Whether you live in Paris, or have visited as a tourist, we want to hear your experiences.
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TOURISM
Tell us: Are there too many tourists in Paris?
The city of Paris has recently hosted a symposium with the theme of excess tourism in the French capital, but is it really true that too many visitors are spoiling the city?
Published: 2 July 2019 09:52 CEST
Photo: AFP
TRAVEL NEWS
Revealed: The fastest way to get across Paris
Car, moped, public transport, or electric bicycle - which means of transport is the quickest way to get across Paris?
Published: 14 April 2022 14:12 CEST
One intrepid reporter for French daily Le Parisien decided to find out.
The challenge was simple. Which mode of transport would get the journalist from the heart of Fontenay-sous-Bois in the eastern suburbs to the newspaper’s office on Boulevard de Grenelle, west Paris, fastest?
Over four separate journeys, each one in the middle of rush hour, the electric bicycle was quickest and easiest. More expensive than conventional bikes, electric bikes do come with a government subsidy.
Voiture, métro, vélo électrique, scooter… On a testé les 4 moyens de transport sur un même trajet
Et le grand gagnant est… le vélo électrique !
➡️ https://t.co/SJXU5lJl0b pic.twitter.com/zvqOZehThO
— Le Parisien | Paris (@LeParisien_75) April 13, 2022
The journey was described as ‘pleasant and touristy’ on a dry but chilly morning going via dedicated cycle lanes that meant the dogged journalist avoided having to weave in and out of traffic.
It took, in total, 47 minutes from start to finish at an average speed of 19km/h, on a trip described as “comfortable” but with a caveat for bad weather. The cost was a few centimes for charging up the bike.
In comparison, a car journey between the same points took 1 hour 27 minutes – a journey not helped by a broken-down vehicle. Even accounting for that, according to the reporter’s traffic app, the journey should – going via part of the capital’s southern ringroad – have taken about 1 hr 12.
Average speed in the car was 15km/h, and it cost about €2.85 in diesel – plus parking.
A “chaotic and stressful” moped trip took 1 hour 3 minutes, and cost €1.30 in unleaded petrol.
Public transport – the RER and Metro combined via RER A to Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile then Metro line 6 to the station Bir-Hakeim – took 50 minutes door to door, including a 10-minute walk and cost €2.80. The journey was described as “tiring”.
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