The new, electric T3 tram

Like most big European cities, Paris has excellent public transportation. Its subway (Metro), in-city rail (RER) and bus systems are extensive and efficient. Now comes the first new tram to run within the metropolitan area since just before World War II.

The new, electric T3 tram line opened recently, humming along a five-mile section of the city's inner ring road on the Left Bank.

The new line is expected to carry 100,000 passengers a day. It runs along a green belt through the 17th, 13th, 14th and 15th districts, where "portes" or gates once restricted access to the city center to merchants to pay taxes on the goods they brought inside to sell.

The line runs through 17 stops, linking the Garigliano bridge on the city's western edge with the Port d'Ivry to the southeast.

This isn't an area most tourists have reason to visit, but I was in the area visiting a friend and we a took short ride. It was quiet, fast and efficient and better than being stuck in traffic on the bus line it replaced.