I have done when I started my blog way back in Nov’2010 a series of runs on each line of the Metro de Paris. I figure it is time to update and reduce the non essentials and leave the vital for any visitor and resident as well. Paris not only have Parisians but French from every department of France and even some foreign residents and/or citizens who use it every day. I hope it helps you understand a bit more what Paris metro or subway or tube underground is all about. Of course, remember, this is my take condense information there is a book on the metro !! And will be in my black and white series, no pictures. Therefore, here is my take on the Metro de Paris, part VIII !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
As of 5 November 2025, paper tickets will no longer be available for sale across the bus and tram networks, or at metro and RER stations. Although paper tickets will no longer be sold, they can still be used for travel. If you still have such tickets, all is not lost: They will continue to be accepted for travel over a transitional period in 2026: They can be exchanged under certain conditions:jusqu’en juin 2026 sur le Métro pour les t+, jusqu’en juin 2026 sur le Réseau métro/train/RER pour les billets Origine-Destination, sur l’Origine-Destination choisie par le client. entre novembre et mai 2026 pour les t+ sur les bus/tramway (précision à venir ligne par ligne).
Navigo Easy travel pass, This is the easy and convenient solution for occasional passengers. Navigo Easy travel passes provide several advantages:They can be loaded an unlimited number of times at ticket machines, or directly on a smart phone, They are not personalised, and can be shared with other passengers for other journeys (please note that a Navigo Easy travel pass containing several tickets cannot be used for several people making the same journey), They last approximately 10 years, Simply purchase a Navigo Easy travel pass (€2) from any ticket machine at RER and metro stations, or from RATP station staff, and load it with the desired tickets. Each passenger has to hold an individual pass with the right ticket. Paris Région <> Airports tickets cannot be loaded on passes that already contain Métro-Train-RER tickets. Use a separate pass, or purchase your Paris Région <> Aéroports ticket on your phone.or passengers who prefer to travel light, tickets can be purchased directly on smart phones in the Bonjour RATP (*) and Île-de-France Mobilités apps, and in apps from official distributors Each passenger has to hold an individual pass with the right ticket. 1 passenger = 1 pass. This means that a single phone cannot be used to purchase several tickets for several passengers on the same journey.
To travel to Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle Airport (CDG) or Orly Airport (ORY)? Then the Paris Region Airports ticket is what you need! 13€ If you are staying in Paris and the surrounding region for several days, consider using the Paris Visite travel pass. You can also travel between both airports with this ticket. As this ticket is valid exclusively on rail networks, it is not valid for travel on RoissyBus. This ticket is valid for two hours on metro, RER, suburban train, and Orlyval. Connections are allowed, as long as you do not leave the network. The ticket can be loaded onto a Navigo Easy pass, on your smart phone or smart watch.
If you wish to travel by bus, tram or Noctilien in the Île-de-France region, then the Bus-Tram ticket is what you need! 2€ This ticket is valid on bus (excluding Roissybus), tram, Noctilien, Filéo, Tzen and C1 lines within a 90-minute limit. While connections are allowed, journeys cannot be interrupted and resumed on the same line, and return trips are not allowed. The ticket can be loaded onto a Navigo Easy pass, on your smart phone or smart watch.
Do you wish to travel between two stations in the Île-de-France region, on suburban trains, RER, and metro lines? And explore both Paris and the Palace of Versailles? Forfait Paris Visite Metro-Train-RER ticket is just what you need! With the Metro-Train-RER ticket, you can travel on railway lines throughout the Île-de-France region. This ticket is valid for journeys on metro, RER, suburban train, and funicular, within a two-hour limit, and without exiting from the network. The ticket can be loaded onto a Navigo Easy pass, on your smart phone or smart watch. The ticket cannot be loaded onto a medium that already contains a t+ ticket or a Paris Region <> Airports ticket. Tariffs are from 1 to 5 days starting at 29,90€ adults and 14,95€ children 4-9 years old,
It’s been going on for 75 years. 75 years of inventions, innovations, adaptations… 75 years that the RATP has been evolving and changing our lives. This is the public transports org of the Paris region, Happy anniversary RATP !
When it opened in 1908,Métro line 4, the first line to run north-south, was split into two branches, one on each bank of the Seine. The new route meant that the line, starting from Les Halles and heading towards Rue de Rennes, had to cross two arms of the Seine, via the Île de la Cité, once upstream and once downstream. To do this, two stations had to be built, one at Cité and the other at Saint-Michel. The Chagnaud company’s project was chosen because, in addition to the idea of using caissons sunk vertically into the riverbed, it had the added advantage of not requiring two twin tunnels but a single structure containing both tracks. For the section south of the small branch of the Seine, and over a very short stretch of 14.50 meters, an original method was employed: ground freezing. The presence of a railway line (now the RER C commuter rail line) prevented the use of caissons. The work lasted about ten months for this section, from December 1908 to September 1909. A large basilica, at least 60 meters long and 35 meters wide, the largest known in Gaul for this period, was partially unearthed beneath the flower market during the construction of the Cité metro station. It was aligned with this decumanus and faced the Cardo Maximus (Rue de la Cité). This large building was founded using reused architectural blocks from large, richly decorated mausoleums and funerary stelae. The completion of these gigantic and spectacular works made it possible to inaugurate the central section of line 4 between Châtelet and Raspail in January 1910, thus ensuring the link between the two sections opened in 1908 to the north and 1909 to the south ,awesome !!!
