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Overview The underground Metro system is the most efficient way to travel around Paris. If you can’t speak or read French, it may take a few tries to get the hang of the system, but once you get it you’ll find that it is fast,
simple and, most importantly, inexpensive. Moreover, it is a great way to experience
a commonality of Paris living.
How To Ride The Paris Subway System
The underground system consists primarily of the Metro train and the RER (regional train) line. Tickets for each can be purchased at any
Metro station. The first thing one should do even before purchasing a ticket is
to acquire both an underground railway map and a map of the city that displays
Metro station locations.
Both city and metro maps are available at most hotels, Metro stations and tourism
offices. Metro maps can be found posted on station walls; however, considering
you are unfamiliar with the French language, it may be difficult remembering
the necessary information (especially with connecting trains) and writing it
down somewhere allows for a lot more mistakes than simply carrying a map.
When you find on the city map what station is closest to the particular destination you
want to go, you simply refer to the railway map to see which train (or trains, as there are connecting railways)
runs between that station and the one nearest you. Every train must head in
two opposite directions. Actually, there are two trains of the same name, each
heading in an opposite direction (north and south, east and west, etc.).
Therefore, there are two lists of "final" destinations for each
train. These locations will be posted throughout the railway stations as well, offering guidance as to which train you need to
take. The easiest way to tell which direction a train is headed is to look on the railway map and find its final destination (there are maps that display both the Metro and RER rails).
This is how you will navigate the metro stations---by following the station
signs that post your train number or letter and the list of final
destinations, which distinguishes two trains of the same number/letter (and
color) traveling in opposing directions.
For instance, if you were at the Museum du Louvre and wanted to get out to the Eiffel Tower, you know
by looking at your city map that you need to head
west -- to the Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel station. Simply locate on your railway map which of the stations nearest you
receives trains that go to the Champ de Mars station. In this case, you would find that the
Palais Royal Musee du Louvre station
receives an RER line – line C (the yellow line) – that runs directly through to the
Champs de Mars station with no connection needed. So, as you look for the
RER-C train platform while inside the Palais Royal station, you would look for signs that lead to:
RER C (yellow line)---Versailles, Rive Gauche, Chateau de
Versailles, St Quentin-en-Yvelines. Why these places? Because you know by looking at your railway map that these locations mark the final destinations of the RER C running
west, as opposed to the east line, which would feature different destination names. (Simply look at the end of each rail line on your railway map to locate a train’s final destination).
Fortunately, you’ll notice that often there are signs in the stations that not only display a train’s final destinations, but also the stops it makes
between your location and the final locales. Therefore, once you become oriented with which stations are near
certain landmarks throughout the city, navigation becomes a lot easier, not to
mention that knowing the direction you’re headed will be no problem.
Lastly, displayed on each train above the sliding doors is a “map” of the rail line of that train. If the station you’re after is not on the map, you’re on the wrong train.
Keep in mind, however, that if you need connecting trains to get where you're
going, than the subsequent connecting stations are what you should be looking for. If you
have found your station on the map inside the train, simply correlate the train stops with those that are sequentially listed above the door to figure out your direction and how many stops there are before yours.---Words
and photos by Michael Rando
Details
The Paris Metro runs from 5:30am to 12:30am. A single ticket costs FFR8, a package of ten tickets FF52. Tickets are punched in Metro turnstiles or bus ticket boxes prior to departure. Keep ticket accessible while riding, as you may be asked to show it to a transit inspector and no ticket means paying a FF150 fine, though such occasions are rare. Also, tickets are sometimes needed to exit turnstiles. Passes can be purchased at airports, major Metro and RER railway stations, and the Paris Convention & Visitors Bureau. Passes can be purchased in the U.S. from Marketing Challenges International, TEL. 800-869-8184.
A one-day Mobilis pass is good for unlimited travel on the Metro, bus and RER within the city limits—30F. Paris Visite passes are good for unlimited travel on the Metro, city buses, the RER, and the funiculaire ride to Montmartre. They are available for one day at FF50, and for two days at FF85, three FF120, five FF170. Paris Visite passes that extend to the airports, Disneyland Paris and Versailles are available for one day at FF100, and for two days at FF175, three FF245, five FF300.
Children’s passes are half price.
**Weekly or monthly Carte Orange passes are technically only for residents of Paris and lle-de-France, but in practice are issued to anyone who requests one. Present an ID-sized photo at any Metro ticket counter. Weekly--FF80, monthly--FF271.
For Paris Metro and Bus information in English, call TEL. 08 36 68 41 14
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