How to Get Around Paris: Public Transport, Passes and Tips

Apr 15
3 min read

Getting around Paris is easy once you understand how the system works, but choosing the right ticket can save you time and money. In this post, we’ll explain how it works, what types of tickets exist, which one is best depending on how many days you’re staying, and our experience using them.

What You’ll Find in This Guide

🎫 Ticket t+ and how it works

🗺️ Paris Visite pass

🪪 Navigo pass (cheapest option)

🚴‍♀️ Getting around by bike

🚕 Uber and taxis

💡 Travel tips – which option to choose

🎟️ Getting Around Paris with the Ticket t+

This is the basic ticket for the public transport system. It allows you to use the main transport options for 90 minutes from the moment you validate it. You can use it on the Metro, RER (within Paris), bus, and tram.

Allowed transfers: Between Metro and RER (within Zone 1), between different bus lines, and between buses and trams.
Where to buy it: You can buy it individually or in packs of 10 (carnet) at station machines. You can also buy it directly from the bus driver, but it costs more and doesn’t allow transfers.
Price: A single ticket costs €2.10.
Our experience: This is the one we used, since we only stayed in the city for 3 days and didn’t want to overthink which option was better.
Important: Keep your ticket until the end of your trip because controls are very common and fines are expensive.

You can’t transfer between metro lines using the same ticket, only within the same journey.

🗺️ Paris Visite

This is a tourist pass that can be purchased for two zone options:

Zones 1–3: To get around central Paris
Zones 1–5: To reach places further out like Disneyland Paris, Versailles, or Orly Airport

It’s available for 1, 2, 3, and 5 days. Prices range from €29.90 to €76.25 depending on the zones.

🪪 Passe Navigo

This is the cheapest option and the one most locals use. The Passe Navigo Découverte can be purchased at stations and airports.

Important to know: The only downside is that it works for full weeks (Monday to Sunday). If you arrive on a Thursday, you’ll only be able to use it until Sunday.
Price: The weekly pass costs around €30 (depending on the zones).

🚴‍♀️ Paris by Bike

Paris’ public bike system is called Vélib’, and stations are located all over the city.

There are two types:

🚲 Regular bikes (green)
⚡ Electric bikes (blue)

You can rent one directly at a station using your credit card, or sign up for free in the app and pay for a 24-hour or 3-day pass.

🚕 Uber and taxi

Like in any big city, you can request them through an app or hail them on the street, but they’re always the least budget-friendly option due to heavy traffic.

As you can probably tell, getting around the city is pretty simple if you know which ticket to choose. In our case, the Ticket t+ was the most practical option for a short trip.

The key is to plan ahead, always keep your ticket, and have a general idea of distances before heading out.