 | Paris Métro Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 504 |  |
This tip is intended for first time visitors to Paris, as simple advice on using the Métro. If you’re a seasoned Métro traveller, skip it!
- First step – get yourself a free map of Paris, it also will have the Métro map on it. But you scarcely need your own map, they are displayed in most stations.
- Each line has its own number and colour coding, eg line 12 is green, line 5 orange.
- Not surprisingly, there are two ends to a line and these are displayed on notice boards (see photo 2), so for line 5 the ends are Bobigny and Place d’Italie. Each line has a separate platform for each direction: so look at the map, find the direction to the station you want from where you are, then head for the platform identified by the line end in that direction, eg go to 5 Bobigny if you wish to go from Bastille to Oberkampf.
- On the train, there is a strip map showing the sequence of stations on that line for that train, so check that you are headed the right way after you get on.
- A nice feature of the Métro is that, in general, you could travel all day on one ticket – provided you don’t exit through the gate labelled “Sortie”, so making a mistake can be easily corrected.
- Unless there is some dire urgency, don’t fret about missing a train, they run at a frequency of four to five minutes.
- It’s worth noting that the Métro does tend to become hot and stuffy.
- It can become crowded, so be very careful of pickpockets: apart from that (and exercising some caution late at night), as a general statement it is very safe.
- It may seem strange to mention how to open carriage doors, but you need to know that they are electronically held shut until the train is almost stopped. At that stage, for the older carriages, lift upward on the handle and the door should fly open: later carriages have push button opening. |
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To pass through the turnstiles, insert the ticket into the small slot in the metal divider just to your right as you approach the turnstile. It disappears for a moment (so don't panic!), then pops out about a foot farther along, and a little green or white circle lights up, reminding you to retrieve the ticket.
~ If the turnstile makes a whining sound and a little red circle lights up, your ticket is not valid; take it back and try another.
When you have the right light, push through the gate and retrieve your ticket.
Hold onto your ticket until you exit the métro, and pass the point marked 'Limite de Validité des Billets'; a uniformed RATP 'contrôleur' (inspector) may request to see it on any train.
If caught without one, you must pay a hefty fine.
~ Also, any 'correspondances' (transfers) to the RER require you to put your validated (and uncrumpled) ticket into a turnstile. Otherwise you might need to buy a new ticket in order to exit.
LATE AT NIGHT:
~ Do not count on buying a métro ticket home late at night.
Some ticket windows close as early as 10 p.m., and many close before the last train is due to arrive.
~ Always have one ticket more than you need, although large stations have ticket machines that accept coins.
~ Avoid the most dangerous stations (Barbès-Rochechouart, Pigalle, Anvers, Châtelet-Les-Halles, Gare du Nord, Gare de l'Est).
~ Despite the good neighborhoods in which some of these stops are located, they are frequented by criminals looking to prey on tourists.
When in doubt, take a taxi. Leave a Comment |
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The Métro in Paris is indisputably the best! It is cheap, fast, safe, frequent, and incredibly punctual. There are 13 long lines and 2 short supplemental lines that cover the city from east to west, north to south, and diagonally. Within the city, it is a flat rate fee. As long as you stay inside the station, you can jump from one train to another for the price of one very cheap ticket.
To save money even further, buy a carnet of 10 tickets for €9.60 instead of individual tickets at €1.30. Tickets can be bought from either the station or tabacs shops. The same ticket is good for the RER (except suburb lines), bus and metro. Few tourists need anything else, unless they plan to stay longer than a week or they tend to use the metro extensively.
As a point of attraction, most hotels advertise that they are within walking distance from a métro stop. It is rather clever, as it would be very difficult to find *any* part of the city that is not within walking distance of the métro.
The earliest métro run is at 5:30AM and the latest is around half past midnight. On New Year's Eve, all the major lines run continuously all night long and no ticket is needed.
For tourists who want to stay for a longer period and travel out to the suburbs (CDG, Versailles, Disneyland, etc), Carte Orange is a good buy. The cost of Carte Orange varies depending on the number of zones you wish to travel. Leave a Comment |
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If you're tired of strolling the lovely boulevards in the city, join the underground denizens of Paris and take the Metro.
You're gauranteed a quick, cheap and colourful ride as there are many talented buskers who hop from train to train, bringing a smile to everyone.
Of course, you're never obliged to pay for this free entertainment. Just refuse politely if you're stingy or totally out of Euros ( haha, really?)
A ticket on the Metro cost about 1.30 euros. If you intend to travel more than once, buy 10 tickets for 10.50euros and save! Just approach the person at the ticket counter and ask for a carnet (say CAR-NAY) of tickets.
Of course, the proper way to say it would be,
"Bonjour ! oon carnay sil' vous plait.." Leave a Comment |
- Unfortunately some Parisians elected to not pay Métro fares, instead hurdling the turnstiles to get in free. As a countermeasure to stop hurdling, the ‘powers that be’ have put up additional barricades which open only when the turnstile is released by the electronic system sighting a valid ticket.
- You may be saying ‘what has that to do with me’? The reality is that getting a heavy full suitcase through the turnstiles and barricades, at the same time as you also try to get through, is quite difficult. If you are travelling with luggage, I would suggest you consider taking a taxi to or from (eg) the pickup point for the Roissybus, rather than struggling on the Métro.
