Transportation

Getting around in Parisian public transport may seem daunting when you’re faced with the overlapping maps of the RATP (RER, Metro, Tram and Bus lines) and SNCF (suburban, regional, and long distance high-speed trains) networks, but it remains one of the most reliable and user-friendly public transport systems in the world.

Tickets

Ticket t+: 

  • The “T Plus” tickets will transfer you anywhere inside Paris (Metro/RER or Bus/Tram) within a 90-minute window as long as you don’t punch out your ticket to exit a station. 
  • The unit price is 2.10€ but a booklet of 10 costs only 16.90€. Keep in mind that paper tickets are being phased out so you will have to buy tickets in digital format stored on a card (Navigo Easy) or on your smartphone NFC (My Navigo Tickets app).
  • If you find yourself on a bus without a ticket or cash to buy one, you can use this handy SMS service: simply send the word bus followed by the line number (ie: Bus29 for bus line 29) to the following number: 93100. The 2.50€ single use ticket price will be taken directly from your telephone bill, and the SMS you receive in reply will serve as your ticket.

Ile-de-France ticket: 

If you need to travel outside of Paris on the RER or SNCF suburban trains (but not long-distance trains), you can get this paper ticket at any station vending machine.

Navigo: 

  • Day/Week/Month/Year travel pass: This subscription gives you unlimited access to the network all the way to the far end of the RER and SNCF suburban trains (which is to say the countryside). Approx. 84€ monthly, and keep in mind that yearly travel passes give you a free month.
  • Imagine R: For students under the age of 26, the Imagine R subscription offers all the benefits of the Navigo travel pass (+ many student discounts) at about roughly half the price. 
  • Navigo Liberté +: Pay as you go travel pass that charges you every month for the trips you made the previous month.
  • Navigo Easy: A standard, anonymous card for topping up and storing your Ticket t+. 
  • My Navigo Tickets app: You can store your digital Navigo travel pass or single-use Ticket t+ on your phone. The app can also be used to purchase tickets or subscriptions and load them onto your Navigo cards.

Others: 

A number of other ticket types exist, day and week passes for tourists as well as special offers for suburban areas, so if you need additional information you can consult the RATP website, and for long distance travel, the SNCF.  
 

Plan a journey with RATP

Learn more about biking with Vélib

Closest Metro Stations 
Invalides: RER C, Line 8, Line 13 
La Tour Maubourg: Line 8
Pont de l'Alma: RER C
Alma Marceau: Line 9

Closest Bus Stops 
Jean Nicot - Église Américaine: 63 
Bosquet - Saint-Dominique: 80, 92 
Bosquet - Grenelle: 80, 92 
Pont des Invalides - Place de Finlande: 28  

Closest Velib Stations 
La Motte-Picquet - La Tour Maubourg, 75007 Paris, France 
Champ de Mars - Cler, 75007 Paris, France 
Rapp - Place du Général Gouraud, 75007 Paris, France

Learning the Metro
Historic Metro station sign

History and Modernity: Le Métro Parisien

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  • Year the metro opened

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  • Metro stations in Paris

The network was built over a century, adding new lines and layers as the city expanded. Paris posed particular challenges due to the density of the population overhead and the complex geology of the region with sand, clay, limestone, and the river Seine to contend with. Line 4 in particular was a historic engineering challenge as it runs underwater (which is why many of its stations close during heavy rains).

For this reason, some stations are very deep underground, while others have countless exits and maze-like halls, with five stations connected by a web of tunnels in Opéra for example, and Châtelet - Les Halles being literally the largest underground station in the world.

While you can obtain paper maps and consult the wall displays in every station, there are many user-friendly apps to help guide you including Bonjour RATP and CityMapper.

Alternative Mobility Solutions

Paris was one of the first major European cities to adopt an easy-to-use bike rental system. The Vélib bikes allow you to pick up a bicycle at one of the hundreds of Velib stations, pedal across Paris, and drop it off at another station for a reasonable price. Bike parking stations are scattered throughout the city, and your account is connected to your RATP travel card.

There are today many providers of alternative mobility solutions taking advantage of Paris’s planned 180 km of new bike lanes to make the city 100% bicycle-accessible by 2026. Alongside the Vélib (electric and standard bikes), you can rent electric scooters, tandem bikes, tricycles with a shopping cart or baby stroller… There is also a vast second-hand bicycle market and a network of bike repair workshops.

Cycling, riding scooters, not to mention skating and rollerblading when the weather permits, are great ways to quickly get from one place to another, but we urge you to be extra careful on the busy streets of Paris! 

Paris Taxi
Taxis and Ubers are another easy way to get around the city.

Parisian Taxis– Do's and Dont's

Parisian taxis are another great way of getting around the city if you don’t want to take public transport. Taxi stops can be found all around the city or you can try to flag down available taxis, which are indicated by the green light on top for new taxis. For older taxis, the main taxi light on top will be lit up if it is available.

Uber has revolutionized the Paris taxi service, they offer uberPool, a carpool service, uberX which is their usual car service, Berline which is the luxury service, and the Van, for more than four passengers. Downloading the Uber app allows you to call a car directly to your location which is then charged to the credit card on your account, no cash needed. Their luxury car service will frequently have bottles of water and candies for your late-night snack. 

 

Getting to the Airport and Back

There are several options for you to get to Paris’s two major airports, Orly and Roissy Charles de Gaulle (CDG). Catching a taxi to Orly, which is in the South of Paris, will cost you about 30-50€ depending on your location, while CDG in the North will cost about 50-60€. If you plan ahead, you can also order an airport shuttle at a reduced price.

Using public transport will be significantly cheaper. You have several options and it all depends on rush hour, which is more or less 7 to 9AM and 5 to 7PM during weekdays. Being on the road in a cab, shuttle, or bus during these peak commuting hours can double or triple your travel time to either airport. While it is true that the train lines can sometimes be delayed, trains are more frequent and reliable at these times.

  • During rush-hour: The RER B has direct lines to both airports that are covered by the Navigo travel pass. Without a Navigo, from anywhere in Paris the RER ticket will cost 11.45€ to get to CDG, and 14.10€ to get to Orly (which is a little more expensive as there is a special monorail service from the RER to the various terminals).
  • Outside rush-hour: When traffic is flowing smoothly, in about 30 minutes the RoissyBus will take you from Opéra direct to CDG for the price of 14.15€, and the OrlyBus from Denfert-Rochereau to Orly for 10.05€. 
     

2024 Olympics

To make up for the massive influx of new travelers and expanded services, ticket prices during the Olympic event will rise significantly. Single Ticket t+ price will almost double and increase to €4 from July 20 to September 8, 2024. A booklet of 10 tickets will cost €32, compared to the current €16.90.

During this period, you won’t be able to purchase a daily or a weekly Navigo travel pass, however the monthly and yearly passes remain available at the current price. In sum, the only way to avoid paying “tourist prices” will be the aforementioned Navigo travel passes, the Navigo Liberté+ pay-as-you-go card, or a Navigo Easy card that you charge up before July 20 with enough tickets to last you to September.