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| Home > City Guide - Strasbourg - Getting Around | ||
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Getting Around Public Transport The Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois – CTS (tel: (03) 8877 7070; website: www.strasbourg.com/cts) runs the bus and tram systems in Strasbourg. Trams run daily 0430-2430, approximately every two minutes in rush hour. Line A links the northwest (Hautepierre) with the south of the city (Illkirch-Graffenstaden) and passes through the main train station, place Kléber and place de l’Etoile. Lines B and C were inaugurated on the 1 September 2000. Line B links the southeast of Strasbourg (Elsau district) to the communes in the north (Schiltigheim, Bischeim and Hoenheim), while line C links Elsau to the heart of the university quarter, the Esplanade district. The lines meet at place de l’Homme de Fer in central Strasbourg. Buses run until 2330. The main stops are at Baggersee, Hautepierre, Observatoire, Montagne verte and Pont Phario. Bus and tram tickets cost €1.10 and a carnet of five costs €4.70. The Central Tourist Office, 17 place de la Cathédrale (tel: (03) 8852 2828), sells carnets of bus tickets and has free bus maps. Tickets are also available from CTS bureaux (place Kléber), post offices, some newsagents (tabacs) and ticket machines. Tickets must be time stamped before boarding the tram or bus. A travel pass, the tour pass, allows unlimited bus and tram transport for 24 hours and costs €3. Information on transport in Strasbourg is available online (website: www.transports-strasbourg.org). Taxis Taxis can be hired at taxi ranks at the train station and place de l’Homme de Fer. France Taxi (tel: (03) 8822 1919) and Taxi 13 (tel: (03) 8836 1313) operate 24 hours. Taxis charge €1.20 per kilometre during the day, rising to €1.80 at night and weekends. An extra charge of €0.50 is made for each item of luggage. Many taxis accept payment by credit card and tipping is not expected. Limousines AICS, 15 avenue Général de Gaulle (tel: (03) 8845 9191; e-mail: aics@cybercable.tm.fr; website: www.alsace-limousines.com), provides a chauffeured limousine service at a rate of €423 a day. Driving in the City Almost the entire centre of Strasbourg is pedestrianised and cars should be left at the large car parks on the fringes of the city centre. The popularity of public transport – particularly the trams – means that traffic congestion is rarely a problem. What rush hour there is, takes place 0800-0900 and 1630-1830. In order to encourage drivers to use public transport, eight large car parks outside the centre charge low rates (€2.70 per day), which include tram tickets for all passengers. More central car parks charge about €1.10 per hour. Sainte-Marguerite-Petite France, close to the Musée d’Art Moderne, charges €2.30 for six hours and €0.80 for less than one hour. Sainte Aurelie-Gare, just south of the station, charges the same rate. Three large car parks cluster around the place des Halles. Parking at the railway station, Serres, Canal and Porte de l’Hopital car parks are free for visits of less than 30 minutes. The Batelier Car Park, near the Cathedral, Austerlitz, in the south of Strasbourg, near the place d’Austerlitz, and ‘Parking 2’, at Centre Halles, are free 2000-0200 – ideal for nights out. Further information is available from Strasbourg’s online parking guide (website: www.parcus.com) and www.transports-strasbourg.org. Car Hire Providers include Avis (tel: (03) 8832 3044; website: www.avis.com) and Europcar France (tel: (03) 8815 5566; website: www.europcar.fr), both located near the train station, and Hertz France, 10a boulevard Metz (tel: (03) 8832 5762; website: www.hertz.fr). The minimum age for car hire varies from 21-25 years, a credit card is required and drivers must have possessed a national driving licence for at least one year. Hire rates are approximately €83-€270 per day, with insurance usually included in the price. Environmentally friendly electric cars are available for hire (€15 for half a day or €30 for a day) at the Sainte-Aurélie car park, 1 Boulevard de Metz. A deposit of €150 is required. Bicycle Hire Strasbourg has the largest cycle network in France. Bicycles can be hired from Vélocation, located not far from the station, at 4 rue du Maire Kuss (tel: (03) 8843 6430), 10 rue des Bouchers (tel: (03) 8843 6440), Sainte-Aurélie 1, boulevard de Metz (tel: (03) 8832 2011), and 217 Route de Schirmeck (tel: (03) 9020 4712), as well as from Bus Vélocation, at the European Parliament (tel: (06) 1449 4360). A deposit of €45 is required, together with identification. One day of bicycle hire costs €4.50. Internet booking is possible (website: www.velo-strasbourg.com) and maps of the cycling routes are for sale at the point of hire. |
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