Night Bus in Paris

Call me stupid but I find maps of bus lines to be the as unfathomable as hieroglyphics. That’s why I was delighted to see the RATP’s interactive map of their relatively new ‘Noctilien’ night bus service which operates from 12:30 to 5:00 am.

Mastering a city’s bus service is probably one of the smartest things to do if you plan on spending much time in the city. I will be honest – I tend to take the lazy way and hop in the Metro which has, over the years, become an old dependable friend.

If you’re a night owl, it might be worth spending some time perusing the RATP map which, if you click on the bus route line, will give you the option of seeing every stop on the route. For example, if you wanted to go from the Champs Elysees Rond Point to Montparnasse, you could take the No. 01 line which is called the inner circle route.

For more information, or to ascertain departure times for your route, you can call 08-92-68-77-14 (0.34 euro/minute).
http://www.ratp.info
RATP’s interactive map for Noctilien buses.

I haven’t tried doing this yet but it definitely is nice to know that Paris is getting serious about providing more late night transportation. This is not only for the benefit of late night revelers (although it was noted on one site that there tend to be more buses on the weekend, the increased service was also intended for the growing number of night-time commuters.

If you decide to try taking the bus, here’s what you need to know:
You can use the same ticket you use for the Metro which costs 1Euro40 per ticket. You can also use your Carte d’Orange, your Navigo, or your Paris Visite cards. You can also pay when you board the bus and the driver can give you change.

If you have a Metro ticket, you need to validate the ticket which can be done at the front of the bus, next to the driver’s seat, or there’s a validating machine halfway to the back of the bus. So you can jump on at the back and still validate your ticket (which you should do because there are controllers who show up when you least expect them to be there.)

It’s definitely worthwhile getting to know some of the bus routes. Even though I like taking the Metro when I’m in a rush, the bus is almost always more relaxing and pleasant. You can take the No. 95 bus from Montparnasse to the front entrance to the Louvre, and from there head north, practically the whole way to Montmartre. Of course it takes longer than the Metro, but you also get a free city tour. No. 96 will take you from Montparnasse to Bus stop: St. Paul which is in the heart of the Marais.

Much has been written about the city’s Metro system and its history so rather than be repetitious, I’d rather point out to you one of the sites that appears to be the most up-to-date and well-written. That’s Ian C. Mills report on the Metro & Bus system for Discover France. (I’ve noticed that a lot of sites have just been copying each other’s text, and in some cases, the text is outdated!).

The RATP really seems to be intent on creating a user-friendly transportation system. They know that there’s work to be done.
I wish I had known much earlier that a number of the city’s day buses stop running at 8:30 pm. Considering that some museums stay open to 9 pm on Thursday nights, it seems pretty ridiculous that the bus (in particular the bus right by the Musee d’Orsay would stop running at 8:30). How the RATP plans to introduce more consistent night service while govt workers are now on a 35 hour work week is a mystery – but Paris is a city full of surprises.