How To Use The Paris Metro Like A Parisian: First Visit Tips

Don’t get bamboozled by the Metro. These top tips show you how to navigate it like a pro.

It wasn’t that long ago I used the Metro for the first time. I remember feeling completely confused, wondering how to use the Paris Metro without having to stop and ask people every time I changed lines.

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But it’s actually not as hard as it looks, especially if you’ve used the London Underground, like I have The key is to plan ahead and plot your route before you start. That way, you don’t get so flustered.

Also, understanding how the ticket system works, where to get your tickets, and the best one to buy for your journey is a big part of it.

Don’t worry though, by the time you’ve finished this article, you’ll know exactly which tickets to get and be navigating the metro like a pro the next time you stay in Paris. Let’s get started.

Art Nouveau style Metropolitan sign with red lamps in Paris, set against a backdrop of Parisian buildings under a clear blue sky with sunbeams radiating from the corner.

The Quick Facts on How to Use the Paris Metro

Metro Fact	The Details
A Single Ticket	Provides one journey on the network no matter how many stops are involved
Day Pass	Offers unlimited travel within selected zones for one day. It is ideal for tourists planning extensive travel in a day.
Navigo Pass	A weekly or monthly pass offering unlimited travel within chosen zones—a convenient and cost-effective option for longer stays.
Operating Times	Trains generally start around 5:30 AM and run until about 1:15 AM (Monday to Thursday and Sundays), extending to around 2:15 AM on Fridays and Saturdays.
Metro Lines	There are 16 lines, each identified by a unique colour and number. Lines are well interconnected, providing comprehensive coverage of the city.
Trains & Stations	Modern, frequent trains, with service intervals of 2-5 minutes during peak hours. Over 300 stations across Paris connect neighbourhoods and landmarks.
Zones	The Paris Metro covers five zones, with central Paris in Zone 1. The zones are important for ticketing and fare determination, especially for passes like the Navigo.

Green and white Paris Metro train with the number 503 arriving at an elevated station with a blurred background, capturing the motion of the bustling city transport.

A Complete Guide on Using the Metro in Paris

Let me start by saying, that if you’ve ever used the London Underground, the Paris Metro, or French Subway, as some call it, will be a breeze.

They are very similar systems with lines crisscrossing to connect you to the place you want to go.

You might need to change lines a couple of times, but each Metro station is connected in one way or another.

And although Paris is a very walkable city, if you’re doing a lot of sightseeing, my advice is to save your feet and take the Metro.

What tickets you buy really depends on how long you’ll be staying in Paris and what you’re planning to do whilst you’re there.

For example, if you’re going to Montmatre in the morning and maybe taking a trip to the Louvre in the afternoon, it makes sense to take the Metro.

GPT Twilight descends on a serene Parisian street; lamplight glows warmly on the cobblestones as the day's last light paints the sky in soft pastels. Trees gently sway, framing the tranquil scene of historic buildings and parked cars, capturing the timeless romance of Paris.

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Buying tickets for the Paris Metro

The first time I took the Metro, I was surprised at how well-priced it was. You can buy a one-trip ticket you can use once, regardless of how many stops you’ll be going.

So, in theory, you could go from one end of Paris to the other for €2.10. To me, that’s very reasonable. But if you need help budgeting your trip try using our Travel Budget Calculator.

A person's fingers holding a small white printed receipt from SNCF Mobilités, showing a transaction for 10.30 EUR at Roissy CDG2, with text indicating it is a customer copy to be kept and not a transport ticket.

Which Paris Metro ticket should you buy?

For navigating the Paris Metro, there are several ticket options available to suit different needs and durations of stay:

