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Paris subway tips
A Powerful Network
Go
by subway, the living style
Two Systems
Tickets and Some tips
Map
Price list
A Powerful
Network
Parisians are proud of their subway
system. With more than a century of history, the system is vast, effective, and
well-managed. If you can imagine that 6 million passengers are transported by the
subway system every day, you can understand what a powerful network it is. It is
said that from any location in downtown Paris there is a subway station not farther than
500 meters from you.
Traveling
like Parisian
Using the subway as a means of transit is
the Parisian way of life. When discussing a location, Parisians always mention the name of
the nearest METRO station. If you are invited by a company to visit their office,
you shouldn't be surprised if they do not arrange to pick you up from your hotel, but
instead give you directions from the subway. The subway is more convenient, and
avoids traffic jams. It is the easiest way around, even if you are new to Paris.
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Two Systems
What we have been referring to as the
"subway" is, in fact, two systems in one. The Metro (short for
Metropolitan) has 14 lines (numbered 1 through 14), and runs in downtown Paris. The
RER (Reseaux Express Regionale - read as Regional Express Networks) has 5 lines (lettered A through E), and runs through both
downtown and the suburbs.
Tickets
There are several ticketing options
available for those using public transit: individual tickets, the "Paris Visite"
pass, the "Carte Orange" pass, or the "Mobilis" pass. Each of
these is described in some detail below. Of all these kinds of tickets, you will be
interested in
Carte Orange
and Mobilis
most likely.
Individual tickets
for the
downtown area are valid within zones 1 and 2. Each can be used
for a single trip on the Metro, RER, bus, or tram. The price is 1.50 euros for one
ticket or 11.10 for 10 tickets (called a Carnet). Children from 4 to 11 years old can have half price
discount for a Carnet, say 5.50 euros for 10 children tickets.
Individual tickets to Paris suburbs are priced based on the distance
traveled.
For example, from downtown
Paris to the GIS hotel Paris (station NEUILLY PLAISANCE, Zone 3)
is 2.8 euros one way, 22.4 euros for 10 tickets; from
the GIS hotel Paris to Disneyland Paris is 4 euros one way; from
Charles de Gaulle airport to downtown Paris is
10.05 euros one way, to GIS hotel Paris is the same.
The Mobilis
is a one-day ticket that allows unlimited travel on the Metro,
RER, bus, RATP, ADATRIF, APTR, and SNCF suburban network. It excludes the Orlybus,
Orlyval, Roissybus, Roissyrail and Orlyrail. Price is based on area of coverage,
for Zone 1 - 3, it is 7.50 euros.
The Paris Visite pass
a bit more expensive than the Mobilis. It allows
you to discover Paris and its surroundings. With it, you enjoy unlimited travel on
all public transit systems, including: the Metro, RER, buses, tram, Montmartre
funiculaire, Montmartobus, Noctambus, suburban trains, and private buses from ADATRIF and
APTR. According to the zones you choose (1-3 or 1-6), you can travel as far as
Disneyland Paris, Versailles, or the airports. Passes can be valid for 1, 2, 3, or 5
days, beginning any day of the week. They are half price for children between 4 and
11 years old.
The pass also allows you to receive discounted entry into 30 of Paris' museums, not
including many of the more popular ones, such as the Louvre. No photograph is
required to obtain this pass.
The
Carte Orange pass is probably your best choice
 if you are visiting Paris for more than three days and your
visit starts towards the beginning of the week. For example, the weekly ticket covering
zones 1 to 3 is 21.60 euros,
see Price list,
whereas the 3-day Paris Visite pass for the same zones is
18.60 euros.
GIS hotel Paris
is in Zone 3.
The Carte Orange pass requires a photo and paper
work to prevent sharing of passes. (It is easy: just put your whatever photo on the
card, fill your name in the card and fill the number of the card in the coupon)
The Carte Orange weekly pass is valid from Monday through Sunday. Between Monday and
Wednesday, you may purchase a ticket for the current week. Between Friday and
Sunday, you may purchase a ticket for the coming week.
The monthly pass is valid from the first to the last day of each month.
Tickets are available at all stations of the Metro and RER lines A and B as well as
locations displaying the RATP poster (such as many tobacconists).
Some tips for buying
tickets
Tourists are often surprised how difficult
it is to communicate with Metro attendants. The following are French phrases to
assist you in purchasing your tickets. If you cannot pronounce them properly, you
may wish to write down the appropriate phrase and show it to the Metro attendant.
In each of these examples X, Y, and Z should be replaced by the appropriate number.
X billets (X tickets)
Neuilly Plaisance
(X tickets to Neuilly Plaisance, that is for
GIS hotel Paris
)
un carnet (one packet of 10 tickets
for the downtown area)
X carnets pour Neuilly Plaisance
(X packets of 10 tickets for Neuilly Plaisance)
X billets Carte Orange pour zone X a Y
(X Carte Orange tickets for zones X through Y)
X mobilis pour zone X a Y (X mobilis tickets for zones X through Y)
X Paris Vistes pour zone X a Y, Z jours (X Paris Visite passes for zones X
through Y, valid for Z days)
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