusroutesforeachrecommendedhotelneighborhoodunder“SleepinginPar-
is,” later.
