You are probably wondering right now what are the best places to listen live music in Paris. Well, in case this is so, my best advice is to travel with metro and scout practically all stations. Really!

The best live and genuine music is played either in stations or on train carriages. And every day we found one. One hint of advice – major stations are almost always having someone in doing their gig. Okay, it’s not official, but hey, they are offering something in return aren’t they?

Our first impression of Paris by the way was carried by the fact that acordion was played on the carriage we took from Charles de Gaulle airport to Gare du Nord. What a feeling!

So you are in Paris and have decided to use the subway as your main transport. Here are some guidelines for you:

Tickets are sold in almost every station. In case there is no ticket-office, there are automatic booths, which accept credit, local debit cards and coins (unfortunately I saw only one that accepted paper money and only a few change machines). The booths are easy to use and to follow. Various languages are available as well (Spanish and English for an example). In ticket-offices English however is not guaranteed. In case you need to use ticket-office, make sure you got the right ticket just before leaving the desk. With lots of crowd around you and glass window between you and the officer the information unfortunately gets lost every now and then.

Which tickets are best for you and which are sold where? All Paris visit and special cards (which are for certain periods, zones and additional museum free-of-charge entrances) are sold in ticket-offices (note that in some cases not in every office, always prefer larger stations). One-way and day tickets are sold from booths and ticket-offices. The offices with “Information” sign only offer information and sell nothing, keep this in mind. Which is the best? Think through your schedule, places you want to visit and locate the zones they are in. I believe this gives you the hints.

Map is something you definitely need in planning your actions and routes in the city. I cannot agree with those saying that Paris metro is complicated. It’s colorful, clear and remarkably logical. Provided that you have the map and the place you want to visit it’s easy. Note: remember that Paris metro lines work in two ways. This means that they are named let’s say “Porte de Cligancourt/Porte d’Orléans”. This means that the metro line ends in both places. What this means? In case you need to stop in a station between those two stops, just look for the station that is the end stop for the route you need to take. Let’s say that you are in Chatelet and you need to go to Odeon. From the map you can see that Odeon is located south of Chatelet, toward Porte d’Orléans. In metro station it means that you need to look for your color and the right name. In this case the name is Porte d’Orléans.

Doors in Paris metro do not open automatically (except in Metro line number 1, which is called ”magical”, read: doors open themselves). Okay, enough of the irony. Older carriages need that you raise the lever on the door. In newer carriages there’s a button you should push in order to open the doors.

RER trains are more complicated. How to make sure you are on the right train? Before going through any gates make sure the end route is the right one for you (the trains do not have the names on them, keep this in mind). One side-note as well: keep your ticket with you because from RER stations you cannot exit without one. RER trains are however very tempting since they offer a great opportunity to get the glimpse of the rural areas of Paris and the countryside. I recommend!

Entertainment is something you can also experience in Paris metro, whether it’s live music or paintings on the walls.

Overall Paris subway and rural trains are as everything in France welcoming and easy-going

Arriving to Paris by plane is the easiest way. Mind you, France is the country with most motorways in relation to its size. We learned it the mildly hard way. Anyways, this time we were on our feet. You can very easily find out from the Internet the Metro stations you need to use and the stations close to the place you are staying. Arriving to Paris through Charles de Gaulle airport means that you’ll have to take RER trains closer to the city in order to hop on a metro. It very well could be that you do not need to take a metro since RER trains tend to go through the city. Mind you that Paris is not as big as one may imagine. I know I thought it was bigger. Charles de Gaulle airport and all metro or train stations are full with very clear and obvious (sometimes even with translated) signs. Think you don’t know your French, well, no sweat here, trust me. In case you get into any trouble, be aware that even you are lucky enough to meet people who understand some English, they definitely won’t speak it. My best advice, learn your way and have some sense with you. Best of all, trust your instinct. That is what has led us through some very nasty and tough situations. Even the ones we thought we could not conquer. We have even had death at our sight. Well not in Paris, but it has thought us well.

So, arriving Paris is really simple. Just make sure beforehand the terminal in which you are landing, the RER that connects your metro or bus station to the place you are staying and it’s probably best that you but your tickets from the ticket stations in the second terminal. Why? They speak English. In case your plane arrives into terminal one or three, do not worry since Charles de Gaulle has a very swift and neat airport shuttle service which again is orderly marked and very hard to miss. Really, missing out on how to arrive to Paris, is something only a fool could achieve.