Changes

{{Hitchhiking Zine nomination}}

'''Paris''' is the capital of [[France]]. It is situated within a ring road called ''le périphérique'', or ''le périph''. The actual city is actually small but is surrounded by endless suburbs, some of them being linked to the urban public transportation system at no extra cost, and some other being labelled as outside zones and thus more expensive to reach.

Public transport in Paris consists of a metro (lines from number 1 to 14), RER (fast trains serving the suburbs with relatively few inner city stops, lines from letter A to E), buses (lines from number 20 to ...?) and trams (lines from T1 to T4). If you want to make a few voyages, the cheapest option is to buy a carnet of 10 single tickets (11,60 euros instead of 1,60 each). You can travel to the end of RER lines for about 15 euros. If you stay in Paris for several days and will use transport often you can also buy a pass "Mobilis" for one or several days (5,9 € for one day inside Paris) - it is valid on metro, RER and ground transportation. If you stay for a week or more - consider geting a "passe Navigo découverte", which is a chargeable card with picture (5 euros to make). You can then buy a weekly ticket for 17.2 €. Note that this replaces the former "Carte Orange". All prices as of Winter 2010.

=== Metro system ===

Ticket checks never occur on actual metro trains, and ticket controllers seem to employ 1 of 2 approaches: first one includes ticket controllers forming a line inside a metro tunnel or station exit and checking all the exiting travelers (since they are uniformed it is easy to see them from a distance unless they decide to hide around the corner); second one involves civil-dressed controllers watching the gates and busting those jumping over - they'll either stop them directly themselves, or radio-report to uniformed controllers who then will ask a stopped person to show a valid ticket.

=== RER system ===

Uniformed controllers will ask for validated tickets on trains, and since the RER shares the metro infrastructure, you might be a subject to the checks in similar order mentioned above. It is possible to travel for free, even though you stand a higher chance of being busted. It seems that checks can occur at any time, so the best time to travel for free is a rush hour when controls are impossible due to congestion. The highest risk of being checked seems to occur on transfer stations from RER to metro stations.

# There is a door in the wall surrounding the petrol station which allows outside access (it was open on 31-08-10). When you arrive by public transport and do the final 1 km on foot you will approach the wall from the left side. From this side you won't be able to see the door, because it is located behind some sort of manufacturing unit which borders a part of the wall. If you walk around this unit, you will find the door at the very point were the wall of the gas station becomes visible again. At first sight it might not be clear, as it has the same appearance as the wall, but you can recognise it by two holes at chest level, you can put your arm through and feel the lock on the inside. Just pull or push (?) to open it, you'll be entering the service station from the right side, close to the exit and carwash.(See [http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107770710063601716204.00044840696bdf8a385ef&ll=48.933654,2.393292&spn=0.001334,0.004227&t=h&z=19 approximate location of the door].) Unfortunately sometimes the door is locked (latter was true on 01-06-08, 28-09-08 and 29-11-08..), then you walk away from the door to the right, follow the concrete wall and climb it at the point where it becomes a fence. Once over the fence you'll have to walk to the left, through the bushes, to enter the station. (See [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=48.933806,+2.393823&sll=48.933663,2.393955&sspn=0.000832,0.001725&ie=UTF8&ll=48.9334,2.39363&spn=0.001663,0.003449&t=h&z=18 location where the wall becomes a fence - green arrow].)

# You can walk around the wall for about 70 meters towards the left, then walk down the little hill and walk through the bushes. You have to go over a small chain link fence that is bent over at the top and then you are on the motorway.

Other ways to get to that petrol station:

From Paris, take RER D (Chatelet-les-halles or Gare du Nord), direction Orry la Ville - Coye. Get off the train at Survilliers-Fosses (35 KM North of Paris). Walk down Rue de la Gare towards Survilliers town centre, then turn right at La Grande Rue; you will find the motorway. Once there, you can hitchhike from the motorway exit towards the gas station 2KM from here (Paris direction). When you arrive, you take the local road to cross over to the opposite service station to head North.

This option costs 9 euros (25% discount under 26) + a local ticket to Gare du Nord. The peage is 50 km North of Paris, near the town of Senlis.

Senlis has no train station, but you still buy the ticket from a train station. From Paris Nord, go to Chantilly and switch to a bus to Senlis at the "gare routière" right outside of Chantilly's train station with your ticket. Once there, you need to walk a little and you'll find a "péage" (motorway payment station - people have to stop to take a ticket). The bus driver gave me the directions. This should take around one hour.

=== A4 East, towards [[Metz]], [[Strasbourg]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Germany]], etc ===

These spots are close enough to the city to be getting traffic in all southern directions.

Once the most famous hitchhiking spot in France, this spot isn't bad nowadays, but it isn't great either. The good thing is that drivers aren't surprised to see people there, and that you don't need to get out of Paris in faraway suburbs.