Paris Métro Fares and Tickets

The traditional Métro ticket is a small piece of cardboard (formerly mauve, now white) with a magnetic strip that costs €2,10. It's issued by RATP, the transportation authority for the Paris region, and at some point it will be replaced by electronic cards such as Navigo Easy (see below).

You can save money by purchasing a carnet of 10 electronic tickets for €16,90 (adults and children 10 or older) or €8,45 (children ages 4-9) from vending machines near the turnstiles in Métro stations.  The electronic tickets are stored on the Navigo Easy card (see below), which costs €2,--.

If you're traveling with a children, see the "Tips" section below.

A single-journey T+ or Navigo Easy fare will take you anywhere within the city of Paris on the Métro and RER networks. You can transfer between lines--or between the Métro and the RER--on the same ticket.

You can also use single-journey tickets and fares on buses or trams, although you can't transfer between the Métro and RER and buses or trams on the same ticket.

Tips:

• Unlike T+ tickets, bus tickets purchased on board are good only on buses and trams (they also cost 40 cents more at €2,50).

• Métro ticket machines accept coins and credit cards, but many machines don't take banknotes. If you pay by credit card, don't withdraw the card too quickly: It may take half a minute or longer for the machine to scan the card and process the transaction, especially if you're using a magnetic-stripe credit card from abroad.

• Children under age 4 travel free. Kids from ages 4 through 9 pay the full adult fare for single tickets, but a children's carnet of 10 tickets is half price, so it pays to plan ahead.

• Important: T+ cardboard tickets will remain valid for the foreseeable future, but expect to see fewer ticket machines as the RATP continues to promote electronic fare alternatives.

For details on the current generation of tickets and carnets, including what kinds of transfers are allowed, see the RATP's "T+ tickets" page.

Navigo Easy: a replacement for paper tickets

In June, 2019, the RATP introduced Navigo Easy, a rechargeable stored-value plastic card designed for tourists and other non-commuters who use the Paris public-transportation system.

Navigo Easy will eventually replace the traditional T+ tickets altogether, but you can purchase and use it right now.

To use Navigo Easy, you first buy a card for €2,-- from a ticket booth in any Paris Métro station. You then top it up with fares, which cost the same as today's existing paper tickets: €2,10 for a single ride,wih a big discount if you buy a carnet of 10 rides.

For now, Navigo Easy is just an optional alternative to T+ tickets, but the convenience of not having to carry a stack of cardboard tickets makes it worthwhile if most of your travel will be on the Métro--especially since T+ tickets are notorious for becoming demagnetized, which makes them unusable until a station agent runs them through an electronic device to fix them.

• See: Navigo Easy guide (with step-by-step photos)

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: As we point out under "Tips," a carnet of electronic tickets is simpler to buy and is likely to be cheaper if you don't spend a lot of time on trains and buses.

Paris Visite is an unlimited tourist travel pass that you can buy for one, two, three, or five calendar days. The "Paris Centre" version covers transportation in zones 1-3. For travel to zones 4 and 5 (including Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly Airport, and Versailles), you'll need the more expensive "Paris and Île-de-France region" version, which covers all zones.

Children from 4 to 10 pay half-price (again, 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.

In addition to the Navigo Easy stored-value ticket card, the Paris transportation network offers Navigo Weekly and Navigo Monthly passes. (The weekly passes run from Monday through Sunday, and the monthly passes are for a calendar month.)

For more information on these and other tickets, see the RATP's Travel passes and prices page.

Where to buy passes: You can buy Paris Visite, Mobilis, and other passes 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.

Tips:

• Paris is a city that's best enjoyed on foot, so a carnet 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 accept nearly all credit and debit cards, including American Visa and MasterCards that lack PINs.

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