How to get around Paris during the Paris Olympics - easily and comfortably with kids and not get caught out by the 90% increase in Metro prices.
Long story short (here is the long one), some metro stations in the centre near the Seine, will be closed on and off. But, the stops on the Paris metro are close to each other (not like on the London Tube) so you can get to wherever you need to go overground on the footpaths, walking, cycling, wheelchair.
Metro ticket prices will increase from €2.10 to €4, and a book of ten tickets from €16.90 to €32, from 20 July - 8 September 2024. Locals will have either bought books of tickets (called ‘carnets’) or recharged their monthly travel passes. So, it’s just tourists like you who may be impacted by it. May because you can get around it with the tips below.
It may not seem like it, but this is a good thing for you as a tourist. You’ll likely stay out of the Metro and walk or cycle and see and feel the streets of Paris, places that you will have missed if you were in a train underground. And it
1. Walk. You won’t get enough of it.
Put on comfortable sandals (it will be in the 25C/76F so, pretty hot), take out your camera, walk slowly, look up. Also, go into courtyards. There is a whole new world behind those big wooden doors. Just look at an aerial view of Paris and see that half of Paris is inside courtyards. Either follow Google Maps to get around or get a light paper map. That’s all you need.
It may not seem like it, but needing to walk or use the footpath will likely be the highlight of our whole trip. There is no place this is more true than in Paris - trust me
2. Cycle. You’ll be surprised how small Paris can be.
The best way to get around Paris quickly, even when the metro is fully open, is by bike. Download the Bonjour RATP app app and you can locate on a map all the types of bikes you can use.
Lime, Dott, Tier cost €1 to unlock + €0.25 / min
Vélib is the government bike service and costs from €3 for a single 45 min journey (45 minutes with Lime, Dott or Tier is €12.25). You can also get a 3 day pass for €20, where you can have up to 5 people use it at the same time, so the pass is good for families with teenagers.
3. Electric Scooters. But just ‘Outside Paris’
Parisians voted electric scooters out of Paris so you cannot use them inside Paris but you can outside. ‘Outside Paris’ means outside the road circle you see around the city. Same as for bikes, download the Bonjour RATP app and see where they are.
4. Bring a picnic blanket
While bringing a picnic blanket is not a way to get around, it is definitely a good way to recharge while getting around. Paris does not have a huge amount of green space but there are cute parks dotted all around. And you’ll find them because you’ll likely be walking.
5. Public toilets
You’ll probably need these. Lucky Parisian public toilets are pretty good. You cannot just go into a café or restaurant and use their bathrooms (unless you go into a McDonal’s, etc. but there are not many of them).
We recommend not trying it if you’d like to have a nice memory of Parisian waiters. Open up Google Maps, type in ‘public toilets’ and you’ll see where they are. Or, use this official toilet map.
The more you zoom in, the more toilets you’ll see
Walk, cycle, take it slow, sit on some grass with your picnic blanket, use the public toilets and you’re invincible. You can enjoy the Olympics in Paris and not feel any of the closures and inconveniences, almost like a local.
And next time you’re in Paris with your kids, you could also live like a local, in a Parisian’s home AND not get caught out on accommodation prices for tourists. If you come in August, your Parisian hosts may even let you use their monthly Metro pass while they’re away at the Côte d’Azur. That’s what’s possible staying with KeyBento.
