Paris metro facts. Metro ticket. Metro pass
Paris metro is now fully regional as far as tickets are concerned. Since 2025, a 2.5 euro metro ticket is valid on all metro, train, regional metro lines, regardless of the destination in the region. Paris metro map. Transport in Paris.
Paris metro facts
Paris metro is one of the bests. Line one was inaugurated in 1900. Today, the metro covers the Paris region with 14 lines and 5 RER regional lines. An additional 220 km of underground lines are being built as part of Grand Paris Express project, a massive extension of the original metro to the Paris region with metro lines 15, 16, 17, 18.
Paris metro network facts
Paris metro is very dense within the city. It mostly has 1900 architecture stations. Line 14 and RER regional metro lines are contemporary. The metro has 14 lines, mostly underground, running to 214 km in length. There are 300 metro stations in the city.
The city has the second busiest metro in Europe after Moscow. It carries 4.5 million passengers a day. Chatelet Les Halles with 5 metro lines and 3 RER lines, is the world's largest underground station.
Facts: Guimard art nouveau entrances are famous
Paris metro ticket facts
Since January 1 2025, there are only two ticket options for Paris metro and other transport means.
The Metro-Train-RER ticket is valid on metro, train and RER lines. A journey costs 2.5 euros, regardless of the destination, even to the other end of the Paris region.
The Bus-Tram ticket is valid on bus and tram lines. The journey costs 2 euros, regardless of the destination.
Two tickets are needed for journeys with a connection between metro or train or RER and bus or tram.
The Metro-Train-RER ticket and the Bus-Tram ticket are available at a reduced rate for people who are entitled to discounts.
A one way ticket to a Paris Airport costs 13 euros departing from anywhere in the region.
Paris metro pass facts
The Navigo pass allows travel anywhere in the Paris region by train, metro, tram, bus or RER.
The Navigo Liberté+ pass gives access to reduced rates. With this pass,the Metro-Train-RER ticket costs 1 euro and the Bus-Tram ticket costs 1.60 euros. The connection between the bus or tram with the metro, train or RER is free.
The Navigo Jour pass is valid for all zones. It costs 20.6 euros, without access to airports.
The Paris Visite pass is valid for all zones. It includes access to airports and discounts at Parisian sites, such as the Grévin Museum, Les Invalides and the Château de Versailles. The Paris Visite pass for one day costs 29.9 euros.
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Paris metro usage facts
The first metro leaves the terminus at 5.30am. The last metro arrives at the terminal station at 1.15am, except on Fridays, Saturdays and on nights before a holiday, when the service ends at 2.15am.
Time between trains ranges from 2 minutes in rush hour up to 13 minutes in late night hours, holidays, and Sundays, depending on the line and station.
Entrance is by automated gate, opened by tickets, Navigo passes or Paris Visite travel pass. Gates return metro tickets for passengers to keep.
Metro tickets are being phased out and replaced by Navigo travel cards.
The card can be bought at metro stations. It should then be loaded with transport tickets. The card is not nominative. It can be loaned or transferred. During a trip, each traveler must carry and have validated their own card.
The Paris metro pass gives access to Paris metro
RER metro facts
The RER is the regional metro system. RER stands for Reseau Express Regional (Express regional network). It has 5 metro lines, named RER A to RER D connecting the city center to the surrounding metropolitan area. In the city, the RER acts as an express underground train. Beyond the city centre, the RER is a ground level commuter train connecting suburbs and popular destinations such as Charles de Gaulle Airport (RER B), Disneyland (RER A), Versailles (RER C) to the city center.
RER B is Charles de Gaulle Airport metro line
Grand Paris Express metro facts
Grand Paris Express is a massive extension of the old metropolitan network to Grand Paris. Its 4 metro lines will be numbered line 15, 16, 17, 18. They will have a total span of 220km and count 72 stations. Grand Paris Express will dramatically improve transportation in the metropolitan area starting in 2026 with the inauguration of circular line 15.
Grand Paris Express extends Paris metro
Useful Paris metro resources
Paris metro map
Prepare your metro itinerary
Check metro timetables
Printable Paris metro map
Charles de Gaulle Paris Airport metro
Orly Paris Airport metro
Facts: tickets are mostly sold through machines
Paris metro history facts
Fulgence Bienvenue, a French engineer, accepted the network project in July 1897, and work began in October 1898. The first line (Porte de Vincennes - Porte Maillot) was opened to the public on 19 July 1900 in order to serve the events of the 1900 summer Olympic Games at the Bois de Vincennes. The putting in place of the metro was agreed upon by the state and the city of Paris to remedy the problem of increasingly insufficient surface transport. They were thinking ahead, in particular, to the upcoming World Fair of 1900. The original project comprised a circular line running Etoile-Nation-Étoile and two transversal lines, one running north-south (Porte de Clignancourt-Porte d'Orléans) and the other east-west (Avenue Gambetta - Porte Maillot). Two management companies then came into being: CMP (Compagnie du métro parisien) and the Nord-Sud company, each using different decorations for their stations. By 1913, the metro network had already grown to comprise ten lines: 8 were the property of CMP. The remaining two belonged to Nord-Sud (the current lines 12 and 13). From 55 million in 1901, the number of passengers had increased to 467 million by 1913. The network continued to grow during the First World War. Between the two wars, lines 9, 10 and 11 were opened and the two management companies merged into one. It was all the way to 15th October 1998 before another new line was opened: the 14, initially running from Madeleine and to the National Library, then extended to cover gare Saint-Lazare. The 14 is an automated line, considerably reducing waiting time. The extension to Mairie de Saint-Ouen of metro line 14, the backbone of the ambitious Grand Paris metro project, was inaugurated in 2022. This extension includes a 5.8 km tunnel and four new stations: Pont Cardinet, Porte de Clichy, Saint-Ouen, Mairie de Saint-Ouen. It connects Paris to the cities of Clichy-la-Garenne, Saint-Ouen.