I have quite a bit about purchasing tickets for Paris Metro, RER, and buses and have read quite a bit on options on this forum. I was planning on the Navigo easy pass. When I got the Bonjour RATP app for navigation, i saw that rides could be purchased; i did not see this as discussed as an option. Is this a new feature? I used a similar in Japan and it was so easy. I will be in Paris for only three nights with one ride from CDG, so the week pass will not work for me. What is the best way for me to purchase transportation tickets?
Posted by
Florida (previously California)
4422 posts
Just a note that with the Navigo Easy, you will need one for airport tickets and another for metro tickets. Certain ticket types are blocked from coexisting on a single card to prevent the contactless validation system from getting confused about which fare to charge you. Yes, you can purchase rides on the app and use your phone as your ticket which is what is what I do when I am in Paris. I don't know how new this feature is; I did it for the first time in March 2025.
Posted by
Chicago
9790 posts
The Navigo Easy is not a pass. It is card you load individual tickets on: Airport 14. metro/RER 2.55 and bus 2.05. Airport tickets can not exist on the same card with metro tickets. So however you do it you are 'purchasing rides'
you can load a day pass on the Easy but weekly and monthly passes require the Navigo Decouverte
The passes are good for all forms of public transport in the Ile de france
Posted by
174 posts
We bought the Navigo card and needed pictures (photo machine was nearby, so we could buy the card). We could use Metro, busses and the train to the airport (Zone 2-5 needed!). But it works not for every train, you have to check it.
Posted by
Upstate NY, USA
1159 posts
that was not the Easy but the Navigo Decouvert...
parisbytrain.com is a great resource btw
Posted by
58 posts
If you have a smart phone, it is easy to load the Navago pass on the app from RATP or IDFM, each essentially the same as the other, which will allow you to buy individual bus and/or metro tickets right before you want to use them. The only money-saver is if you are Paris for an entire month, or for a week, but only if your week begins on a Monday. (The seven day pass does not begin the first time you use it, counter-intuitively.)
Like you, I was fearful of using my phone to buy tickets but the whole experience was easy and positive. There is no bar code once you purchase the ticket on your phone; you just hold your phone near the reader and it "knows" what to do. Amazing.