I had a wonderful weekend in Paris. Great food, time with family and friends, and beautiful weather made for an incredible few days. And is there a city more beautiful than Paris? I just love the architecture, the gardens, and the vibe of the City of Light. But I also observed a darker, underside to Paris this weekend.
As someone who rarely drives, I find public transportation is vital–that helps to explain why I am such a city slicker. I have used public transportation systems on six continents in just about every major city in the world and have seen the good, bad, and the ugly. But I have never seen a subway system as messy as the one in Paris (even messier than my previous visits). Trash strewn all over, mold on the walls, broken escalators, foul odors, and crowded subway cars pushed me to the bus for travel within central Paris for the remainder of the weekend.
For a city that is so beautiful on the outside, I found it a shame and a travesty that the Paris metro system is in such a state of disrepair. I point this out merely because it really surprised me this visit and also because I would advise you to avoid the underground when possible and opt for walking or taking the bus. I walked from Montparnasse to the Opera house in about a half hour–a beautiful walk across the Seine and through the Louvre. The return via the subway took 45 minutes (a lengthy transfer in Les Halles / Châtelet was required).
Last night I was on my way to to De Gaulle Airport around dusk on the Réseau Express Régional (RER) and witnessed a bloody fight just a couple feet from me onboard the train. We were going through a rough, rundown community in Northern Paris and all of a sudden a Moroccan and Indian man began exchanging blows. This was no friendly brawl–blood was spewing and if not for a brave bystander breaking up the two men, the situation would have been very grave. The bloody Moroccan man sat down next to me and was feverishly gibbering about something as the train roared toward CDG.
A few moments after the fight, five armed police officers dressed entirely in black stormed the train. They glanced suspiciously at the man next to me–who still had blood running down his left temple, but said nothing to him and hopped off the train at the next station.
Just another weekend in Paris?
Wow, that’s crazy. I lived in Paris for a couple months recently and never had any problems with the Métro. I even lived on the RER B line, which is the line that goes to CDG and never saw anything of the sort. Hope one bad experience doesn’t ruin it for you, most of the Paris Métro is quite nice (especially the stops along Ligne 1 … the Louvre stop seems like it’s part of the Louvre itself).
But I agree, Châtelet-Les Halles is the worst place to have to transfer, which I did twice everyday from the RER B to Métro Ligne 1 … I think it’s actually the largest metro station in the world when you include the RER stop and the 2 Châtelet / Les Halles stops. Though it’s not as bad as transferring in CDG!
I had a close encounter on that RER stretch. Some youths decided to play around, they left the carriage, then the door opened up and one had taken the fire extinguisher and turned it on me. I was alone in that part of the train – scary.
Checking in at CDG I mentioned the incident to the agent and she said I ought to inform the police. I didn’t. Witness yourself what the cops did. Nothing. It boggles the mind that that RER run is the main one for tourists coming from CDG-Paris and stuff happens everyday. Even with the global megawealth Paris is indeed more scruffy given my 30 years of visiting the place. Sad. Next time visit Bordeaux.
A few things:
(1) Every Parisian knows to NEVER, EVER change at Châtelet-Les Halles if at all avoidable. It’s a mess of a place, with the Les Halles shopping center being full of “banlieusards” (poor people from the suburbs — the kind that should have a pressure washer used on them, according to Sarkozy). If you follow this simple rule, you’ll enjoy taking the metro much more.
(2) There are express trains from central Paris to the airport that don’t make (many) stops along the RER B line. I highly recommend taking these if possible. The northern suburbs of Paris were where the riots took place back in November 2005; they are impoverished and should be avoided at all costs. Les cars Air France are also an option from Étoile or Opéra if you like public transit.
(3) I don’t mean to be a grammar nazi, but this really bothers me (and as a lawyer, you should know better than this):
“As someone who rarely drives, public transportation is vital to me–that is probably why I am such a city slicker.”
“As someone….” should be followed by a subject after the comma — in this case, the personal pronoun “I”.
@deux centimes: Thanks for the grammar correction. I did take the RER Express Train in from CDG, but did want to wait for one on the return. My parents took the bus from Opéra and were very satisfied.
@alan_r: Wow. That sounds horrible. I suppose I should count myself fortunate.
@AK: It would not surprise me if Les Halles was the largest station in the world–it was enormous.