The Important Change at Paris Metro Stations for 2026 That You MUST Know Before Traveling

The Paris metro is one of the world’s oldest and most extensive urban rail networks. It opened in 1900 in time for the World’s Fair, and over 125 years later, it moves more than four million passengers a day across 302 stations. For first-time visitors, stepping off a plane and figuring out how to get from A to B underground in a foreign city can feel overwhelming. It really doesn’t have to be.

The system is well-signed, frequent, and covers virtually every corner of Paris. Once you’ve done it a couple of times, it becomes second nature. The bigger challenge right now is ticketing, because everything changed in late 2025.

This guide covers how the metro works, what replaced paper tickets, how to use the Bonjour RATP app, which ticket option makes sense for your trip, and how to make sure you don’t get stuck in the metro. Read it before you go, and you’ll hit the ground running.

The Joys of the Paris Metro

The Paris metro has 14 lines, numbered 1 through 14, each with its own color. That’s how locals refer to them: Line 4, Line 6, Line 13. You won’t hear anyone say “the yellow line,” but you will see the colors on maps and station signage, which helps with quick navigation.

Lines run in two directions, and the direction of a train is identified by the name of the final station on that line, not the name of your stop. So if you’re at Opéra and want to reach the Eiffel Tower area on Line 9, you won’t see a sign for it. You’ll look for the sign that says “Pont de Sèvres,” which is the last station in the direction you need. 

Top Tip: Plan your route before you go so you don’t panic and end up taking the wrong train. It’s easy to do when it’s busy, and there are crowds of people. It’s what I do every single time I go to Paris, and it’s easy to do because there are plenty of apps to help you plan.

Note the line number, the end-of-line name in your direction, and the stop where you’re getting off. Three pieces of information and you’re sorted.

Then there’s the RER. The Réseau Express Régional, labeled A through E, is a separate suburban train network that also runs through central Paris. It stops less frequently inside the city but is faster over longer distances. As a visitor, you’ll most likely use it to get to and from the airports, to Versailles (RER C), or to Disneyland Paris (RER A). For everything else within central Paris, the metro lines will cover you.

The tourist-friendly lines worth knowing are Line 1 (Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Champs-Élysées), Line 4 (Notre-Dame, Le Marais, Latin Quarter), and Line 6, which runs partly above ground and gives you aerial views of the Eiffel Tower. Line 14 is the newest, fully automated line and is the fastest option to Orly Airport.

Paper Tickets Are Gone

If you visited Paris before November 2025 and came home with a few of those small purple cardboard tickets as souvenirs, hold onto them. They’re now collectors’ items. Paper ticket sales ended across the entire network on November 5, 2025.

You have two options now, and it helps to understand both before you arrive.

The first is the Navigo Easy card. It’s a small, reusable contactless card that you buy at any metro or RER station ticket machine or counter for €2. You load it with tickets or a day pass, then tap it on the purple reader at the turnstiles. 

The card is valid for 10 years, so if you come back to Paris in the future, you can keep it and reload it. It’s the most straightforward option if you’d rather not rely on your phone.

The second option is your smartphone, via the Bonjour RATP app (more on that below).

Here is the rule that applies to both: one person, one pass. You cannot load multiple passengers’ tickets onto a single Navigo Easy card or a single phone and tap through together. Each person needs their own card or device. If you try to use the same card for two people in quick succession, the system will reject it. 

There’s a reset window of roughly 10 to 15 minutes before the same card can be used again at the same gate. Trying to hurry that along won’t work. If you’re traveling as a couple or a family, sort this out before you queue at the turnstiles.

This happened to me at New Year when my husband and I were in Paris. I loaded the tickets onto my phone and sailed through the turnstile. I passed my phone to my husband, but when he went to use it, nothing happened, and he was stuck on one side while I was on the other. It took 15 minutes for him to get through until he could use it.

One card can not hold both regular metro tickets and airport tickets at the same time. If you already have metro tickets loaded and need to add an airport ticket, you’ll either need a second Navigo Easy card or use your phone for the airport journey. More on airport tickets in a moment.

The Bonjour RATP App

The official app is called Bonjour RATP, and there’s also the Île-de-France Mobilités app, which is the regional transport authority’s version. Both work for buying and validating tickets on your phone.

Set the app up before you travel. Create an account, add a payment method, and buy your tickets while you still have a reliable wifi connection. Attempting to navigate a French-language setup screen while standing in a Paris metro station with a queue forming behind you is not a fun introduction to the city.

Once your tickets are loaded, you validate by opening the app, going to the Tickets section, tapping “Validate” next to the relevant ticket, and then holding your phone over the purple reader. It’s quick once you’ve done it once.

One useful detail: the NFC function that validates your ticket continues to work for up to six hours after your phone battery dies. So if your phone goes flat on a long day out, you’re not stranded.

The same one-person rule applies here. One phone cannot be used to validate tickets for multiple passengers in the same journey, any more than a single Navigo Easy card can. Each person in your group needs their own card or their own phone with tickets loaded.

If you’re traveling with children or a group, the simplest solution is to buy Navigo Easy cards for everyone upon arrival at the station. They’re €2 each, and you load whatever you need onto them. It’s easier than managing multiple apps across multiple phones.

Which Ticket Option Is Right for Your Trip

A single Metro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.50 and covers one journey across the metro and RER within zones 1 to 5 (excluding airports). If you’re only making a couple of journeys in a day, buying singles is fine.

