Paris public transport, (the Metro, buses and RER trains) is highly integrated and this includes the ticketing system.
If you want to travel outside the centre of Paris covered by the Metro you should be aware that Paris uses a zonal system with six circular zones radiating out from the centre.
For perhaps the majority of visitors to Paris using the Metro system they will often not want to go anywhere outside the central zone or Zone 1. Zone 1 is where nearly all hotels are and where all the city centre sights are located.
You need to assess which zones you will use before buying your respective tickets. This, of course, also depends on how long you are likely to stay.
If you are looking to see where the various travel zones are, the Metro & RER map on the left indicates where the various zones start and finish.
Destinations that visitors will often go to outside the central zone include:
The RATP run the Metro, RER, buses and trams within Paris and a single ticket can be used on any of the four modes for a single journey.
Note: 'single journey' includes connections between the same types of vehicle (i.e. if you were using the tram you would remain on the tram system), as long as you do not 'exit' the transport system. You are allowed up to two hours for metro and RER after validation and 90 minutes for buses and trams.
Tickets purchased individually or in packages of 10 are permanently valid for single use and are issued without an expiration date.
Single tickets can be purchased from metro/RER stations, some bus terminals, and registered retailers, usually tobacconists and bookshops, displaying the RATP sign.
You can also buy from the same sources a booklet of ten, called a carnet (pronounced kar-nay), offering good savings.
The cardboard t+ ticket packs of 10 have now been entirely replaced. The reasoning is that these types of tickets often get lost, so not all the tickets are used as one is put away somewhere and lost. The cardboard magnetic strip gets easily demagnitised and can no longer work and there are better electronic solutions now available.
From 13 October 2022, cardboard t+ ticket packs were no longer sold from vending machines at 182 stations and bus stations.
As a visitor your alternative is Contactless t+ ticket packs of 10, these are actually €2 cheaper overall than the cardboard version. You can also get a Navigo Easy Pass for €2 which you can top-up at ticket machines and retailers or with your smartphone. Finally, you can still buy a single use ticket on board the bus for €2.15.
Type | Price |
---|---|
1 Ticket for Metro, Bus or RER within Paris | €2.15 |
Contactless t+ 10 tickets (as above) for adult (4-10 years) | €17.35 |
Contactless t+ 10 tickets (as above) for child (4-10 years) | €8.65 |
For use on one journey of the Paris Metro or Buses or on zone 1 RER trains in Paris.
The Carte Mobilis was an option most visitors seemed to be unaware of. A single calendar day card that provided unlimited rides on the transport system of the Ile-de-France region for a stated number of calendar days. This covers the Metro, RER (express regional trains), bus, tramway, funiculaire de Montmartre, Montmartrobus, Noctambus (night bus) within a given fare zone. Most visitors will only need zones 1&2, broadly coinciding with the extent of the Metro system. If in doubt about zone coverage the zones are marked on the RER map (above). Single tickets can be purchased from metro/RER stations, some bus terminals, and registered retailers, usually tobacconists and bookshops, displaying the RATP sign.
You can buy a Navigo Day Pass at CDG Airport Train Stations, Orly Airport, Paris main trainline stations, Metro stations, RER stations and Transillien Stations. There is also an option to buy the Navigo Day Pass online using the official Navigo apps. The pass is put onto a Navigo Decouverte or Navigo Easy card or use via your app. If you do not have a Navigo Decouverte card you will need to buy one first (€5). You can choose to start your day pass from the moment you buy it or up to 6 days later, you decide this at time of purchase. You can put up to two day passes onto your Navigo Decouverte or Easy card, so you can plan your travel ahead of time.
Fare zone | Price |
---|---|
Zone 1-2 | €8.65 |
Zone 1-3 | €11.60 |
Zone 1-4 | €14.35 |
Zone 1-5 | €20.60 |
Available at all metro, bus and RER stations.
This is the ticket heavily promoted to tourists and visitors. Lots of people like the convenience of these tickets.
As well as being a travel pass the ticket also provides discounts to tourist attractions though not the main headliners like the Eiffel Tower and Louvre Museum. Typically a 25% discount on entrance to the Arc de Triomphe and 25% off entrance to the Grévin Museum, which may not be a high priority for you.
Paris Visite counts calendar days from day of first use, just like other Paris tickets, not 24-hour periods. If you arrive at night and use the pass, that will be counted as one day.
Paris Visite is widely available from outside Paris through agents and online but you will normally pay a premium for this convenience over purchasing in Paris.
Type | Price for Zone 1-3 Adult / Child* |
Price for Zone 1-5 Adult / Child* |
---|---|---|
1 day | €13.95 / €6.95 | €29.25 / €14.60 |
2 days | €22.65 / €11.30 | €44.45 / €22.20 |
3 days | €30.90 / €15.45 | €62.30 / €31.15 |
5 days | €44.45 / €22.20 | €76.25 / €38.00 |
* Children 4-11 years old.
The Navigo card represents good value for money - IF you are spending at least a full week in Paris. It is a card that allows you to travel in all zones for just €22.80 , plus the cost of the card itself (€5). In many cases for the average traveller, the carnets (above) will still work out cheaper. If you add on the cost of the photos needed for the pass, you're looking at nearly €30 and that will buy you two books of 20 carnets - twenty trips.
The key point about this product is that the week runs Monday to Sunday, with the last day for sale of the week you are in being on the Thursday. So if you arrive on the Friday wanting to use one for that weekend - you cannot.
The Navigo is an electronic smart card similar to schemes introduced recently worldwide into mass transit systems, allowing you unlimited use of the public transport networks in the zones you have selected. The smart card stores electronically the fare product you choose. Most visitors will go for the weekly fare.
It's reusable so if you return to Paris you can load up fares onto the same card. The first time you buy, you have to pay a €5 for the card itself and then you buy a week or month's worth of transportation that is loaded onto the card.
There are two versions of the card: "all zones" and 'two zones". The “2-zone” pass, as it sounds, gives you (unlimited) travel in just two selected zones - of your choice. To travel outside of your two zones, you may purchase a “top-up ticket” and only pay for the extra distance travelled. There is also “zone-free” travel during certain periods, on 2-zone monthly travel passes. The “all zones” travel pass allows you unlimited travel in all zones, every day of the week.
For all travel passes (regardless of the duration), the validity period starts at 12am on the first day of the period and ends at 11.59pm on the last day.
You also need to bring along a passport sized portrait photo measuring 25 x 30mm (0.98" x 1.18"). There are plenty of photo machines in the stations that produce such a photo if you need it.
A convenient place to purchase these cards for many visitors is the RER train ticket offices at Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) or the major train stations in Paris like Gare du Nord.
Fare Zone | Weekly | Monthly |
---|---|---|
Zone 1-5 | €30.75 | €86.40 |
Weekly tickets available from the Friday preceding the Monday starting the week of validity until Thursday of the week included in the 7 days of validity.