Paris Metro ticket The basic Métro ticket is a small piece of cardboard (formerly mauve, now white) with a magnetic strip that costs €1,70. It's issued by RATP, the transportation authority for the Paris region.

You can save money by purchasing a carnet of 10 tickets for €12,50 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 (but not buses)--on the same ticket.

You can also use T+ tickets on buses and trams, although you can't transfer between the Métro and RER and buses or trams on the same ticket.

Note: Unlike T+ tickets, bus tickets purchased on buses are good only on buses and trams (they also cost 10 cents extra, or €1,80), 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 current generation of tickets and carnets, including what kinds of transfers are allowed, 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 electronic Navigo stored-value pass requires a photo and can be used by only one person. You purchase the electronic "Navigo Découverte" card for €5 and buy a "Navigo Semaine" fare that's loaded onto the pass and is valid from Monday through Sunday. The Navigo 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.

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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Paris Métro	Riding the trains
Fares and tickets	Métro Web links

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