Please help me with the Metro

You could buy the weekly pass on Tuesday, that goes til Sunday but it's difficult to note if it's worth it, depends on how much you're going to use the Metro.

parisbytrain.com is one of the best resources to answer most of your questions.

and no, the 10 pack does not have to be used on the same day.

Don't confuse fares, which are all electronic, with the card/app that holds them. Each traveler, over 3 years old, must have his own Navigo card or smartphone app. Those 3 and under travel free. 4 - 9 year olds purchase tickets at half price.

If you are not interested in the weekly pass, purchase individual tickets as needed: 2.55€ for the métro/train/RER (MTR), 1.30€ for those 4-9; 2.05€ for bus/tramway tickets (BT), 1.05€ for those 4-9. Either of these types of tickets is valid throughout the Ile de France, which includes Versailles, and an area well outside the city limits of Paris. Tickets are good until used and do not have group pricing.

These tickets may be loaded onto either a Navigo Easy card (2€), or a configured smartphone using either the IDF Mobilités app or the Bonjour RATP app.

There is no such thing as a 10 pack of tickets. That went out with the changes of Jan 2025. There is no 'carnet' or bulk discount. Everyone needs a Navigo Easy. Buy a few metro/RER tickets on for 2.55 each -- they are good 'forever' Half price tickets for the two youngest.

These tickets will take you anywhere in the Ile de france including Versailles

If you think you will use the bus, put some bus tickets on for 2.05.

I would probably do the Navigo Decouverte and weekly pass (same price for everyone). it does mean small head shots for everyone and assembling the passes. It does cover the airports.

Ok thank you! That's a bummer about no more 10 packs. Ok I'll prob just do the easy go cards then for all of us

The Navigo Easy Pass for metros and buses is great. You buy it with some number of rides and you pay 2e for the card and then for however many rides you buy - say 10. Metro is 2.5e and buses are 2e and they are separate tickets.

What's great about the pass is with the RATP app on your phone you can check to see how many rides you have left and then add rides on your phone from the app. You can check and charge multiple cards from one phone. This is great because you can check and recharge - if needed - in the hotel room or restaurant - rather than in the metro station after it fails to work and people are lined up behind you. It also means you can be sure everyone in the group is going to get through the turnstile and no one is left behind.

If you decide to take a bus you can add a bus ticket to your card(s) from your phone while you wait at the stop. And if you have a pay app on the phone you can just use it and not have to take out your credit card at all. Typing in an email address for the receipt is longest part of the charging up process. You can also recharge at purple stations in the metro station but I would avoid this and it easy to do. You need to buy the Easy Pass at metro or train station from a person in the ticket booth but once you have it you're good to go.

If it was paper carnet the last time you were in Paris it takes some getting used to and you won't have little tickets to use as bookmarks any more when you get back, but it really works well.

Enjoy Paris,
=Tod

Thank you Tod! We will go with the Easy pass and I'll purchase the cards upon arrival. This will be our first time to Paris, but I had read that the Carnet offered a bundled discount, so it's a bummer they did away with that. But I understand the system now thanks to everyone's feedback :)

The Easy is not a pass and probably not good to think of it that way. It is a card on which you can load tickets or day passes. Weekly and monthly passes require a different card.

The internet and guide books are full of obsolete information. People don't clean up sites or get rid of sites when they go our of business and so there is lots of bad advice like 'buy a carnet of tickets for a discount' or 'you need point to point tickets on the RER priced by distance.' All once useful to know and now just sludge that should be cleared from the internet. I spent an hour trying to find a store that had a site on line including 'open now' -- it had been permanently closed for over a year.

In London the 11 year old will need to have a £10 Oyster Card, then have a staff member apply Young Visitor Discount to it. That gives half price fares and half price daily or weekly caps, for 14 days.

Janet makes an important point, there are cards/apps and there are fares.

Several years ago the RATP started promoting, in the English version of their advertising, a Navigo Découverte pass without specifying that it was actually a Navigo Découverte Card and a Navigo weekly pass marketed together. This led to the misunderstanding about the Navigo Découverte card's purpose; it holds passes. Not just the weekly pass, but also the day pass or the monthly pass. Naturally, people were confused more than ever.

Next, as of 2026, IDF Mobilités made access to the Navigo weekly pass even more difficult for tourists. The ND cards are no longer sold at airports and establishing a Connect account, required to purchase the pass using the app, is no longer possible from outside the EU (note the Canada exception).

