Planning a trip to France or just trying to get around a French-speaking city? In this post, you’ll learn the essential travel and transportation vocabulary you need to buy tickets, ask for directions, and navigate trains, buses, and metros with confidence. We’ll keep it practical, with short phrases you can use right away, plus mini-exercises to lock it in.

Core travel verbs you’ll use every day

Here are the most common verbs for moving around:

• aller (to go)
• prendre (to take — a train, bus, etc.)
• changer (to change — lines or trains)
• partir (to leave, depart)
• arriver (to arrive)

Use them in simple present or the near future (aller + infinitif).

Je à Marseille demain.

Getting around: en vs à

In French, the preposition changes with the type of transport.

Je vais à le bus. → Je vais en bus. Use "en" with bus, train, metro, etc. You can also say "Je prends le bus."

Nous allons train.

Je viens vélo.

Extra useful phrases

• Je prends le bus pour aller au musée. = I take the bus to go to the museum.
• On change à Nation. = We change at Nation.
• C’est quelle ligne ? = Which line is it?
• Où est l’arrêt de bus ? = Where is the bus stop?
• Le quai numéro 7. = Platform number 7.

Tickets, routes, and stations

When you’re buying tickets or looking at platforms, these words help:

Validate your ticket

In many places, you must validate or scan your ticket before boarding.

• composter/valider le billet = to validate the ticket
• une borne = a machine

Example: Vous devez valider votre billet à la borne.

Practice conversation: at the ticket counter

Put the lines in order.

Reading timetables and asking for directions

Common questions and answers:

Il y un bus à 10 h.

Cultural notes: travel in France

• Trains: TGV (high-speed), TER (regional), Intercités. Operated by la SNCF. In/around Paris, RER and métro are operated by la RATP.
• Tickets: un carnet (a bundle of metro tickets), un passe Navigo (weekly/monthly pass). You often validate tickets at barriers or machines.
• Platforms: Look for "quai" and "voie". Always check the "heure de départ" (departure time) and "heure d’arrivée".
• Strikes: You may hear "la grève". Always check announcements: "Le train est annulé" (the train is canceled) or "retardé" (delayed).
• Politeness: Start with Bonjour and end with s’il vous plaît when asking for help.

Quick phrases you can reuse

• Je vais en métro. / Je vais à pied.
• Je prends le bus pour aller au centre-ville.
• Où dois-je changer de ligne ?
• Combien de temps jusqu’à l’aéroport ?
• Je voudrais un aller simple, s’il vous plaît.

Wrap-up: your mini travel toolkit

You now have the key verbs (aller, prendre, changer), the right prepositions (en vs à), and practical phrases to buy tickets, ask for times, and find platforms. Practice them out loud:

• Bonjour. Je voudrais un billet aller-retour pour Lyon, s’il vous plaît.
• Le train part à quelle heure ?
• Je vais en bus. Nous allons à pied.

Keep these handy on your phone when you travel. Bon voyage !