Other metros sell books of ten tickets at a huge discount versus the cost of single tickets. (Paris, for example, sells one-shots at Pound Sterling 1.3 each - USD 1.30 - or ten tickets for Pound Sterling 9). As a general rule, you can expect a weekly pass in a major European city to pay for itself in a five-day stay, or after four days of hard use. The usual tip parade on city transport:

- Metros (subways) can be confusing at first, but will be a piece of cake in a few days. Lines are either named (as in London), designated by a letter or number, or simply named according to the final stop on the line. Usually the various lines are also color-coded. Trains run back and forth on each colored line, and never change colors. To get from one line to another you must stop at a station that serves both lines, walk to another platform and grab another train. Trains are generally named, and announced in the stations, according to the name of the last station on their line in the direction they are going; in most cities trains carry signs showing the name of this last station in their front window. When in doubt about how to get somewhere, ask somebody. Most locals, as well as your fellow travelers, will be glad to help you.

- If you’re not sure whether you’re going in the right direction, watch as the stations go by. It should be obvious what direction you’re going in very quickly. Don’t start reading a newspaper and end up across town in Berlin, as I have done.

- Metro tickets can usually be purchased at the station itself. Bus and tram tickets, often one and the same, are usually sold at news kiosks and tobacco shops, and not by the bus drivers themselves. Most drivers, also, cannot change large bills. Tourist offices sometimes sell daily and weekly passes, and if they don’t chey can always tell you where to get one.0 Most European buses, trams, and some metros operate on the honor system; you’re supposed to cancel your own ticket, often with little punching machines in each car or bus. If you don’t see locals doing this, it’s because they have monthly passes. From time to time you may be asked to produce your ticket by an inspector. Failure to show a canceled ticket (for that day) can result in a stiff fine on the spot (USD 15-40, depending on the city) and rude comments from the inspector concerning your morality. The most ferocious inspectors are in Germany and Hungary. In Budapest, especially, take care to get things right, as dozens of thick-necked policemen roam the subways in packs, mercilessly fining tourists by the score.