It might be helpful to point out that there are two Navigo cards of interest to visitors: the 5€ Navigo Découverte card for multiple ride passes, and the 2€ Navigo Easy card for single ride tickets.

Oh my, we'll I'm afraid to say I am now more confused as well. Ok, so the Navigo Easy is a card, not a pass. I do understand that. I know we'd have to purchase it AT the station and then we purchase tickets to load on to the card. But we can only load single ticket rides on to it? So I can only load one Metro ride at a time on each of our Navigo Easy cards? That doesn't seem right so I hope I'm wrong there. Here is what I'm hoping is correct:

1. Purchase Navigo Easy card upon arrival to Paris at a Metro station
2. Use app to purchase single day tickets as many as we'd like to purchase at once? Hopefully?
3. Use app to check balances on each of our 5 cards and add tickets to the cards as needed
4. Purchase bus tickets on app as needed and load them on to Navigo Easy card

Is this right? Would the weekly card you mentioned Todd work better for us?

ETA: Or it sounds like the weekly card isn't for tourists, but the Navigo Découverte is. And if we want to load multiple tickets on to the card, then maybe this is the one for us. I don't want to have to purchase and load every individual ticket every time we need to tap in to the Metro. That seems very strange so I'm sure I'm not understanding that correctly. I don't want to arrive as an ignorant tourist so hopefully I can figure this out before we leave.

You can buy 10 or however many you want per card at the metro station at the kiosk. Just no discount for multiples. I watched a YouTube video or two on it before I visited the first time and it still intimidated me but it's honestly not hard.

Edit: it depends on how many rides you'll take if a pass is worth it or not. I just walked a lot for part of my trip.

re 'checking balance'. Every time you go through the turnstile the little window on the top will show how many tickets you have left on the Navigo Easy.

Ok, so stick to the Navigo Easy it sounds like?

I would. Unless you're riding quite a bit every day. You'd have to do the math. We usually used it 0-2x a day.

https://www.bonjour-ratp.fr/en/titres-tarifs/forfait-navigo-semaine/

Purchase Navigo Easy card upon arrival to Paris at a Metro station

You may purchase a Navigo Easy card at any train, métro, RER station or at any of the hundreds of 3rd party resellers such as magazine stores or tabacs.

Use app to purchase single day tickets as many as we'd like to purchase at once?

I am not clear on what you want. You have the option of a day pass, 12.30€, or individual tickets.

Use app to check balances on each of our 5 cards and add tickets to the cards as needed

You can check the remaining balance with the app or look on the turnstile LCD window as you pass (as Janet mentions).

Purchase bus tickets on app as needed and load them on to Navigo Easy card

You can mix bus/tramway tickets, 2.05€ with métro/train/RER tickets, 2.55€ on the same card. Airport tickets, 14€, may not be mixed with unused métro/train/RER tickets.

Would the weekly card you mentioned Todd work better for us?

You have the weekly pass option at 32.40€ for unlimited travel within the Ile de France for any period Monday through Sunday. There is no such thing as a weekly card. Cards are blank until a fare is loaded. The weekly pass or the monthly pass are loaded onto a configured Navigo Découvete card (5€). To configure the card, print your name in the space provided and attach a photo. These cards are nontransferable. Day passes may be loaded onto either the Navigo Easy card or the Navigo Découverte card.

Alternatively, you may load passes on either of the apps after establishing a Connect account:
https://www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/en/aide-et-contacts/iledefrance-mobilites-connect/comment-creer-mon-compte

Note: The Navigo Easy card may hold up to 29 tickets, airport and métro/train/RER tickets may not be mixed on the same card. The Navigo Découverte card may hold up to two passes simultaneously.

Thank you all so much for breaking it down for me! I really appreciate it 🙏😊

You will love the metro. Once you get on it for the first time, you will find it easy. I understand-- it can be really confusing! Before I left for Paris on a solo trip-- I viewed a YouTube station "Les Frenchies." It broke down the metro system.

Do you all have iWatches? You can load the passes into your watches and tap your watch to validate. Validation opens the metro turnstyle doors.

