Day 21 Dream on NSW government.

Paris has wonders at every turn but one of our chief delights, without which our adventures would be impossible, is a project undertaken in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, a project that required incredible engineering ingenuity… the Paris Metropolitain or as it is affectionately called The Metro. Although planning began in 1845 the first line (Line 1 as it is still known today) wasn’t operational until July 1900. Today’s system boasts 211kms of track, with 14 lines shuttling 3500 carriages at any one time on a regular schedule between 300 stations, of which 87, offer connections to other lines. It is said that over 4 million people travel The Metro every day and while trains are often crowded we have never experienced a train so full that we could not get on board. If you are quick you can normally always get a seat. It is said that every building in Paris is within 500 metres of a metro station. Therefore with patience, care and the necessary changes, you can get to and from everywhere in Paris on the metro. What’s more the French even add a touch of class with a variety of signs marking the entries of the metro stations with everyone’s favorite being the art deco signs of the early twentieth century.

What we really love is the regularity of the trains. On most of the lines that we travel, for most of the day and night until about 1am, the trains come at 3-4 minute intervals. We have discovered that they come slightly less regularly on Sundays when we have been trying to get to church on time! The number of times we walk down the steps and say to each other “our carriage awaits” as the train is there to meet us. The system is quite clean, very, very well signposted, easy to understand and if you are a city rat, just plain fun. People are usually about as friendly as on any train (ie not friendly at all) but we have shared a laugh, a look, or a sigh with many fellow travellers.

The Metro is very egalitarian. We have seen women in their stiletto boots, full fur coats and with handbags worth more than a small car. We have seen men and women dressed in their power business attire. But at other times we have seen the workers, the mums with babies, the teenagers going to school, the kids on excursions, the elderly, the homeless, the ipod generation and women and men out shopping with their pull along trolleys. Of course there are also the tourists holding their maps and guidebooks and speaking Italian, English, Russian, American, Spanish and even quite a few speaking Strine.

When public transport is cheap, efficient, reliable, quick, comfortable and cosmopolitan the motor car seems slightly irrelevant, expensive and rather boring!