Transportation in Paris is quite comprehensive, with a subway system (Metro), urban rail (RER), buses, suburban trains (Transilien), trolleys, bike stations, and night buses (noctiliens) running regularly.

Paris and the surrounding region are divided into 6 different fare zones. Zone 1 being Paris itself, with Zone 6 being the furthest suburbs. A basic transport ticket will include zones 1 and 2, so the more zones you travel through, the more you have to pay.

For more information about traveling to Paris, check out Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Paris, France.

The Metro

Since Paris doesn’t sprawl to the degree of most American cities, you can go practically anywhere in 20 to 45 minutes …

The airplane may not be first on your list of most comfortable sleeping places.

Believe it or not, there are some unusual, but natural, ways to help you sleep better on airplanes.

During tough high seasons — spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course, summer months — there are few discounts.

But here’s how you can travel a bit cheaper.

The way around the busiest seasons is actually a simple one if you can plan ahead: think alternate airports and cities, and flights with intermediate stops in hub cities en route.

And if that doesn’t work, go to plan C: whether you have young children in school or they’re in college, figure out ahead of time if they can take exams a week earlier, or get extra credit for doing an assignment during a trip.

That way, you can leave early and avoid peak travel periods.

Outside of that terrible blackout period around the holidays when airfares …

Sweeping rule changes, ruined honeymoons, outraged passengers, embarrassed officials, government vacations…it’s like a soap opera that won’t end.

First, The Latest Updates

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires passport for land, air and sea travelers to re-enter the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or countries in the Caribbean (not including St. Thomas, St John or Puerto Rico).

During the sweltering days of summer, sometimes the only thing that will quench your thirst is an ice-cold glass of water. For many of us, make that an ice-cold glass of mineral water.

So why not go straight to the source?

The bottled water industry has exploded in recent years, and as a result, many people are paying more attention to where their water is actually coming from…whether it’s a cold-water spring or an icy glacier. This is great news, since many of these famous waters come from regions that you can easily include on your next vacation.

On April 21, Captain Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad stepped onboard the Schooner Anne in Hoboken, New Jersey, knowing their feet wouldn’t touch land again for nearly three years.

They’re facing everything from storms, to making the supplies onboard last, to the psychology of being isolated after embarking on a 1,000 day worldwide sea voyage without docking or restocking.

“It’s certainly different looking at the list at sea with almost three years to go than it is looking at it onshore,” wrote Stowe of their food supply on Day 61 in the duo’s official blog. “Looking at years to come, we are really glad we got the extra food and it’s looking like …

My husband and I attended [Peter’s] presentation at a travel show in Boston and he answered my question about what to do if the hotel conditions are not what was advertised or booked.

One hotel on a recent trip to Norway had such bad conditions due to ongoing construction that I had to check out within a few hours and move to another hotel. Using Peter’s guidelines, I was able to get a complete refund.

It probably also helped that the hotel was booked through AAA and TravelBound and they went to bat for me.

If I had not heard Peter speak, I would not have had the confidence to walk away …

On our last stop in the U.S., we’re heading to the city that’s truly got its finger on the pulse…Austin, Texas, where music, beer, good eats, artists, and hipsters converge.

Few others have as much pride as Texans do (heck, they put a picture of their state on T-shirts), but you’ll also find hordes of transplants making their home in the capital city.

We’ve checked out everything from quirky nightlife to hidden natural spots to see what’s off the brochure in Austin.