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The alternatives to taking taxis when visiting Paris

If you want to avoid high fees or the possibility of getting ripped off by unlicensed drivers, Paris has several start-ups that offer alternatives to traditional taxis.

Published: 10 November 2022 16:53 CET

The alternatives to taking taxis when visiting Paris

A taxi with a taxi sign in Paris (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

Taking a taxi in Paris can sometimes be a harrowing experience – it certainly was for Fergus Shepherd, who was visiting Paris with his wife and children during the half term holiday and was unpleasantly surprised to find a charge for €890 on his credit card. Shepherd believes it was linked to short taxi ride he took between two of Paris’s most famous tourist spots.

While it is not certain that Shepherd’s charge was linked to his Paris taxi ride, many tourists in France’s capital have been targeted by scams related to taxi services.

Most often, these are perpetrated by unlicensed drivers – especially at airports and train stations – who charge rip-off fares.

While the city of Paris has been attempting to clamp down on unlicenced drivers in recent months, tourists and locals alike might be looking for safe alternatives to Paris taxis.

Recently, gig workers won additional rights in France – meaning there is a standard rate charged per journey in a VTC. As of 2024, this was set to €10.60, according to BFMTV.

Uber

The one that everyone knows, Uber is available in Paris although you might find it more expensive than in cities like London (because the drivers are employees and therefore entitled to social benefits). It’s available in the city and the suburbs, although there are sometimes long waits and if you take one on a strike day it’s highly likely that the fares will be hiked.

This service will connect you with an official Paris taxi – the same ones that you can hail in the street, but the app allows you to book up to 30 days in advance, so it’s handy for late night or early morning airport runs. It also has an option to select ‘pet friendly’ if you’re travelling with an animal.

Payment works in the same way as Uber – users save their credit card information on the app and therefore do not need to pay on board. At the conclusion of the ride, the fare will be charged and the user will receive a voucher by email.

If you do not want to download the app, you can also call the phone number listed on their website.

Bolt

This ride-share app operates very similarly to Uber, in that you can call a car at the moment you need one. You can also set it up so that there are multiple stops, if needed.

If you share the application with a friend, or they share it with you, then you might be entitled to a discount on your next ride. Also, if you are travelling for business, Bolt has an option for how to expense your work rides by creating a “work profile” on the application so that it knows to send receipts to your work email, as well as to provide monthly reports with ride details.

In France, this type of ride share application is called a “VTC” or “Véhicule de Tourisme avec Chauffeur.“

Marcel – Le VTC à la française

This French ride-share company has received accolades for its commitment to environmental protection, specifically the promise that all CO2 emissions will be offset via the Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Goodplanet Foundation. Additionally, most drivers operate electric or hybrid vehicles.

When you log onto the application, you can choose to either “plan a trip” or “leave now.” Keep in mind that planning a trip in advance might be slightly more expensive than the option to “leave now.”

To use Marcel you can go to the website or download one of the mobile apps for Android or iOS (iPhone, iPad).

Heetch

Heetch – a play on words with the English expression “hitchhike” – is also a French ride share company. The start-up begin in 2013, and it was originally intended to be specifically for people returning home from nightclubs, so it was only available for use between 8pm and 6am from Thursday to Saturday.

Since then, the application has adapted to be available at all times of day, every day of the week.

What sets Heetch apart from other ride hailing apps is the fact that passengers can pay in cash if they would like. Once you have plugged in the address that you want to go to, the application will ask whether you want to pay in cash or by card.

Otherwise, the interface is quite similar to Uber – you can see where nearby cars are located and you can view an estimation of how long your journey will take, when the car will arrive, and how much you can expect to pay.

Le Cab

Le Cab is another French taxi alternative. The application promises that customers will only pay the fixed price they agree to when reserving their ride.

One advantage to Le Cab is that its stated prices to Paris airports are listed on their website: to go to Orly from Paris, pricing starts at €37, and to go to Roissy CDG pricing starts at €48.

Le Cab advertises itself on its availability across the country. It is available in 24 cities across France, so if you are travelling across the country and you are unsure whether one of the other services will be available, Le Cab will likely be present in that city.

Velib

If you are looking to avoid cars altogether, you can always rent a bike while on your trip. While Uber and Lime have options to rent bikes on their applications, you could also go with a city bike rental option.

In Paris, the primary choice would be “Vélib” which was launched in 2007. With over 1,400 docking points across the Greater Paris area, Vélib stations are usually to find. You can also opt for an electric bike (these are coloured blue, instead of green).

You can rent the bike for 45 minutes for just €3 or you can consider a 24-hour rental, which would cost €5. Normally, at the Vélib station you should be able to enter your credit card information and make an account, but if that is not available then you can do so online.

Subscription plans are also available.

For people with disabilities, there are other options for hiring adapted bikes. These might include low seat bikes, folding bikes, three-wheelers, and more. Two websites – Espace vélo pour tous and Vélo handicap offer accessible alternatives for those with reduced mobility.

Member comments

Anonymous - 10 November 2022 at 23:31 CET

I would never take G7

My husband and I used a G7 taxi in Paris and we’re charged an exorbitant supplement when we arrived at our destination. The fare itself was €14, but the driver added a €7 fee. Our hotel concierge told us we had been ripped off and should have refused to pay it.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Travel deals to take advantage of as prices drop ahead of Paris Olympics

After some soaring prices earlier in the year, costs for both accommodation and travel are now back to roughly seasonal norms.

In certain cases, train and plane tickets have fallen well below their summer averages.

As for lodging, the French press has reported that occupancy rates at Paris hotels are “gradually falling” as the event approaches, with many hotels and Airbnbs available.