I don't like to keep count of trips and whatever. I bought the daily pass and loaded it into the watch. I suggest downloading the RATP app and CityMapper app. RATP app is so helpful in getting you from place to place-even what car to enter to be closest to the exit and what exit you need to take out of the metro station. CityMapper is great for walking around and getting to where you want to go.

FYI the "Citymapper" app can direct you to the closest Metro station, advise you on which entrance/exit to use, and where to get on the train (which car) so you'll be closest to the exit you want. I find this very handy.

Yes I've downloaded Citymapper & RATP. Thanks! I'm going to look up a few more Youtube videos. I had looked at a few, but I think with the recent changes, I was receiving the wrong information about the passes vs cards and which ones would work for us. But I'm sure the general Metro info remains the same. Thanks for clarifying the different cards and passes

There were a lot of changes to public transportation starting 1 January of this year. Be careful about YouTube videos explaining that which no longer exists.

We were in Paris, using the subway. We could have obtained the Navigo card. We used the Bonjour app on our phone. This was a mistake.

We took the metro 6 times. On 5 of those times, we had trouble getting the phone app to work. Perhaps it is because we had a login code - but even with the phone on, logged in, the app did not always work. Luckily, on 2 of the trips, there were open gates which we used. We did obtain help from a station agent on one occasion.

So, get the Navigo card, 1 for each - €2 each, €10 for the family.

One additional point for you, Mom - a good place to find all kinds of things - food, sewing kits, portable tissue packs, wine, foie-gras - is the Monoprix. There are many throughout Paris. Just make sure to hold on to the receipt for the exit.

Luckily, on 2 of the trips, there were open gates which we used.

Please do not do this. If you enter the public transportation network without validating your ticket, even if it is not your fault, the fine is 70€ paid on the spot. Inspectors are everywhere in the métro.

Thanks Paul, we'll get the Navigo cards and be sure to use the turnstile!

We saw no inspectors, and could not get our Bonjour app to work. But your warning is important, and thank you for that.

I recommend that people use the cards if they can; Découverte or Easy. They are generally easier to use with more predictable results.

The apps have special requirements. On most smartphones, to use the app for access to public transportation:

• the phone must be on
• the app, Bonjour RATP or IDF Mobilités, must be active
• NFC must be selected

Newer iPhones and Samsung phones have the Navigo card circuitry built onto their motherboards and need not be on.

If we end up deciding the Navigo Découverte is worth it for our trip, what do we do on the Monday we're leaving? Our trip spans a Tuesday-Monday so the Navigo Découverte would cover Tuesday- Sunday. We're heading to Disneyland after Paris, how would we get there on Monday if our Découverte only works until Sunday? Would we have to purchase an additional and separate Navigo Easy just for the Monday?

Also, for our kids, I think the Navigo Découverte does not offer kid lower fare rates, right? Would it make sense to get the Navigo Découverte for the 2 adults and then the Navigo Easy for our 3 kids so we can load the kid fare tickets on those?

I keep thinking I've got it but then coming up with more questions.

Family of 5 - Please, review the thread. A Navigo Découverte is a blank card. Load a Navigo weekly pass, 32.40€, onto the card for the period through Sunday. Reduced rate tickets are for children 4-9. There are no reduced rate passes (other than the Visite but that is not going to help you).

For travel on Monday, you may either load a Navigo day pass, 12.30€, onto your existing Navigo Découverte card, or purchase a Navigo Easy card (2€) and load a métro/train/RER ticket at 2.55€, (1.30€ for those 4-9) to travel to Disney. Connect to the RER A to Marne-la-Vallée/Chessy/Disney.

Ok thank you

Hi Family of 5,
I went to Paris in January, I bought the Navigo Easy (2 euro) and put money on the card.
Yes, by all means download the RATP onto your phone, it tells you how long it will take to get from your exact location, to the metro, bus, train station. I found that so helpful as some of the buses were cancelled due to snow. It has several variations how you can get from where you are to where you want to go.
About the metro...I wanted to pay for the Navigo Easy by credit card so I had to work with the personnel in the booth. The vending machines wanted a PIN. Moreover know the final stop for your metro line to ensure you are going in the right direction. The train will have the last stop visible on it. Also when you go to the platform it will have the station you are at followed by the rest of the metro stops....look at this to ensure you are going in the right direction.
I was a bit nervous, but it worked out just fine.

Thank you ameriaff, I appreciate that! I'm sure it will make sense once we're there :)