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France's Aéroport Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport is a sleek introduction to the country; it's a major international hub, so you can take your pick of flights in and out. The train system is also impressive, and will whip you quickly to most places in France; there are TGV services to Amsterdam and Brussels. You can get to Britain (and Ireland) by ferry, but Eurostar is perhaps the most chilled and luxurious way to get to Paris, and you can pop your car on board as well. Buses are fine for travel between Paris and other countries, but for the rest of France they're not so hot.
Charles de Gaulle international airport is 27km (17mi) north of Paris. It's a major transport hub, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding a flight, regardless of where you're flying. Flights run daily to all parts of the country, but the high-speed TGV (train à grande vitesse) train services are usually more convenient. Departure tax is built into the ticket price and varies according to the destination. There are lots of ways from Charles de Gaulle to the city, from shuttle trains to an assortment of poky public buses, private shuttles and taxis. The city's second main airport, Aéroport d'Orly, is 16km (10mi) south of central Paris. A bus runs between d'Orly and Charles de Gaulle. Beauvais is a smaller airport that handles Ryanair and charter flights.
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 via the Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel); the Eurostar passenger service takes only three hours. TGV (train à grande vitesse) services also link Paris with Amsterdam and Brussels. France's superb domestic rail network can take you to almost every part of the country.
With the Eurotunnel service, you can now drive from London to Paris, with your car neatly on the shuttle train. If driving from elsewhere in Europe, once you're in France modern autoroutes will get you to Paris quickly, if rather expensively.
Euroline buses run from Paris to cities all over Europe. Long-haul bus travel within France isn't really an option, however.
The most satisfying way to get around Paris is on foot - just watch out for the pedestrian crossings, which cars tend not to respect - or on its famous, lovely and efficient Métro. Unfortunately, you're not allowed to take bikes on the Métro, and the city in general is none too friendly to cyclists. If you're in a hurry to get somewhere, don't take the river shuttles that ply the Seine - they are more meandering, sight-seeing affairs than A to B propositions - or the bus system, which is horrendously inefficient. However, there are night buses, which is handy when the Métro closes down.
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, which is generally well-maintained and supremely convenient.
The public bus system covers everywhere, but its hours are laughable; don't even try it 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.
Parisians don't much like to share the road, and cycling in this city is no joy. To make matters worse, bikes aren't allowed on the metro.
