# How to get from New York NY to Paris, France **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 10, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542 "2007-04-10T21:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/1 "2007-04-10T21:08:00Z")
[Step #23 is a doozy](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=new+york+ny+to+paris+france&sll=40.695353,-73.885115&sspn=0.174142,0.31929&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=0&ll=89.428832,-149.0625&spn=173.67679,360&om=1) ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/2 "2007-04-11T05:52:23Z")
And as if you’re not having a long enough day already, you’re plunged onto ~115 miles of toll roads. (God help you if you’ve already spent your toll money in Jersey.) Seriously, though, do you have to pay to drive everywhere in France? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/3 "2007-04-11T06:54:39Z")
Nah, not everywhere, I took The Relatives from Basel (CH) to Strasbourg (F) the other day and we didn’t have to pay. I only had to pay for about half the distance between Irún (E) and Basel. In both cases, most of the road was highway. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/4 "2007-04-11T07:00:13Z")
Are you supposed to be pulling your car while swimming? Or are all the European roads listed common access? I know that some of the US roads are not accessible to pedestrians or bicyclists. May I ask, why did you ask Google for driving directions from NY, NY to Paris, France? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/5 "2007-04-11T07:01:36Z")
Dude, you just cross the street and it’s not even a block down the strip. You can just walk. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/6 "2007-04-11T07:11:08Z")
A similar question: Why does Google take you to landfall in France so one can then take the Chunnel, when giving [directions to London](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=new+york+ny+to+paris+france&sll=40.695353,-73.885115&sspn=0.174142,0.31929&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=0&ll=89.428832,-149.0625&spn=173.67679,360&om=1), instead of landing near Penzance? And why can’t one get directions to Mexico City, Mexico? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/7 "2007-04-11T07:18:38Z")
If you take the QE2, you can do the swimming in their pool. And it’s nice to know that Google has enough people working on their maps to provide smartass answers for smartass questions. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/8 "2007-04-11T07:20:42Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > You can just walk. 😃 **OtakuLoki** , should you choose the roundabout water-borne route, it helps to have a car that turns into a surfboard on command. For those of us who aren’t related to Batman or James Bond, though, that part can be difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/9 "2007-04-11T11:51:25Z")
If you switch to the satellite view you can see that the start point is a couple of blocks from Ground Zero. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/10 "2007-04-11T11:56:41Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] If you switch to the satellite view you can see that the start point is a couple of blocks from Ground Zero. [/QUOTE] Google usually starts you at the city hall of whatever city you specify if you don’t give it a start address. In New York, City Hall is not very far from the WTC. Also, _damn you **Annie** _. I had been meaning to post this for a couple days and I just never got to it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/11 "2007-04-11T12:23:36Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] A similar question: Why does Google take you to landfall in France so one can then take the Chunnel, when giving [directions to London](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=new+york+ny+to+paris+france&sll=40.695353,-73.885115&sspn=0.174142,0.31929&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=0&ll=89.428832,-149.0625&spn=173.67679,360&om=1), instead of landing near Penzance? [/QUOTE] I was going to ask the same thing. I put in NY to my house in Hampshire, and it told me to swim to Le Havre, then drive to Boulogne and get on the ferry to Dover. What kind of cockamamie route is that? Any fule kno that the sensible thing to do is swim to Southampton and get on the M3! :smack: Maybe they just wanted to give me a chance to pick up some cheap wine en route. ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/12 "2007-04-11T12:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Seriously, though, do you have to pay to drive everywhere in France? [/QUOTE] IIRC, from driving from Calais to Paris with my parents, the Autoroutes are toll roads, and the toll varies according to the distance you travel. ISTR that it cost us about 15–20€ to travel from Calais to Paris in my dad’s Toyota Previa. The non-autoroute roads are non-toll roads, but the autoroutes tend to be faster. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/13 "2007-04-11T12:56:49Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] [Step #23 is a doozy](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=new+york+ny+to+paris+france&sll=40.695353,-73.885115&sspn=0.174142,0.31929&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=0&ll=89.428832,-149.0625&spn=173.67679,360&om=1) [/QUOTE] But we saved BIG on airfare! ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/14 "2007-04-11T13:04:43Z")
[QUOTE=Angua] IIRC, from driving from Calais to Paris with my parents, the Autoroutes are toll roads, and the toll varies according to the distance you travel. ISTR that it cost us about 15–20€ to travel from Calais to Paris in my dad’s Toyota Previa. The non-autoroute roads are non-toll roads, but the autoroutes tend to be faster. [/QUOTE] Not all French autoroutes are toll roads, but the majority of them are. IIRC the speed limit on the non-toll autoroutes is lower, 120km/h instead of 130km/h. French roads are generally pretty good, though, and unless you’re driving a huge distance you can usually find good non-autoroute alternatives in many parts of the country. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/15 "2007-04-11T13:49:14Z")
You can do the entire trip without a car. Jump off one of the piers in NYC, swim the Atlantic, then swim up the Seine to Paris. No tolls! ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/16 "2007-04-11T14:27:03Z")
Funny, I thought it was about a half mile or so north on the Strip. 🙂 (AOE: Dang, **Rigamarole** beat me to it.) ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/17 "2007-04-11T14:37:05Z")
[QUOTE=Bambi Hassenpfeffer] Google usually starts you at the city hall of whatever city you specify if you don’t give it a start address. In New York, City Hall is not very far from the WTC. [/QUOTE] Not necessarily so. Cincinnati, OH in Google Maps points you to the corner behind the city hall… not of Cincinnati, but of Norwood, a separate municipal corporation entirely. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/18 "2007-04-11T15:40:05Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] And it’s nice to know that Google has enough people working on their maps to provide smartass answers for smartass questions. [/QUOTE] They need a little refinement: Step 22a: Park the car Step 24: Obtain a car Hopefully there’s a car rental shop at E05. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/19 "2007-04-11T15:57:16Z")
If you drive it the other way around, you have to take an iceberg across the Bering Straight. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542/20 "2007-04-11T16:07:11Z")
Man, what’s _with_ these guys??? Why should we have to go all the way to Boston to get to Europe. Can’t we just go directly from Lawn Guyland or something? It’s \*especially out of the way for those of us trying to get from Washington DC to [Delaware](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=413773&page=2&pp=50) :mad: 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-get-from-new-york-ny-to-paris-france/399542.md?page=2)