Paris Métro Fares and Tickets

From: Paris Métro

Paris Métro single tickets and carnets

The basic Métro ticket is a small piece of cardboard (formerly mauve, now white) with a magnetic strip that costs €1,60. It's issued by RATP, the transportation authority for the Paris region.

You can save money by purchasing a carnet of 10 tickets for €11,60 at the ticket window of any Métro station or from vending machines near the turnstiles. Ask for "un 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 "T+ tickets" page.

Money-saving passes

If you plan to use public transportation extensively, you may find it worthwhile to buy one of the passes described below. Or maybe not: A carnet of 10 tickets is simpler to buy, can be shared by several people, and is likely to be cheaper if you don't spend a lot of time on trains and buses.

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, and only the more expensive Zones 1-6 version covers airport transportation.

Children from 4 to 11 pay half-price (kids 4 and under are free), and Paris Visite offers discounts on boat cruises and certain other tourist attractions.

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.

The Carte Orange, which requires a passport photo, comes in two versions, each in various zone combinations: The weekly or carte hebdomadaire pass runs from Monday to Sunday, and the monthly or carte mensuelle pass is good for one calendar month. Please note:

The Carte Orange is being phased out in favor of a new electronic Navigo Découverte stored-value pass, which--like the Carte Orange--requires a photo and can be used by only one person. You buy the electronic pass for €5 and buy a "Carte Orange" fare that's loaded onto the pass. (Be sure to ask for the "Découverte" pass; the plain-vanilla Navigo pass is only for local residents. Also, the Découverte pass can be reloaded with fares for up to 10 years, so don't throw it away when you go home--save it for your next trip to Paris. For more details, see Parisbytrain's Navigo article, which will open in a separate browser window.)

Other passes are available to residents of the Paris region, including foreigners with local addresses. Students at universities, trade schools, etc. can buy special passes at favorable rates.

For more information, see the Paris Tourist Office's fares and passes page.

Where to buy passes: You can buy Mobilis, Paris Visite, and (while it's still available) 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. In the UK, Hello Paris sells a variety of Paris transport tickets and passes.

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 French credit cards that have embedded chips. If your credit card doesn't work--as it probably won't--go to the ticket window.

Next page: Riding the trains

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