Are they similar? I'm assuming they're open 24 hours a day 7 days a week? Do you have to buy a metro card? Is it the same concept as subway?
The basic concept of the NYC subway, London Underground, and Paris Metro is exactly the same. You'll go to an underground station, swipe your way in with some sort of ticket, and get on a train or two with brightly colored lines.
Both the Paris Metro and London Underground close overnight. Paris runs about 5:30-0:30 on weekdays, 5:30-2:15 on weekends. London tends to run 4:30 or 5:30 to a little bit after midnight. The exact hours vary by station.
For Paris, you can buy a ticket at the station and go. London has a couple of complications. First is that London fares are by zone - for example, you pay more for a 30-mile trip to Heathrow than a 2-mile trip within central London. It would be like New York charging more if you crossed through multiple boroughs. The fares are clearly marked at every station where you can buy a ticket. In addition, London sells three different kinds of tickets. You have day passes (expensive, don't bother), single-ride tickets, and Oyster cards, which are like debit cards that you use for public transit. You have to lock up ￡5 into the card, but you save ￡2.50 per ride with an Oyster. Also, you can get your ￡5 back when you turn in the card at the end of your trip.
It might seem like a lot, but you'll get the hang of it really quickly and amaze all of your friends once again. Have a great trip!
You don't say exactly when you are coming to London, but contrary to what nor of the earlier answers say parts of the London Underground WILL be open 24/7 from September this year. Also remember that unlike both the New York and Paris Metros. London'r Underground system is of two types. There are the sub surface lines, like the lines of the other two cities. Unlike them, however, there are the 'deep tubes'
which are a long way below ground level. Additionally, there is the 'Overground' system (coloured orange on the Underground maps) which now runs in a ring a little out from the centre, and the Docklands Light Railway which serves the east side of the capital, both north and south of the river. Finally, there are not many Underground services south of the river, local trains running from the main line termini.
The Paris Metro is similar to the New York Subway in that it covers the central and inner areas of Paris in a very dense network. The London Underground has long lines that in one case go as far out from the centre as 28 miles.
Therefore apart from in the immediate central area where most distances are so short you can walk them, the network is very spread out with many inner and outer suburban areas not served. You ned to use the Underground in conjunction with our 500 bus routes, the inner suburban London Overground Rail network and the suburban National Rail Services and the Docklands Light Railway. Although this all sounds complicated London has one of the largest, densest and most high frequency public transport networks in the world.
There is a journey planner and information on ticketing - the Oyster Card at www.tfl.gov.uk
Rail Services www.nationalrail.co.uk
The Oyster Card is a multi modal ticket. You can use it on any form of transport in the Greater London area
Neither the London Underground or Paris Metro are open 24 hours. In Paris there are a small number of night bus
services. In London most major bus routes run 24 hours
They are not open 24/7. They open early and close late, but not 24 hours a day.
I don't know the NYC subway as I've never been there, but a quick summary of the other two would go like this.
The London Underground (we locals all call it the tube) consists of a number of named lines. They are each a different colour on the tube map, which people find helps to find their way around it. To find your train, follow the signs by name of the line and whether it is going north, south, east or west. Tickets are priced by zone depending on how far you go and you can buy single tickets, but by far the cheapest way to pay is get an Oystercard. This is rather like an electronic purse - put money on it, touch it to the yellow reader on the ticket barrier at the beginning and end of your journey, and it works out the correct fare for you and deducts it from the card. It also works on all other London public transport, and is almost essential on buses since they stopped taking cash last year.
The Paris Metro has numbered lines but everyone refers to them by the stations at each end. To plan your journey, work out from the map what is at the end of the line in the direction you want to go and where to change. Then, say, you are on line 1 and want to go west. The last station in that direction is Grande Arche de La Defense so you follow signs for "Direction La Defense". Where you need to change, follow the orange Correspondance signs. You can get a Paris Visite card for a few days, or just buy individual tickets.- which RATP, in an attempt to look trendy, years ago renamed as the "ticket-t" despite the fact that this is not French! The Metro has just one flat fare. You can buy a carnet of 10 tickets at a cheaper rate, and if there's a group of you, this is the way to buy them - do that and pass the tickets round the group. I thoroughly recommend this over the Paris Visite card unless you're going to use the Metro for a LOT of trips.
You will need to press the door button to open the doors, or on older trains, lift the latch - the locals will lift the latch BEFORE the train has stopped to save a millisecond or two! Line 6 is kind of the most scenic as most of it is ABOVE street level rather than below it. This also happens to be the line you need for the Eiffel Tower.
Cannot answer your question properly, as I have never been to NYC, and a long time since to Paris. The London system has a dedicated web site - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information... - The Subway is commonly known as 'The Tube'. Trains and buses do not run all night - usually until just after midnight, and resume at 5 - 6 am. There are night buses on some routes.
http://en.parisinfo.com/practical-paris/...
This link gets you almost all of the subways around the world. Click on a station name and see where it is on the subway map.
http://subway.umka.org/
Never been to NYC - born here in London in 1941 and know the London Underground quite well.
How about a trip on the London Tube?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WairHYjF...
You'll be pleased to know that an American (British-American) lead the way in getting the deep tube started here in London.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Stan...
Hope you visit us here in London sometime - soon.
London's Underground is Color coded- just need to know whether you are going North /South/East /West
The next station is announced over the speakers and there are signs in the cars of the line and the stops it makes
Pretty easy really
London's tube is not open 24 hours a day.
Public transport in London is very easy to use
You do not see so many furry animals on the London Underground as you see on the New York subway.
