Public transportation in Paris

Public transportation in Paris

Metro and RER trains

Metro in Paris runs on weekdays from 05:30 till 01:15 and 05:30 till 02:15 on Fridays and Saturdays.

Sometimes finding a metro entrance in Paris may become a hill to climb. They look different and sometimes don’t even have any signs. Look:

Explains why RER trains are useful for travelers:

The lines go out to Zone 5 through the suburbs of Paris and even further out. You’ll probably only use this line if you are visiting three places, namely CDG Airport, Disneyland, and Versailles.

It’s true! The RER train is the easiest way to get to Disneyland. Take an A-line train in the direction of Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy and go to the end station. It’s convenient to buy a ticket in a ticket machine: you will definitely recognize the word “Disney”.

Buses and trams

Buses run from 06:00 till 20:30, and trams run till 01:45 on Fridays and Saturdays. All routes are written on maps at stops. You can see on electronic boards when the next bus or tram comes.

At night, you can take Noctilien buses. Timetable and routes are available here. They stop only at a passenger’s request. Tickets are sold by drivers.

Timetable and routes

You can find timetables and route map on the RATP website. Before the trip, make sure the needed metro line is not covered because of the strike or repair works. Yes, it happens.

Transport passes in Paris

Single tickets known as T+ cost €1,90. They are valid for 90 minutes and allow you to use any kind of public transport.

If you plan to travel the whole of Paris, buy a ticket T+ carne for €14,50 for ten trips. You will get 10 single tickets that can be used on metro, RER trains, trams, and buses.

Elisa F, a tripadvisor user, writes about her epic fail with Parisian tickets:

I had my Paris Metro tickets as well as my RER return tickets to CDG in my wallet, and they all stopped working. The ones I used immediately after buying them were fine, so I know it wasn’t a bad batch of tickets. Now that I’ve done a search, I realize that they must have gotten demagnetized by my wallet. The wallet closes with a magnet, so apparently, that was the problem.

The 24-hour pass Mobilis was specially invented for tourists. It costs €7,50.

You can also buy a Navigo pass. It is valid for 7 days from Monday till Friday or 30 days from the first date of the month. To get a Navigo, you have to provide your photo and pay €5. It allows you to travel through Paris and its suburbs. If you stay in Paris for a couple of weeks or plan to come here often, the pass pays off.

You can buy tickets at ticket offices or ticket machines.

Be careful!

This is a ticket machine that will sell you public transport passes. Here you can also top up your Navigo card.

And this is a machine ONLY for topping up. Tickets are not sold here.

Insert your pass into the turnstile in the metro, and punch it on surface transport. And, yes, keep the pass for the whole rest of the trip.

Amanda K, a tripadvisor user, recommends keeping tickets for the whole trip:

Unlike Bart for example every station doesn’t require that you swipe a ticket to exit so as a habit when I would go down one line I generally did not feel the need to keep track of my ticket. Also, nowhere in the stations is it posted that you need to keep your tickets at all time. As my husband I walked out off our train we were ambushed by 5 guards. I am not a dramatic traveler or a “touchy American’ by any sense. They were SO aggressive, saying “No ticket? You will pay 50 euros.”

How not to pay twice?

You can come across such situation unknowingly.

All stations have side platforms. If you miss your station, it will be difficult to get back. You’ll have to get out of the metro and buy a new ticket.

Individual transport

Transfer

If we didn’t persuade you that Paris transport is simple, book a transfer. It will be especially convenient for those who:

• Visit Disneyland with children. It’s better to save your breath for the park because lines are enormous there.
• Have a romantic trip for two to celebrate an engagement, a wedding or without reason. You’d rather be a real gentleman in the most romantic city in the word instead of shocking your partner with the Paris Metro.
• Don’t know any foreign languages. If you book a transfer, bon jour, au revoir, and merci are sufficient vocabulary to hire a car online and get to the Eiffel Tower or The Louvre or whatever you have on your list.
• Arrive at night. Although we’ve mentioned Noctillien buses, experienced people don’t recommend using them if you don’t know the city very well. Moreover, lines for taxies are big at airports 24 hours a day.

Taxi

If you have time, take a taxi in Paris. Official taxi companies are merged into one service called Le.Taxi. Local authorities help taxi drivers compete with Uber this way. But not all taxi companies in Paris accept credit cards. Find it out in advance. And by the way, ever-present Uber may turn out an expensive option. It’s better to check the prices of several companies.

Car rental

Car rental is another comfortable way to get around Paris. There are lots of rental companies in the city, for instance international company rentalcars.

Car parks in Paris

Parking is a major issue in Paris. Finding an available parking space is always a bit of a miracle. If this miracle happened, remember: you can leave your car there only for 2 hours. You have to pay for the service from Monday till Saturday from 09:00 till 19:00–20:00. At night, on Sunday and on holidays parking is usually free.

You can recognize underground parking by Р sign on a blue background. They are open 24 hours a day and cost much more in the city center than in the suburbs. A parking space is sometimes offered when you rent a car. It’s also a good way to get an extra discount.

Car rental with a driver

And if you plan to see lots of sights in a row, it’s convenient to rent a car with a driver for a day. You won’t have to study public transport links and choose a proper street to drive through and look for a parking space. You can secure yourself one carefree day at the link.

Special transport modes

Bike

Hiring a bike from Vélib rental company is another pleasant way to ride around Paris. There are about 1500 service points in the city.

Sightseeing buses

They work on a hop-on hop-off basis. You can get off the bus at any place, walk a little bit, and then change the destination. Of course, while tickets are valid.

• Big Bus Paris. It offers two different routes around the most iconic places. Buses run from 09:30 till 17:45. You can choose from 4 kinds of passes. The price starts at €34,2. It’s cheaper to buy tickets online than on the spot.

Here’s one of the routes:

• Open Tour. It runs from 08:10 till 17:00 and offers 8 different routes. The price starts at €34.

And here’s a route including a boat trip as an example. Would you like to cool off?💦

• Foxity. It also works on a hop-on hop-off basis. The earliest departure is at 09:10 from the Eiffel Tower. By the way, the company offers full 2-hour excursions, where 40 (!) sights are shown. It costs €18 if you buy a ticket online.

You’ll definitely notice such an orange double decker:

Funicular Railway

We cannot fail to mention another special means of transport in Paris — the Montmartre funicular. If you buy a ticket for €1,90 (you can also use Navigo), you will get to the observation deck in one minute. But you’ll have to wait in a small line. You can walk to the top of the hill too.

Paris transport hubs

There are six major train stations in Paris:

• Gare du Nord. The busiest railway station in Europe and the hub for trains arriving and departing from Paris on the Eurostar. The Gare du Nord also serves Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
• Gare Saint-Lazare. The second busiest station in Europe.
• Gare d’Austerlitz. From here, you can get to go to central France, Toulouse, and the Pyrenees.
• Gare Montparnasse. From here, you can get to western and south-western France and Madrid.
• Gare de Lyon. Trains go to south-east France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Switzerland, and Italy.
• Gare de l’Est. Trains go to eastern France and Germany.

The main bus terminal in Paris is Gallieni. It connects the French capital with almost every big European city.

There are three air hubs in Paris:

How to get from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris, read here;
How to get from Orly Airport to Paris, read here;
How to get from Paris Beauvais Airport to the city center, follow the link.

That’s it! We are almost done!
It’s easy to get lost in Paris, and it can become a nice adventure. But if you like to plan everything, choose a means of transport and make routes in advance.