Get Free, Helpful Travel Directions in Paris
Use Cell Phones, IPhones, PDAs for Trip Planning and Seeing Paris
Nov 1, 2009
Ah, Paris. It’s a city made for lovers, and for walking. But there’s so much to do and see (and eat), that first-time visitors might not want to spend their entire holiday just wandering the streets. It's helpful to know how to navigate the "city of lights" efficiently. Thanks to computerized systems, new Web-based tools can help visitors do just that. Whether visiting the Louvre, or some of Paris’ offbeat museums, it’s helpful to use Web-based services such as HopStop Paris or Google Transit to figure out how to get around Paris quickly and easily.
Travel Directions in Paris to Hotels and Restaurants: Google or HopStop?
Both Google and HopStop provide directions in English from point A to point B in Paris. Google gives directions by car, mass transit or walking. Greener in orientation, HopStop is dedicated to mass transit (it doesn't give driving directions) and walking. Both reflect time-saving, up-to-the-minute delays. Both factor in real-time updates for planned schedule changes (due, for instance, to a French holiday or road repairs) and unforeseen delays such as might be caused by a traffic accident.
Because Paris is a walker's city, using HopStop’s Web site may be preferable to using Google Transit. Its drop-down menu offers an option for “more” or “less” walking and bus-only directions, which is appealing for those who want to combine walking and, say, the Metro. And, while Google can be accessed in many languages, it might be helpful for English-only speakers (especially those who are prone to getting lost in Paris) that HopStop's directions can be readily translated into French, with the touch of a button.
Paris Trip Planner: Time-Saving Travel from Hotels to Notre Dame, Louvre, Other Sites
Here are ways these sites can be used:
- Plan a full day in Paris, complete with itinerary: Use HopStop to plot out directions for a full day’s itinerary, with multiple stops, using a combination of Metro, bus and walking.
- Compare route distances and travel times from one site in Paris to another: Again, use HopStop to compare alternative routes, depending on whether one wants get there as quickly as possible, or combine walking, bus and Metro.
- Get oriented in unfamiliar parts of Paris: Access directions with precise calculations of distance and estimated time, and consult the area maps that accompany door-to-door directions. Both Google and HopStop are helpful in this regard.
Ways to Get Paris Directions, Online or On a Cell Phone
For on-the-go travel, users can:
- Access HopStop or Google Transit by connecting on a Blackberry, Treo or other web-enabled mobile devices.
- Get directions by text messaging to HopStop, with immediate reply.
- Use HopStop's text-messaging function when in London, New York, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Chicago, Atlanta or other HopStop-serviced cities, with a quick change of free online registration.
Neither Google's nor HopStop's directions substitute for a guidebook. But getting directions from one's computer at the hotel, or better, while on-the-go with a cellular telephone or PDA can make getting around Paris that much more fun and efficient. Both are a huge assist for travelers who’d rather spend those precious minutes in a Parisian café or Notre Dame, rather standing on a street corner reading a map.
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