Single Tickets (t+ tickets): These are standard single tickets for one journey on the entire metro, bus, and tram system within Paris, including RER trains within Zone 1. The price for an adult is €2.10. There’s also an option to buy a contactless pack of 10 tickets for €16.90. These tickets are available at metro/RER stations, some bus terminals, and registered retailers.
Navigo Easy Pass: This is a rechargeable card, similar to the Oyster Card on the London Underground, where you can load single trip tickets (€2.10 each) or a carnet of 10 trips for €16.90. After 10 trips, further trips are free of charge on the same day. This pass can be topped up at ticket machines and retailers or with a smartphone.
Paris Visite Card: This card is designed for tourists and offers unlimited travel for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days across various zones. Prices vary based on the number of days and zones. The card also offers discounts at certain tourist attractions. Buy your card here >>>
Navigo Decouverte Pass: This is a weekly or monthly travel pass offering unlimited travel across all zones. It’s great value if you’re spending at least a full week in Paris. The weekly pass is valid from Monday to Sunday, while the monthly pass covers a full calendar month.
Day ticket – Carte Mobilis: This is a single-day pass providing unlimited rides within the Ile de France region, covering Metro, RER, bus, tramway, and more. Prices vary based on the zones. For zones 1-2, the price is €7.50.

Using the Paris Metro Ticket Machine

Understanding how to use the Paris metro ticket machine isn’t hard. If your French isn’t great, you can choose to have it in different languages such as English, Spanish and German.

Once you have your chosen language, the machine is self-explanatory. It takes all major credit cards as well as Apple Pay.

As the queues for the ticket booths, which are manned, can often be long, especially in rush hour, the machines are a good option.

Taking the Metro from the Eurostar in Paris

The last time I went to Paris, my daughter was meeting me and coming to France on the Eurostar into Gare du Nord.

As I live in France, I was using a local train from the city of Angouleme direct into Paris Montparnasse.

So that meant my daughter had to navigate her way from the airport on the Metro to our hotel, the Hôtel Pont Royal Paris, which was in the 7th arrondissement.

A woman standing outside a hotel entrance, marked by an elegant sign reading "Hôtel Pont Royal." She's dressed in a black coat over a green scarf, a beige beanie, and is holding two suitcases, one patterned and one blue, suggesting she is either arriving or departing.

As it turned out, it was really easy. We both had to get the same line, no. 4, but from opposite ends. It was 12 stops for her to Saint-Germain-des-Prés and 4 for me, then a ten-minute walk to the hotel.

We planned it in advance and, for ease, got a one-journey ticket for €2.10 so no faffing around.

How to ride the Metro in Paris

Word to the wise, knowing which exit you need from the busier stations is super helpful otherwise, you can end up having to go back in and start again.

Trust me, it’s happened to me a couple of times, which is why I mentioned it. Not to mention one particularly notable station where we couldn’t find the exit at all.

We went up and down the escalator a few times following the exit signs, but still couldn’t find the exit.

In the end, we had to ask, and the man we accosted looked at us as if we’d come from Mars. I promise it wasn’t obvious and ended up being accessed by a rickety old lift that nobody seemed to be using.

How to Use Your Tickets

Once you’ve purchased a ticket or a pass, you need to validate it at the turnstiles before entering the Metro.

For a single-ride ticket, insert it into the slot at the turnstile, and for a Navigo card, place it on the indicated area on top of the turnstile.

Keep your ticket until you exit the Metro station, as you may need to present it if requested by Metro staff. If your ticket or card gets demagnetised, you’ll need to seek assistance at the service desk.

A woman with a map in her hand with long hair and a T-Shirt on. She is standing in a Metro station in Paris waiting for a train

Train Frequencies and Navigation

Trains generally run from 5:30 AM until 1:00 AM on weekdays and until 2:00 AM on Fridays and Saturdays.

The wait time between trains is typically 2-5 minutes during peak hours and up to 15 minutes during off-peak times or late at night.

Pay attention to the line number, line colour, the name of your departure and arrival stations, and the terminus name in the direction of your destination. Maps and signs throughout the stations will help guide you.

A bright blue green train on the tracks going along a line in Paris with trees in the background.

Older vs. Newer Trains

The Paris Metro has a mix of older and newer trains. The newer ones are more modern with updated features like air conditioning and digital information screens.

Older trains are slightly different, especially when it comes to the doors. On the newer trains, the doors open automatically, but that’s not the case with the older trains.

My daughter and I had to watch someone else getting off the train to figure out exactly how you open the doors on the older style trains.

There is a latch you have to flick, and that then opens the door. Could have been interesting if we’d just stood there waiting for it to open.

Escalator Etiquette

In Paris, it’s customary to stand on the right side of the escalators, allowing room for others to walk up on the left.