The Navigo Day Pass costs €12 and gives you unlimited travel on the metro, bus, tram, and RER for one full calendar day from midnight to midnight. If you’re doing a lot of sightseeing in a single day and plan to use the metro more than four or five times, this makes sense.

The Navigo Découverte weekly pass costs €31.60, plus €5 for the card itself. It runs Monday to Sunday regardless of when you buy it, so if you arrive on a Thursday, you’re paying for a full week but only using four days. It covers unlimited travel, including airports. If your trip spans a full Monday to Sunday and you’ll be using public transport constantly, it’s good value. If your trip straddles two weeks, think carefully before buying.

The Paris Visite Pass is heavily marketed to tourists and costs €29.90 for a single day in all zones. Most experienced Paris travelers don’t recommend it. The Navigo Day Pass at €12 covers the same ground for less, and the weekly pass gives you more for your money if you’re staying longer.

For airports, the Paris Region to Airports ticket costs €13 each way and covers CDG and Orly by rail. This is a completely separate ticket and needs to be loaded separately, either on a second Navigo Easy card or via the app.

Getting to and From the Airports

For Charles de Gaulle Airport, take the RER B. It connects directly to central Paris stations, including Gare du Nord, Châtelet-Les Halles, and Saint-Michel Notre-Dame. The journey takes around 35 minutes to central Paris. You need the €13 airport ticket, not a regular metro ticket.

For Orly Airport, Metro Line 14 is the fastest option, as it was extended to Orly in 2024. You can also take the Orlyval shuttle to Antony and connect to the RER B from there, though Line 14 is more straightforward. Again, the €13 airport ticket applies.

One important thing: do not try to use a regular €2.50 metro ticket on the airport lines. You won’t be able to exit the airport gates. The airport ticket is a completely different product, and the gates will catch you. It’s one of the most common and avoidable mistakes visitors make.

If you have a weekly Navigo Découverte pass, airport travel is included. If you’re using a Navigo Easy card loaded with regular metro tickets, you’ll need to load the airport ticket separately, ideally onto a different card.

Navigating the Metro Once You’re In

When you enter a metro station, you’ll tap your card or validate via the app at the turnstile. The gates open, and you go through. Keep your card or phone accessible because ticket inspectors do appear, particularly on the RER lines and on Lines 1 and 4. They’re in plain clothes most of the time, and they will fine you if your ticket isn’t valid.

On the RER, there’s an extra step that catches people out: you have to tap your card again to exit. The exit gates at RER stations require validation, not just at entry. If you’re used to the metro, where you don’t need to show your ticket on exit, this will feel odd the first time. Don’t throw your ticket away or put your card in your bag before you’ve exited the platform.

Look for “Sortie” signs when you want to exit the station. Large stations like Châtelet-Les Halles have multiple exits leading to different parts of the street above, and choosing the right one can save you a five-minute walk in the wrong direction. The signs usually indicate which street or landmark each exit leads you to.

Older metro trains, particularly on Lines 3, 5, 7, and 9, have manual doors. They don’t open automatically when the train stops. You either pull up a metal handle or press a glowing green button, depending on the train model. If nothing seems to be happening when the train pulls in, look for the handle or button. The doors also close firmly and quickly, so don’t try to squeeze through when you hear the beep.

Rush hour runs from around 8 am to 9:30 am and 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on weekdays. Trains are packed, but they come every two to three minutes, so if you can’t squeeze onto one, the next isn’t far behind.

Things That Catch People Out

Switching from the metro to a bus requires a new ticket. When you leave the metro system and board a bus, your journey has ended. A Bus-Tram ticket costs €2.05 and covers 90 minutes of travel across buses and trams. If you have a day pass or a weekly pass, connections are included.

Pickpockets are a real concern on Lines 1 and 7, which run through the city’s most tourist-heavy areas. Keep bags zipped and in front of you on crowded trains. Don’t stand near the doors with your phone out, especially when pulling into busy stations.

On escalators, stand on the right. People walk on the left. Moving to the right when you step onto an escalator is the kind of thing Parisians will appreciate without saying a word, and it keeps you out of the way of people in a hurry.

Finally, the metro machines have an English language option. It’s usually accessible by pressing a flag icon on the first screen. If you’re buying a Navigo Easy card or loading tickets at a machine, switch to English first, and the process is much less stressful.

Practical Info for the Paris Metro

The metro runs from approximately 5:30 am to 12:30 am Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday nights, service extends to around 1:15 am.

Trains arrive every 2 to 4 minutes during the day, so there’s rarely a long wait.

Free metro maps are available at staffed ticket windows in stations. They’re small enough to fold into a pocket and useful for the first day or two.

The apps worth having are Bonjour RATP for tickets and Citymapper or Google Maps for route planning. Both Citymapper and Google Maps are excellent at telling you exactly which line to take, what direction, and which exit to use when you get out.

RATP staff are available at staffed windows in most major metro and RER stations. If you’re unsure which ticket to buy or run into any problems with a card, ask at the window. They’re used to confused tourists and generally patient about it.

If you have mobility requirements, Line 14 is the most accessible line as it’s the newest. Buses are fully accessible across the city. The Bonjour RATP app includes an accessibility filter to plan step-free routes, if that’s relevant to your trip.