Essential French Phrases for Getting Around France

When you’re travelling around France, you’ll often need to ask locals for the best way to reach a destination — especially if you don’t have a car. Whether you’re trying to get from Nice Airport to the city centre, find the quickest route to the beach, or navigate local buses and regional trains, knowing how to ask for and understand transport advice in French is incredibly useful.

Sentence Builder: Asking for Directions

Use these patterns to ask about or explain the best way to get somewhere:

Pattern 1: Comment aller à / au / à la / aux… ?

(How do you get to…?)

Comment aller à la plage ?
→ How do you get to the beach?

Comment aller au centre-ville ?
→ How do you get to the town centre?

Pattern 2: Pour aller à…, vous pouvez…

(To get to…, you can…)

Pour aller à la gare, vous pouvez prendre le tram.
→ To get to the station, you can take the tram.

Pour aller au port, vous pouvez marcher.
→ To get to the port, you can walk.

Pattern 3: Depuis…, prenez…

(From…, take…)

Depuis la place principale, prenez le bus 4.
→ From the main square, take bus 4.

Grammar Focus: Using “à” and “de” with Places

When talking about where you’re going to, use:

• à + place
  Je vais à Marseille.
• au (à + le) for masculine locations
  Je vais au port.
• à la for feminine
  Je vais à la plage.
• aux for plural
  Je vais aux montagnes.

When talking about where you’re coming from, use:

• de + place
  Je viens de Nice.
• du (de + le)
  Je viens du port.
• de la
  Je viens de la gare.
• des
  Je viens des Ardennes.

Learning these forms helps you understand French transport instructions quickly.

Cultural Note: Local Transport in France

France’s public transport varies by region:

• Cities have extensive metro, bus, and tram networks.
• Coastal towns often rely on buses, seasonal shuttles (navettes), and ferries.
• Rural areas may have limited public transport — locals often rely on cars.

If you’re travelling without a car, look out for:

• Navettes (shuttle buses), especially at airports and tourist areas
• TER regional trains linking smaller towns
• Bus à la demande (on-demand minibuses) in some rural regions

Asking locals for the best route can save you a lot of time — and often leads to useful insider tips.

Practice Tip

Look up a journey in France — for example, from your hotel to a nearby attraction.
Practise saying:

• Comment aller à… ?
• Pour aller à…, vous pouvez…
• Le trajet dure…

Try building three sentences of your own.

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