India, Nov. 2 -- For the first half of my decade living in France, I rented a tiny studio apartment off Nice's central square, Place Massena, in the French Riviera. Uber was a pipe dream at the time, but luckily, the seaside town can be easily navigated on foot or by bike-and I once even made the 20-minute ride home from the Nice Cote d'Azur Airport (NCE) on a Velobleu city bike, my duffel bag delicately balancing on top of the front basket.

When I made the move up to Paris in late 2018, ride-hailing services were already the norm, but in a city where strikes are common (and sometimes unpredictable), I quickly learned that you'll have better luck below ground than above. Instead, I share the same advice to anyone visiting, even my most s...