Paris Métro Line 14 has been running for over 25 years! From 1937 to 1976, there was a first line 14, very different from today’s! It connected the Invalides station, notably serving the old Paris airport terminal, to Porte de Vanves. On October 15, 1998, President Jacques Chirac inaugurated Line 14, also known as Météor (“Rapid East-West Metro”). The first fully automated line on the Parisian network from its opening, it connected the Madeleine and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand stations in record time. Construction began in 1992. Between the Madeleine station and the Arsenal port, a 4,550-meter-long, two-track tunnel was excavated by the tunnel boring machine Sandrine. On the Seine side, the underwater crossing was built upstream of the Tolbiac bridge, between the 12éme and 13éme arrondissements. Here again, the engineering was exceptional: four prestressed concrete caissons were submerged in the riverbed. Located more than 20 meters underground, Line 14 benefited from a specific architectural and stylistic charter. Each station on Line 14 has its own unique features that enhance its space: the “lens” of Saint-Lazare, the tropical greenhouse of Gare de Lyon, the connecting shaft of Madeleine, and the monumental pillars and escalators of Bibliothèque François Mitterrand station. Line 14 initially had 7 stations between Madeleine and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand. Two successive extensions, northward in 2003 from Madeleine to Saint-Lazare and then southward in 2007 from Bibliothèque François Mitterrand to Olympiades, resulted in the opening of 2 new stations and an additional 1.3 km of service. In 2020, the third extension opened to Mairie de Saint-Ouen, adding 4 new stations and 5.8 km of track. Constantly being modernized and extended, it has become the backbone of the future Grand Paris Express. Indeed, it will connect the future lines 15, 16, and 17 with the existing network. On June 24, 2024, two new extensions were opened: to the south, to Orly Airport, adding 14 km and 7 new stations; and to the north, to Saint-Denis Pleyel, adding 1.6 km and a new terminus. Following these extensions, line 14 became the longest line in the existing network with nearly 30 km. Now, nearly one million passengers travel daily on metro line 14. Only 40 minutes. that’s the time it takes to travel from Saint-Denis Pleyel to Orly Airport since June 24, 2024.
The PILI, or Illuminated Route Indicator Plan, is an iconic feature of the Paris Metro and the RATP (Parisian Transport Authority). The PILI first appeared in 1937, for the Universal Exposition. Its purpose? To allow passengers to plan routes from their current station using a keypad with a button for each destination. The device then illuminates a series of small bulbs on the map, one for each station passed through, to indicate the fastest route. Among the stations on Line 1 and those serving the Exposition, the PILI was installed in nearly 80 stations within a year of its initial implementation. Many examples remained in use on the network until the 2000s, at which point they gradually disappeared from stations. From an “artisanal” technology (a wired system using the Wheatstone Bridge), the PILI (Interactive Light Plan) was modernized in the 1990s with the invention of the PLI (Interactive Light Plan), incorporating computer and digital technologies (touchscreens and LEDs). The artwork is installed at Pyramides station on line 14 and is still visible on the station platform today. Since the 2024 European Heritage Days, a copy has been on display at the RATP headquarters museum. A trip in 1964 ,that year the RATP group was communicating about the innovative technical means at its disposal: television, camera, moving walkway, and automatic driving.
Put into service in 1999, the historic MP59 rolling trains on line 11 ,the official designation of the last MP59 train, which retired on June 12, 2024, on the eve of the extension of line 11 to Rosny-Bois-Perrier, after having served this line for many years since January 1999. The RATP’s Rubber-Tired Train Program involved organizing the acquisition and transfer of trains for lines 4, 6, 11, and 14. Line 11 was the first line to be equipped with rubber-tired trains in 1956. The introduction of the rubber-tired metro on line 11 in November 1956 was a resounding success. Parisians were delighted with the new trains for their comfort, quietness, speed, and numerous features such as automatic door opening. This rolling stock operated on the line until 1999, when it was replaced by the MP59. Since then, Montreal, Mexico City, and Santiago de Chile metros have adopted it.
The official RATP Paris metro : https://www.ratp.fr/en/plan-metro
Outside RATP stations you can purchase on authorised vendor, this is the page per arrondissement or district of Paris, https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/les-points-de-vente/commerces-proximite
The Grand Paris Express on info of future transport hubs : https://www.grandparisexpress.fr/
There you go folks , my dear readers, we have a wonderful metro network overall They take you to all these wonderful spots in my eternal Paris, even if as I said, above ground is better ::) Just for the curious and visitors who dare go underground in the most beautiful city in the world, Paris !!! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Metro de Paris, part VIII !!! as I
And remember, happy travel, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 