Arriving and Departing Paris by Bus

Unlike in England or Spain, long-distance bus services in France are virtually non-existent, as people prefer the efficient national train service (SNCF), although it is comparatively more expensive; regional buses run where train service is thin or does not reach, mainly in remote rural areas.

Local bus information to the rare rural areas where trains do not have access can be obtained from the SNCF (88 rue St-Lazare, Paris, 75009. tel: 08-36-35-35-39 in English).

International Bus Travel

The largest international operator is Eurolines (28 av. Général-de-Gaulle, Bagnolet, 93541. tel: 08-92-89-90-91 in France; 08705 143219 in the U.K., https://www.eurolines.fr), whose main French terminal is in the Parisian suburb of Bagnolet (métro station Gallieni, half-hour ride from central Paris, at the end of métro line 3), but there are other pick-up points.

Eurolines is actually a group of 32 independent coach companies operating together to form Europe's largest regular coach network. This network connects over 500 destinations, covering the whole of the continent, including Morocco. Eurolines allows travelling from Sicily to Helsinki and from Casablanca to Moscow. You can check the national websites for details about journeys originating in that country.

NB. the French site does not have an English version. The UK site is National Express which also gives Europe bus travel options.

A Eurolines Pass gives everyone the chance to travel on a budget with flexibilitybetween Europe's major tourist cities.

The 2 Passes give you a choice of 15 or 30 days travel ticket offering unlimited luxury coach travel between 40 cities on Eurolines services. To make your travel simple, you can pre-book your first journey and for all other journeys book as you travel, providing you with additional flexibility.

Seasons

High Season: 1-7 January and 23 June - 10 September and 18-31 December
Low Season: 8 January - 31 March and 4 November - 17 December
Middle Season: 1 April - 22 June and 11 September - 3 November
Youth Fares are for passengers under 26 years.

Ask about one of the "circle tours" that depart from Paris, for example, via London, Amsterdam, then back to Paris again).

Eurolines operates a service from London's Victoria Coach Station, via the Dover-Calais ferry, to Paris's Porte de Bagnolet. There are several departures of differing durations between 8 and 14.5 hours; in July a 9:00 AM departure that arrives in Paris at 6:30 PM,costs standard £49 for a week round-trip, £36 one-way.

Note that although cheaper, the journey times by bus/ferry have increased since 2005 as there is no longer any Hoverspeed ferry service across the Channel.

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