- Another relevant factor is that most stations do not have escalators and, when I left, even those at the major station “Haussman St-Lazare” were inoperative. That luggage becomes heavy! |
Métro stations are marked with an "M" or with the "Métropolitain" lettering designed by 'Art Nouveau' legend Hector Guimard.
~ The first trains start running around 5:30 a.m., and the last ones leave the end-of-the-line stations (the portes de Paris) for the center of the city at about 12:15 a.m.
~ For exact departure times of the last trains, check the poster in the center of each station marked 'Principes de Tarification' (fare guidelines), the white sign with the platform's number and direction, or the monitors above the platform.
~ Transport maps are posted on platforms and near turnstiles; all have a 'plan du quartier' (map of the neighborhood).
Connections to other lines are indicated by orange correspondance signs, "Exits" by blue 'SORTIE' signs.
~ Transfers are free if made within a station, but it is not always possible to reverse direction on the same line without exiting the station. Leave a Comment |
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I planned my Paris transportation ahead of time this trip instead of buying carnets when I need 'em.
Choice was Paris Visite or carte Orange.
I chose Carte Orange as imo it's cheaper & I don't think the few sites Paris Visite gives you are worth the xtra euros.
I ended up buying Carte Musee for all the many museums & monuments Paris Visite does not cover so Carte Orange worked better for me.
All you need to do is either goto a Kinkos / whatever & get a passport foto before you go, or it's even cheaper to just hit a foto booth at the CDG airport RER term or Gard du Nord.
For zones 1 & 2 (most of Paris) it's dirt cheap:
One full week (HEBDO) is only 16,30 euros, costing significantly less than 2 carnets. After 7 days, you stop at any metro booth and they renew it for another week @ same price & it takes only seconds for them to refresh it.
Paris Visite is 31,50 ($50) for only 5 days to zones 1-3
:P pppttt...
If anyone tells you only French can buy / use Carte Orange, it's bs.
Here's the website where you can compare:
Scroll down to Ticketing
Just my opinion, but to pay the extra for all 5 zones for Carte Orange so you can use it for RER to Versailles or CDG airport imho may not be worth it, but if you wanna' spring the 31 euros for it, what the hell.
And lastly, I tried this just to see what it was like:
I don't recommend EVER taking RER in the morning from CDG airport to central Paris on your arrival day to save money.
It is not fun: It's crowded, painfully long & slow, you have to put your bag(s) on overhead rack to free up seats on the crowded train, then pray they don't get copped by a thief right before the door shuts at some of the northern Paris suburb stops.
Too stressfull, too tiring after a long flight, too uncomfortable - cucaracha.
Spring / splurge 50 Euros for a cab. Trust me on this one.
(I knew this and probably so did you, but like a bullethead I had to prove it to myself). Barff!! Leave a Comment |
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As others have stated, the Metro is absolutely brilliant for getting around. It takes a day or two to get the hang of......... I only got lost once, but that was quickly rectified by a la belle mademoiselle who spoke quite good English in response to mon petit peu Francais.
If you're staying a week then make sure you get a Carte Orange which costs differing amounts according to how many zones you want to travel through/across. So you'll need to do a bit of research before you go. Best way is to pose a relevant question in the Paris Forum and some of our very helpful Parisien, such as Hamster Huey or Fossettes,(and other) VT members will help. Leave a Comment |
Everyone who visits paris should use the metro. Several reasons:
1. taxis can be hard to find and expensive
2. metros are cool
3. metros are cheap.
How to use them?
1. many stations have multiple entrances and exits. The MOST important thing is to make a note on the way in which station you went into - and where your hotel is in relation to the station. It sounds lame, but i've been lost tons of time trying to get back to my hotel at 2:00am because i didn't remember which street exit to take from the metro station.
2. Buy an 'all day' ticket. You can purchase these tickets for one day, or muli day use. (see attached picture). A great deal - it eliminates the need to figure out how much to pay for a ticket for any other ride you are likely to take. You'll get a map along with your ticket.
HINT: if you screw up and go into the wrong side/direction -and then go back out - and try immediately to go back in your ticket won't work (this is done to prevent people from 'sharing' tickets. Just show you ticket to the man behind the ticket window and he'll let you though the turnstile.
3. figure out which line you want to take before you go undergound. Then look closely for a white sign/blue writing - each subway station lets you get on going in two directions - picking the correct side of the platform to stand on is the only confusing part of the whole process - finding this sign will show you all the stations that that particular platform entrace will take you to.
4. remember that the fastest route may not be to get on the closest station - sometimes walking 10 minutes will eliminate 2 station changes - making a faster time.
5. the french say something like 3-4 minutes per stop - you can use this to estimate how long a trip will take.
6. have fun!
7. the tickets are small rectangular pieces of paper - you slide them into a small slit in the front of the turnstile - they will then pop up in front of you - pull them out and walk through the turnstile. Leave a Comment |
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This is one of the main tourist gateways for Montmartre. Sadly, on this visit, it was looking very run-down (photo 2): but there is an active programme of Métro station refurbishment, so let’s hope it soon receives a makeover. The main point of this tip though, is to point out that, unlike most Métro stations which are only at a shallow depth, Abesses has been tunneled under a hill. Don’t catch yourself out, as we were on our first visit, by climbing the stairs instead of waiting for the very large lift, it’s a long climb up!
Once you arrive at street level, spare a moment to admire the original Art Nouveau style entrance by Henri Guinard, apparently one of the most original remaining (photo 3). |
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