What’s going on?

Around 15 million people are expected to visit Paris between late July and early September – considerably more than the 6.2 to 6.4 million visitors who came between July and August in 2023 or the roughly 10 million summer visitors Paris saw in pre-pandemic days.

As such, many predicted that prices would skyrocket ahead of the Olympic Games, but there are a few other factors to consider aside from large volumes of tourists.

A survey in March 2024 found that almost half of Parisians planned on leaving the city during the Games period. On top of that, over half (64 percent) of Olympics tickets were sold to French people, many of whom are planning to stay with friends and relatives in the capital and thus have not booked accommodation.

As of late May, almost half of the French ticket holders had not reserved any hotels or Airbnbs during the Olympic period.

Many property owners in the capital also listed their homes on Airbnb with the hopes of earning some extra money during the Games. However, this led to an over-saturation of the market.

French daily Le Monde reported that there were more than 145,000 properties on offer on Airbnb during the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, compared with 65,000 in normal times.

When it comes to hotels, UK online newspaper The Independent reported that hotel occupancy rates are expected to be “between 60 and 70 percent during the Games.”

The deals to look out for

Eurostar

According to reporting by The Independent, Eurostar tickets during the Olympics have declined by 11 percent in the last two weeks alone. The UK online newspaper found that the average Eurostar ticket price had dropped by €30 (or £26).

At the time of writing, The Local found that the cheapest one-way tickets on the day of the Opening Ceremony (July 26th) were €126, dropped to €112 the following day.

For a round trip ticket from July 26th to August 2nd, the lowest price was €169 – around average for the summer holiday period.

Flights

If you are flying from the UK, as of mid-June, Google Flights placed London-Paris flights in the ‘Typical’ price range. The cheapest round-trip tickets were with budget airline Vueling, at €139 for one week (July 26th to August 2nd).

However, flights from other cities in the UK were significantly cheaper, particularly if you are willing to change the dates slightly.

For example, five-day (July 29th to August 2nd) round-trip tickets from Bristol from cost €99 with Easyjet, and one-week (July 27 to August 3) round-trip tickets with Ryanair from Belfast cost €59.

For those flying from the US, prices had dropped significantly for a 10-day trip (July 26th to August 5th) from NYC to Paris, when compared with December 2023.

At the time, tickets were in Google Flights’ seasonal norms with average prices around €821. However, as of mid-June the same round-trip tickets were available for as low as €523.

The flight planning tool also ranked tickets during the Olympic period between LA and Paris as ‘low’ compared to seasonal norms.

Hotels and accommodation

As mentioned above, there were still many hotel options still available in and around Paris as of mid-June.

At the time of writing, Airbnb offered over 1,000 options for the first week of the Games, with options around €150 for an entire apartment for two people in central Paris, and possibilities closer to €230 for a family of four.

When it comes to hotels, many were still above seasonal norms, but prices were lower than initial estimates.

For example, in December the Paris deputy mayor in charge of tourism Frédéric Hocquard had estimated that the average price of one night in a hotel in Paris would be €699 during the Olympic Games, compared with €169 in July 2023, an increase of 314 percent.

At the time of writing websites such as Booking.com and Kayak still had several rooms available for around €200 per night.

Other costs

Those visiting during the Games will also pay a higher price for public transport.

Between July 20th and September 8th, the price of a single ticket – which can be used on the Metro, buses, RER trains or trams – will go up to €4, in contrast to the €2.10 it costs currently, and purchasing a 10 tickets at once (a carnet) will increase from €16.90 to €32 during the Games.

This does not affect residents with a travel pass or monthly card, or people who buy tickets in advance.

Are Olympics tickets still available?

Yes. While many have already secured tickets, there are still opportunities on the official resale platform – full details HERE. Games organisers are also releasing a limited number of new tickets every Thursday on the official ticket platform here.

Meanwhile there are ticket available for the Paralympics via the ticketing website here.

The Olympics/Paralympics website is the only official channel for ticket sales, so you should be extremely cautious about any tickets offered for sale on any other websites or forums.

But should I visit Paris during the Olympics?

If you were hoping for a last-minute Olympics trip then this is very much still on the table.

But if you want to enjoy a more typical tourist visit, you should expect larger than normal crowds and you should be prepared to reserve early. You should also keep in mind that there will be security zones across the city, as many of the matches and events are taking place in central Paris.

Eiffel tower – Be aware that the Tower is close to a Games venue. It will remain open during the Olympics period apart from the day of the Opening Ceremony (July 26th). However between July 18th and July 25th the Tower is in a security zone so you will require a QR code to enter – more info here. From July 27th onwards no QR code will be required for visitors – the Tower will be in a red zone, which has restrictions on vehicles, but which pedestrians can enter freely.

Louvre – During the Olympic Games, the Louvre will remain open to visitors, except for July 25th and 26th. However, all visitors from July 1st to September 8th must book a ticket ahead of time. As for the Tuileries Garden, it will be closed on August 28th and throughout the Games it will be in a security zone, meaning vehicular traffic will be severely limited – although pedestrians can still access it.

You can find more info about Olympics related disruption/changes for the Louvre HERE.

Versailles – The château, as well as the gardens will remain open to the public throughout the Games, with normal visiting hours.

The rest of France

Just because you’re taking a train or a plane to Paris, it doesn’t mean that you have to stay there – the capital is connected to all of France’s major cities – Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon and more – by high-speed TGV trains, as well as many smaller cities and towns.

Of the millions of people who visit France each year, 80 percent of them visit sites within just 20 percent of the country; largely Paris, the Riviera and certain well-known Alpine towns.

However, there are many other options – here is our guide to off-the-beaten-track places.

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