France has been hit with strikes this month, which has probably come as a shock to those travelling in France. Unions are striking in protest to French President Sarkozy’s decision to change pension plans and striking is practically a national past time. Transport strikes have put a major hold metros and buses, causing disruption in city centers and while locals may be used to regular disruptions, no one is happy about it.
Tourists in Paris shouldn’t be put off by the strikes. The transport strikes coincided with the opening of Eurostar’s new service. Although in previous years, Eurostar’s schedules have been affected by strikes, this time the company kept on schedule and defied the transport workers by continuing service, to the joy of many British tourists or those travelling from London.
During transport strikes, visitors should avoid using the metro and buses, since the irregular service that is running will be crammed full of commuters desperate to get to and from work. Also, because everyone turns to driving to work or getting taxis, traffic becomes a nightmare. So be prepared to sit in gridlocks for several hours.
Instead of the above nightmares, put on your walking boots and tromp around the city, as Paris is a great city for walking. There are a number of great walking tour companies to choose from:
- Classic Walks Paris is the leading English-speaking tour company in Paris. Besides walking tours, they also offer bicycle and Segway tours.
- Paris á Pied is a smaller company but offers specialized museum tours.
If you don’t want to go with a tour company, there are some good walking books that provide information about set walks. Or just grab your map and walk out the door. There are few areas that aren’t worth exploring, and getting lost is a great way to discover the city.
If walking is not your thing, try the Velib’ system, which was implemented this summer. There are 750 locations around the city where you can pick up and drop off bicycles. Day passes are 1 Euro and weekly cards are 5. Paris has over 230 miles of cycling lanes so you don’t have to panic about riding in traffic. And it’s good for the environment, so everyone’s happy.
There is also the Seine, with its bateaux-mouches, if you want to see Paris from a different perspective. From the river, you can get a different perspective of the city and a closer look at the amazing bridges that cross the Seine.
- Bateaux Mouches is the largest and most famous tour company. They offer daytime and evening tours, with lunch or dinner available on some boats.
- Bateaux Parisiens is another boat service that offers sight-seeing tours. They have a number of different services, including a child-specific narrated tour.
- Batobus offers a less romantic, glitzy service. They have eight pick up and drop off points around the city and the company presents itself as a river-boat shuttle service rather than a tour guide service.
The Seine tends to overshadow Paris’s canals. There are around 80 miles of canals that run throughout Paris. Canauxrama has a two and half hour cruise, with commentary, and Paris Canal offers tours on the St Martin canal, as well as on the Seine.