Paris is divided into 20 “arrondissements,” geographic zones that are used for administrative purposes but are also well known to the public. Many of them even have stereotypes associated with them (the 16th is considered to be where all the rich people live, for instance). My homestay is in the 10th arrondissement, which is towards the center of Paris and a bit north of the Seine, while my study abroad program classes are in the 14th, in the southern part of the city and my Sorbonne classes are in the 18th, way in the north of the city. Given that I do not have my car with me in Europe, I’ve had to figure out how to move from place to place in the city (and elsewhere in Europe when I want to travel) without the ability to drive.
Paris has an incredibly dense public transportation system (I've included a map of some of the lines; it's a total maze and it doesn't even show the bus lines). There is the metro (14 lines), the bus, the tram and the RER. The metro lines crisscross each other all over the downtown parts of the city, constituting a veritable maze of underground tunnels. The metros also run very quickly, usually, there is a train every 3-4 minutes during the day and every 7-8 minutes late at night. The bus lines are also incredibly dense.
