Transportation

Air
Air France, France's national carrier, and scores of other airlines link Paris with every part of the globe. Other French cities with direct international air links include Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Strasbourg and Toulouse. Paris has two international airports (Charles De Gaule & Orly) , making it by far the major French air destination for travelers. Most major international airlines fly into Paris. Air Inter, a division of Air France, is the principal domestic airline in France, serving 31 cities.

Train
Rail service in France is terrific. The Société Nationale de Chemins de Fer (SNCF) trains are frequent, prompt, comfortable, and fast. High-speed network Train à Grande Vitesse (TGV) is linked with the entire country, except the central region. The network is also connected to Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain. The trains travel at almost 322 kph (200 mph), and serve nearly 120 French cities and towns and its very popular, so reserve seats for main-line routes as far in advance as possible, especially during summer, and at all times for TGV service. Before boarding your train, validate your ticket at an automated machine at the platform entrance. In some rural stations, an official will do it by hand.

When your ticket is validated (composté), keep it, because you must validate it again if you change trains. You must produce it at any time on demand, and present it when you leave the station at your final destination.

The Chunnel
Eurostar is the high-speed train service linking Paris with London through the Channel Tunnel. You can travel from central London's Waterloo Station to the Gare du Nord in Paris in a TGV train. In terms of speed and service, the train experience is more like what you'd expect from an airline. The London to Paris trip takes just three hours, and travel time in the tunnel is only 20 minutes.

Ferry
The new Chunnel is eroding the popularity of the ferries that have for generations linked France with Great Britain. Principal ferry crossings linking Paris and London are between Dover and Calais, and Dover and Boulogne. Ferries also link Brittany and Normandy with the southwestern coast of England. Dover-Calais, the shortest route, takes 1 hour and 15 minutes, Dover-Boulogne 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Bus
France doesn't really have a network of long-distance, intercity buses. Most buses you see on the highways are privately chartered coaches hauling tourists on package tours, or trans-European shuttles.

Car
For the independent visitor, traveling around France is easiest by car, though it's not cheap. Most auto routes are toll roads, and you can easily spend a fortune in tolls in just a couple weeks. Gasoline is expensive. (Diesel is cheaper.) Generally, it is better to reserve your car before you leave home; once you arrive in France the rates will be much higher. All principal air carriers, as well as SNCF and Rail Europe, offer fly-drive and rail-drive packages that considerably cut the cost of your car expenses. Usually only the national or international companies will allow you to pick up your car in one city and leave it in another, and for that there is an additional charge. Avoid renting your car in Paris wait until you strike out into the provinces.