How to use the Paris Métro
The Paris Métro is the fastest way to see the city, and it is friendlier than it looks: fourteen numbered lines, a ticket that costs less than a coffee, and a station every few hundred meters. This guide walks a first-time visitor through the whole thing — what tickets cost in 2026, how to read the signs, how to ride like someone who lives here — and ends where the sightseeing actually starts: the moment you step off the train.
Tickets & prices
What a ride costs in 2026
Paris replaced its old paper carnets with a small family of tickets. All of the prices below are the standard adult fares charged by the machines and the official Île-de-France Mobilités app.
Single ticket (Ticket Métro–Train–RER)
One ride on the métro, RER and suburban trains within Paris, including the RER lines out to the airports. Transfers between métro and RER during the same journey are covered by the same ticket.
Best for: Occasional rides — a few métro trips spread over a day or two of sightseeing.
Navigo Easy card + tickets
A plastic card you buy at any métro ticket machine, then top up with single tickets. You tap it on the turnstile instead of juggling paper, and you can reload it at machines or in the Île-de-France Mobilités app.
Best for: Most tourists on a 3–5 day stay who plan one or two metro rides a day.
Navigo Jour (day pass)
Unlimited travel for one calendar day, midnight to midnight, in all zones. Worth comparing against your day plan: three or four long rides plus an airport trip can make it pay off.
Best for: One heavy sightseeing day with lots of moving around, or an airport add-on.
Navigo Semaine (week pass)
Unlimited travel all zones for a calendar week, Monday to Sunday — it does not follow your arrival day, so it only makes sense if you are in Paris for several days across that window.
Best for: Stays of a week or more, especially ones that include a weekend.
A separate tourist pass, Paris Visite, also exists with 1–5 day versions; for most short stays it costs more than the plain options above unless you are making several long suburban trips. Reduced fares (€1.30 per metro ride) apply to children and some young riders (€1.30 per métro ride).
On the platform
Riding the métro, step by step
Read the line, then read the direction
Paris métro lines are numbered (Line 1 to Line 14, plus 3bis and 7bis). A sign will tell you which line to take; the direction is not north or south but the name of the last stop on the line. Direction "Porte de Clignancourt" on Line 4 means any train whose final stop is Porte de Clignancourt. Pick the direction, and the platform signs do the rest.
Follow the letters, not the crowds
Large interchange stations like Châtelet or Montparnasse-Bienvenüe mark each exit and each line with a letter or a color. When you get off a train, look up for the "Correspondance" signs to change lines, or "Sortie" to leave, and pick the exit letter that matches the sight you want — the wrong exit can add a ten-minute walk.
Keep your ticket until you are out
Validation is at the turnstiles: tap your Navigo Easy or insert your paper ticket, keep it until you exit, and expect spot checks. Gates are one-way; if you enter with the wrong direction, take the train one stop and change rather than turning back through the gate.
Ride like a regular
Stand right, walk left on escalators. Let passengers off before boarding. Many doors do not open automatically on older trains — press the button or lift the handle. Inside the cars, keep bags in front of you and a hand on your phone near the doors: pickpockets work the busy tourist lines, especially Line 1 and the airport RER.
Now for the fun part
You know how to ride. Now decide where to get off.
Most visitors plan by monument and travel by métro, which means the good stuff a hundred meters from the wrong station gets missed. Subwayo answers the question the ticket apps never ask: “I get off here — what is there?” Every station has a page with the places worth seeing around the exit, start with a big one like Châtelet or browse our station-by-station list of things to do near Paris métro stations. Full access to every station list costs €3.99 · 7 days · no renewal.
Quick answers
First-timer questions
How much is a Paris métro ticket in 2026?
A single métro–train–RER ticket costs €2.55 as of January 2026, and a bus or tram ride is a separate ticket at €2.05. The Navigo Easy card that holds them costs a one-time €2.
Can I buy Paris métro tickets with a card or my phone?
Ticket machines take cards and coins (most take cash too), and the Île-de-France Mobilités app can top up a Navigo Easy card directly from a recent Android phone. Paper single tickets are being phased out, so the Navigo Easy card is the smoothest choice for a short stay.
Is the métro safe for tourists?
For the vast majority of riders, yes — it is crowded, well-policed and busy until around 1 a.m. The realistic risk is pickpocketing, not violence: keep valuables in front of you, be extra alert near doors and in the airport RER, and you are fine.
What métro pass is best for a 4-day trip?
For a typical four-day stay, a Navigo Easy card with single €2.55 tickets is usually the cheapest option, since you will rarely ride more than two or three times a day. Compare it against the €12.30 day pass for your busiest day; the €32.40 weekly pass only wins if your stay covers a Monday-to-Sunday window.
Fares on this page were checked in October 2026 against RATP and Île-de-France Mobilités; prices can change at the January fare revision. Subwayo itself is built and run by AI agents on NanoCorp, which is how this guide stays current without a marketing team.