The Busiest Metro Lines

Some of the busiest lines on the Paris Metro include Line 1 (which crosses Paris from east to west and includes many tourist destinations), Line 4 (connecting north to south), and Line 13 (known for its crowded conditions).

If you can, try to avoid these lines during rush hour (8-10 AM and 5-8 PM) otherwise you might find you’re standing with your nose pressed up against the window.

Using the Bonjour RAPT App

A screenshot of one of the options on the Bonjour RAPT App in Paris

To make navigating travel around Paris a lot easier, I highly recommend downloading the Bonjour RAPT App.

It’s brilliant for helping you to navigate Paris and the suburbs. I swear by it as it saves so much time and you can plan your journey directly within the App:

Real-Time Information: The app provides real-time information on buses, subways, trains, bike-shares, and more. This feature helps you stay updated with the latest schedules and disruptions, and just like most public transport systems, there can be last-minute cancellations.
Navigation Tools: It’s easy to plan your journeys using the app’s navigation tools. It calculates routes in real time based on traffic information and offers guidance for pedestrians and cyclists.
Ticket and Pass Purchasing: You can buy tickets and passes directly within the App. You can reload your Navigo pass and buy single tickets using RFID technology or Apple Pay.
Rent Bikes and Electric Scooters: It integrates services for renting bikes and electric scooters, like Vélib’, Lime, Dott, and Tier, without the need to switch apps. I haven’t done this before, but I might give it a go when I’m next in Paris, and the weather is good.
Hail Ride Booking: You can book a ride with Marcel, a carbon-neutral partner, directly from the app.
Offline Access to Maps: The app gives you offline access to official RATP and Île-de-France Mobilité maps, which can be handy if you don’t have any internet access.

Taking a Day Trip from Paris on the Metro

Taking a trip out of the centre of Paris requires leaving the Metro and taking a different train, such as the Réseau Express Régional (RER).

Especially if you’re planning on visiting Versailles or Disneyland.

There are five lines (RER A to E), extending far beyond the city’s limits, connecting central Paris with outlying areas.

When we visited the Palace of Versailles, we took the RER train from Musee d’Orsay to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, the nearest station to the Palace and just a ten-minute walk.

The journey was straightforward with no changes, but there were several cancellations, so it was a good job that we left ourselves an extra 45 minutes.

Download a Paris Metro Map

A map of the Paris Metro with all the stations

RER Network Map

FAQS: How to use Paris Metro

Is the Paris Metro safe?

Yes, the Paris Metro is generally safe for travellers. Like any major city’s public transportation system, it’s advisable to stay vigilant, especially during night hours or in less crowded stations. The metro is monitored by security personnel and CCTV cameras for added safety.

How do you pay for Metro in Paris?

To pay for the Metro in Paris, you can purchase tickets or a travel card. Tickets are available at Metro stations, either from ticket counters or automated machines. The Navigo travel card and the Paris Visite travel pass are popular options for frequent riders and tourists, respectively.

Is the metro easy to use in Paris?

Yes, the Paris Metro is relatively easy to use, with clear signage and frequent services. Stations are well-marked, and maps are readily available both in stations and online. The Metro lines are colour-coded and numbered, simplifying navigation and making it easy to find your way around.

Can I use my credit card on Paris Metro?

Yes, you can use your credit card on the Paris Metro. Credit cards are accepted at ticket machines and counters for purchasing tickets or travel cards. Ensure your card is enabled for international use and contactless payments if you’re a tourist from outside Europe.

What is the best way to use the metro in Paris?

The best way to use the Paris Metro is by purchasing a navigo pass or a carnet of tickets for multiple rides, which offers cost savings and convenience. It’s important to check the metro map to plan your route before you travel, as this will help you identify the fastest connections and exit points.

Final Thoughts on Using the Paris Metro as a Tourist

One of the best things about the Paris Metro is that nearly every famous landmark or hotel or other accommodation has a Metro stop close by.

If you want to see the Eiffel Tower, the best place to view it is from the Place du Trocadéro, and there is a metro stop conveniently next to it.

Similar with Palais Garnier, the opera house in Paris, the Opéra metro station serves Metro Lines 3, 7, and 8 and is just around the corner.

Like most things, once you know how to use them, they’re nowhere near as overwhelming, and the Paris Metro is exactly the same.