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The rest of Paris..

GETTING THERE

Paris has two airports, Aéroport d'Orly, 16km (10mi) south of central Paris, and Aéroport Charles de Gaulle, 27km (17mi) to the north. Flights run daily to all parts of the country, but the high-speed TGV (train à grande vitesse) train services are usually more convenient. Charles de Gaulle is a major international hub, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding a flight, regardless of where you're flying.

There are six major train stations in Paris, each of which handles traffic to different parts of France and the rest of Europe. The most spectacular route is the Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel) between London (via Folkestone) and Paris (via Calais), a trip that takes only three hours. TGV services also link Paris with Amsterdam and Brussels.

Euroline buses run from Paris to cities all over Europe. Hoverspeed runs bus-boat-bus combos from London, but with the convenience of the Channel Tunnel routes you'd have to be pretty hard pressed to consider it. There are also ferries and hovercraft between Ireland and France.

GETTING AROUND

There are dozens of ways to get to and from Paris' airports, from rapidfire shuttle trains to the standard assortment of pokey public buses, private shuttles and taxis. There's even a bus that runs solely between the two airports. Say what you will about driving around Paris, but the city's public transportation is world class.

The most charming of Paris' public transport options, the underground Métropolitain (and its sister system, the RER), is a simply massive network. No matter where you are, chances are there's a metro station within a few blocks. Likewise, the public bus system covers everywhere, but its hours are laughable and don't even try to hop aboard on Sunday or a holiday. The Noctambus network takes over in the heavily trafficked areas once both the underground and the day buses go to sleep.

In case you hadn't guessed it, driving around Paris is a job best reserved for the terminally aggressive - if you don't have lots of time to kill, you're better off taking public transport. Likewise with bicycles: Parisians don't much like to share the road, and bikes aren't allowed on the metro. There are river shuttles along the Seine, but these cater more to gawking tourists than to commuters.