✅ The Cheat Sheet to Relocate to Paris

This cheat sheet will help you grasp all the information you need to know when relocating to Paris for the first time. No chit-chat, let’s go!

📱 Mobile Plan in Paris

To get a local SIM card in an easy and fast way when coming to Paris, I recommend which offers mobile plans between 10€/month and 19.99€/month (+10€ the SIM card) with a lot of data (up to 300 GB/month) and data roaming (up to 35 GB/month). The network can be sometimes weak in France, but don’t worry, this is a no-commitment plan, and you will be able to keep your phone number if you want to change your provider in the future.

You won’t be able to buy a SIM card in Paris airports, but if you can wait 1 hour, you will easily be able to get one in stores or shops in Paris, in 5 minutes:

Then, you will need to look for a vending machine inside the shop, and subscribe to one of the mobile plans you chose. You will be able to get a mobile plan that stops automatically after 1 month as well as a normal subscription. After the subscription process is completed, you will get a SIM card working out of the box from the vending machine tray. The default PIN code is 1234.

To get more details, you can read this step-by-step guide:

If you want to learn more about the best mobile plans in France, you can check this article:

🛬 Go From the Airport to Paris

Here are the best routes to go to Paris from all Paris airports:

📍 From Charles-de-Gaulle Airport (CDG)

🚊 +	💰 11.45€ ⏱️ 35-50 min
🚕 Taxi / Ridesharing	💰 55/62€ ⏱️ 30-90 min

For more routes from/to Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, you can check this article:

📍 From Orly Airport (ORY)

🚇	💰 10.30€ ⏱️ 35-50 min
🚕 Taxi / Ridesharing	💰 35/41€ ⏱️ 30/60 min

For more routes from/to Paris-Orly airport, you can check this article:

📍 From Beauvais Airport (BVA)

🚌 (shuttle bus)	💰 Up to 16.90€ ⏱️ 1h15-1h45
🚕 Taxi / Ridesharing	💰 130-210€ ⏱️ 1h10-1h45

For more routes from/to Paris-Beauvais airport, you can check this article:

🚇 Transportation in Paris

Paris has a very complex ticketing system I had a really hard time summarizing, even though I am from Paris. To summarize:

🎟️ Ticket t+ To load in a Navigo Easy card (2€)	✅ 💰 2.10€
🎟️ Ticket Origin – Destination	✅ 💰 Up to 5€
🎟️ Airport tickets	✅ to the airports 💰 Special pricing

To learn more about the different tickets and passes to buy based on your needs, you can check this article:

Here are the essential mobile applications I use to navigate the complexity of Paris public transportation:

	Well-integrated with Paris public transportation
	All the mobility available in Paris integrated into a single app
	Pay and load your transportation pass directly with this app

🚕 Taxi / Ridesharing in Paris

Many ridesharing is available in Paris. Among others, you will be able to use ( ). However, you can use taxis which have improved their quality of service recently but are more expensive in general.

To learn more about the other best taxi/ridesharing apps in Paris, you can read this article:

🚴‍♂️ Bike in Paris

I love biking in Paris, even though cyclists can be dangerous. To do so, I can advise you to use:

https://www.velib-metropole.fr/	The official Paris city bike. I use it in my daily life and it is super cheap (from 5€/day, 39€/year). However, the availability and reliability of the bikes in the dock stations are uncertain, and you will need to check the bikes’ availability on the Velib’ app.
	It is a much more reliable service but far more expensive than the Velib. You can order it with the app too 😉.

To learn more about biking in Paris, you can read this article:

🌍 Travel From Paris

To travel from Paris, you will have plenty of solutions: plane, train, bus, carpooling, car rental, and hitchhiking for the most adventurous ones 😉.

To book your train, you have two main options:

	The official app from SNCF, the company managing the trains in France, to book your ticket.
	A great user experience to book your ticket.

However, if you want to compare prices between different means of transportation (planes, trains, buses, and carpooling), I would recommend you to use:

Plane, train, bus, and carpooling tickets in the same user interface.

🏦 Banking in France

Nowadays, opening a bank account in France has never been that easy. I will recommend 2 online banks where you can open a bank account easily in 10 minutes:

1. (revolut.com)
   It has the best user experience, with many features included in the free plan: French IBAN, free debit card, no currency exchange fees, etc. A must-have 🤩!

2. (wise.com)
   For 🇺🇸 US or 🇧🇷 Brazil citizens, I recommend opening an account while still in your home country. Indeed, you will have access to multiple 9 distinct IBANs including an EUR IBAN from Belgium. As this IBAN is from the European Union, you will be able to pay most of the bills by direct debit in France, so you won’t be blocked when paying for internet/electricity in France.

To learn more about the best banks in France, you can read this article:

🏠 Renting an Apartment in Paris

Paris is divided into 20 districts called arrondissements. The trendiest neighboorhoods are the 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th arrondissement, and the North-East of Paris among the youth.

To learn more about where to live based on what you like, you can read this interactive guide:

Moreover, to start your apartment hunting, I would suggest you download ( ) which is an apartment listing aggregator. You won’t miss any apartment available with your alerts set up 😉. Here are the rent you can expect in Paris:

• 🛌: ~1000-1200€/month
• 🛌🛌: ~1900-2300€/month

Moreover, you will need to prepare your application, but what is even more important than your application is to have a guarantor (a friend or family based in France, or a company you pay such as ). To learn more about this important part, you can read this article:

Finally, when you get your apartment, you will need to subscribe to many things:

🔒 Home insurance:	(leocare.eu) Contact me to get a 100€ referral
⚡️ Electricity & gas:	(totalenergies.fr) Add the referral code 104892513 to get a 20€ referral
🛋️ Furniture:	(ikea.fr)
📺 Appliance & electronics:	(fnac.com) (darty.com)
🛜 Internet:	(red-by-sfr.fr)

To get more details about renting an apartment in France, you can read this article:

👨‍⚕️ Healthcare in France

If you feel sick, it is super easy to book an appointment with a doctor in France, you only need to use ( ). It is easy to use and it is free.

For a general practitioner, you should make an appointment with a médecin généraliste (consultation at ~25€).

However, if you live in Paris, you can be reimbursed partially for your medical expenses by opening a social security account in France. To do so, you can follow this step-by-step guide:

🇫🇷 Learn French in Paris

French people can seem rude if you don’t speak their language. If you want to integrate French culture, it would be a great idea to learn French. Mairie de Paris (scap.paris.fr) provides inexpensive French classes for Paris inhabitants (160€ for 45h).

To learn more about where to learn French, you can read this article:

🏋️‍♂️ Gyms in Paris

You might want to stay healthy while enjoying Paris. Here are some recommendations of gyms depending on what you are looking for:

• For the cheapest gyms, Basic-Fit is the best deal.
• For a gym with a good quality-price ratio, with good machines, Neoness, Fitness Park, ON AIR Fitness, and easygym offer a lot of services.
• For a luxury gym, Klay or 21Blanche is one of the best options in Paris. You would be able to network there.

To learn more about the best gyms in Paris, you can read this article:

☕️ Coffee Shop in Paris

You will be able to relax with quality coffee in Paris. My recommendations are almost all located in the 3^rd arrondissement in Le Marais. I/O Café, Dreamin’ Man, or RECTO VERSO will be great for enjoying a great coffee 😋.

To learn more about the best coffee shops in Paris, you can read this article:

Conclusion

That’s it about the essentials when you are a Paris newcomer 🙂. To check about other topics, you can check the homepage.