Using the subway (Metro) in Paris

A quick google of "how to use the Paris metro" nets many step by step & video how to's.

I was in Paris last week and after about the 2nd day I was traveling the Metro like a local. We did head the wrong direction one time, but got off at the next stop and corrected the issue. No problems. Sorry you found it so confusing.

You just need to know a few vital words. The lines have numbers, and are signposted according to the last station, so you just need to know the final station in your direction, and follow signs "Ligne yy direction xxx". When you change trains, follow "correspondence xxx".
One fnal vital word: "Sortie" = Exit, to get you out.
After that, it is just place names, and the French use the same alphabet as in English (mostly, some extra letters à è é ô ç etc.)

You just need to note which 'DIRECTION' (end station of the line) you need to be travelling in. Signs on every platform will say. Check when you have to follow passages at a connection (CORRESPONDENCE) point, and again when you reach the platform before boarding.

Everything you will need to know is here - http://parisbytrain.com/

The key is to find out the "end of the line" station in the direction you are going.
Find a Paris Metro map (100's on the internet) and imagine you are going from Gare de Lyon (yellow line 1) to George V (which is on the Champs Elysee). Run that route with your finger and see where the yellow line 1 ends, and in this case it is La Defense.

Then, when you enter the Metro, you will look for yellow line 1, direction "La Defense". If you see yellow line 1 "Chateau de Vincennes" on the sign, back up or look around until you find the direction "La Defense" hallway.

Also, the end of the line name is usually on the front of train as it approaches.

Once again, having and using a good guidebook would have saved you lots of time and headache.

Sorry you didn't have time to study up...but this forum will help.

As a New Yorker I totally disagree! Paris has a city wide system that was built as a civil project, so all the train lines are in sync with one another, transfers are easy and the bulk of the city is covered well making it easy to travel. NYC has a system that was built as separate indepent lines that once unified had to be retro fitted to connect and provide service...they are still working on that one! LOL

Knowing the end station, gives you the direction. I also recommend taking the RER ( a commuter train that does go outside the city) sometimes the city stops are faster ( fewer) to your destination. I used it during a Metro strike years ago, that only affected the city workers, not the National ( regional) ones! :)

The Paris metro is very easy but if you are not used to using mass transit and did not research the system, it could be confusing. I found the London transit system, which is in English, more difficult to master.

parisbytrain.com will help

Knowing the end station, gives you the direction.

We found the metro easy to use as well but as above, knowing the terminus stations of the lines (just use a metro map) was key to getting on the right train.

I don't understand how anyone could get going the wrong direction more than once. The list of stops is always at the entrance to the platform so as you enter the final corridor to the platform you just look to see if your stop is on the list. One chooses the platform based on the end stop which you can easily find on the free map you can get the first time you use the metro. They are available at the information window in both large and pocket size. I always quickly glance at the list of stations as I enter the platform corridor to double check that I have chosen the right direction. The Paris metro is extremely well signed and very easy for anyone to use even the first time. Even big ugly complex stations like Chatelet are so well signed that it is easy to find one's line and platform.

I found it very easy to master, but I am also from an area with a rapid transit system so it felt familiar in some ways--and I always come home from my trips to Europe deeply impressed by their mass transit systems, metros every 3-5 minutes, easy to understand bus and tram connections, elevators and escalators that work and aren't used as a latrine (thinking of BART in San Francisco, ugh).

When plotting out my metro plans for the day I check my map and write out a little sticky note, something like "M3, stop name, end of the line in parentheses". Or take a moment to study the line map in the station--as I said, trains come so frequently you won't be delayed much and will actually get on the right one in the first place.

Janet - I grew up n an area that had ZERO public transportation. I had no idea how to read a bus or subway schedule or how it worked - it took some reading for me to figure out that the last stop dictated the train/bus direction.

I've been to Paris more times than I can count. But if I'm headed to an area I'm unfamiliar with, I always write it down. The Line, The direction, the stop, change to...again, The Line, the direction, the stop. Everyone is bustling about, but you don't have to. If you miss a train, another one will be along in minutes. Take a deep breath and relax. If you realize you're on the wrong track, just back track to the other side. Preparation is key.
Reverse everything on the way back. You might want to jot down the reverse trip if you are worried about getting confused.

Line, Direction,Stop.

I find the London Tube and the Vienna U-Bahn system the easiest to manage and navigate

The Paris Metro is a bit different, there have been times everything went smoothly, easy to use; other times it was confusing, got lost, (so what), took the wrong train, and so on. If the Metro map board has everything working as it should, the lights button, etc it's much easier using that and the color codes to get from A to B. There have been times I just rode it, getting off at a random station to view the immediate neighborhood. The language is not a problem.

I have never had issues with subways in any city; however, I have probably never gotten on the right bus EVER!! It happened 10 years ago with my sister in Budapest and it continues to happen to me today, most recently in Oslo with my husband. I pretty much have to be desperate to try to use the bus system in any city!

Christi I now live in Chicago with great public transport but when I first traveled in France I was living in Nashville which has terrible public transport. I still found the Paris metro pretty straightforward. And if one feels really confused, well then it would make sense to read a couple of paragraphs on line or in a guidebook to figure out how it works. there is nothing obscure about it. The maps clearly show the stop names; the stations clearly direct one to the lines to take and if one is confused about directions, the list of stations for that entrance are clearly listed when you enter the corridor to the platform. If your stop isn't there, then it must be the other direction. All sites include their metro stop in their webpage information as to guidebooks.

I wish every city in the US had the kind of public transport that makes it easy to live without a car and parking etc. -- It is pretty marvelous.

I agree with Rita. Subways are generally no problem, and we loved the Paris Metro. Metropolitan bus systems, on the other hand, totally baffle me every time.

Paris by Train is very helpful, including its photo tours of major train stations. You can plan your trip step by step on the interactive guide in the official rapid transit website (click on Getting Around): http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_5000/accueil/

Note that you can transfer from Metro to RER trains as long as your ticket covers the zones you will travel through. Buses and surface rail traffic do not allow transfers with the Metro although the same tickets are used on the systems.

You might find it helpful to study the Metro maps before you go down to the platforms. There always seems to be large maps in the area where the gates and tickets kiosks are located. That way you'll be able to identify not only which line to use, but also which direction. As I recall there are maps in the RS guidebooks also, so you could plan your route before you even get to the station.