Paris Métro

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Buying Paris Métro tickets

The basic Métro ticket is a small piece of cardboard (formerly mauve, now white) with a magnetic strip that costs €1,50. It's issued by RATP, the transportation authority for the Paris region. You can save money by purchasing a carnet of 10 tickets for €11,10 at the ticket window of any Métro station or from vending machines near the turnstiles. Ask for "une billet, s'il vous plait" or "un carnet, s'il vous plait." (A carnet is simply a stack of individual tickets that you can share with family or friends.)

A single ticket will take you anywhere within the city of Paris on the Métro and RER networks, and you can transfer between lines--or between the Métro and the RER--on the same ticket.

You can also use tickets from your carnet on public buses, and transfers from one transportation mode to another (i.e., from rail to bus or tram) are now permitted. Your ticket is valid for 1½ hours from the time it's stamped.

Note: Tickets purchased from bus drivers don't allow transfers, so buy a carnet or a few tickets ahead of time in the Métro if you plan to ride the bus and transfer to the underground.

For details on the new generation of tickets and carnets, see the RATP's new "T+ tickets" page.

Money-saving passes

If you plan to use public transportation extensively, you may find it worthwhile to buy one of these passes:

Mobilis is a pass for one calendar day. The price depends on the zones where you intend to travel; if you plan to stay within the city, a Zone 1 pass is all you need.

Paris Visite is a tourist pass valid for one, two, three, or five calendar days. Again, the price depends on how many zones you need. Children from 4 to 11 pay half-price (kids 4 and under are free), and the card offers discounts on boat cruises and certain other tourist attractions.

The Carte Orange, which requires a passport photo, is used mostly by locals. The weekly or carte hebdomadaire pass runs from Monday to Sunday, and the monthly or carte mensuelle pass is good for one calendar month.

Other passes are available for residents (including students at universities and other schools in the Paris region).

Where to buy passes: You can buy Mobilis, Paris Visite, and Carte Orange at major Métro stations, RER stations, and railroad stations in the Ile-de-France region, including those at Paris airports. Paris Visite is also available at branches of the Paris tourist office and from our partner, Rail Europe, which also sells the Paris Museum Pass.

Tips:

• Paris is a city that's best enjoyed on foot, so a carnet of 10 tickets is likely to be your best value unless you have limited mobility, are pressed for time, or are staying a long way from tourist attractions.

• Métro and RER ticket machines are designed to work with modern "smart" credit cards that have embedded chips. (These are common in Europe, but most American credit-card companies still use cheaper, outmoded "dumb" cards.) If your credit card doesn't work, just go to the ticket window.

Next page: Riding the trains

Top photo: Copyright © Matthew Parker.

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