Paris metro tickets and the Navigo guide

Which ticket actually covers your trip

Paris has a network worth knowing, covered in the Paris metro guide, but the question most visitors actually get stuck on is simpler: which ticket do I buy, and does it work on every line I need. Since January 2025, Île-de-France Mobilités has answered that with two unit tickets instead of the old zone-by-zone jumble. This page is only about the ticket you hold in your hand or on your phone, not about how the RER lines are laid out or which one to take for a day trip.

The two current unit tickets are the Metro-Train-RER ticket and the Bus-Tram ticket. The names describe exactly what each one covers. Metro-Train-RER is valid on the metro, on RER lines, and on Île-de-France Mobilités trains across the wider region, including the airport connections, outside of journeys where a specific airport fare applies. Bus-Tram is valid on buses and trams. That is the whole split. You no longer need to check whether a particular ticket works on the RER versus the metro; if it is the Metro-Train-RER ticket, it does both.

This matters most at the airports, because it removes a decision that used to trip people up. Coming in on the RER B from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or transferring through the RER B at Antony from Paris Orly (ORY), the same Metro-Train-RER unit ticket that gets you around central Paris also gets you into the city from the airport, except on the segments where a specific airport fare applies. Check that detail at the point of purchase rather than assuming, since it is the one place the general rule does not fully hold.

What replaced the paper carnet

Longtime visitors to Paris may remember the carnet, a booklet of ten paper tickets bought at a discount. That system is gone. In its place, Île-de-France Mobilités has moved to two unit tickets loaded onto reusable media rather than sold as disposable paper strips. Paper tickets are being phased out; you can still occasionally find them, but ticket machines and staff increasingly steer travellers toward a card or a phone instead, and paper is no longer the default or the most reliable option.

The reusable card is called Navigo Easy. It is a small plastic card, anonymous, that does not require a photo or registration. You buy the card once, at a metro station ticket counter or a machine, and then load it with however many unit tickets or passes you need over your stay. It is rechargeable, so the same card works for the length of a trip and for a return visit to Paris later. The alternative to a physical card is a phone: unit tickets and passes can be held directly on a compatible smartphone, skipping the card altogether. Either way, the underlying tickets are the same two products, Metro-Train-RER and Bus-Tram; what changed is how you carry them, not what they cover.

a guided underground walk through the story of the Paris metro system is a good way to get comfortable with stations and signage in your first day or two, before you are relying on tickets solo for the rest of the trip.

The Navigo week pass, for a stay of several days

If you are in Paris for more than a couple of days, buying unit tickets one at a time stops making sense, and this is where the Navigo week pass comes in. It is unlimited travel on a personal, named card, valid Monday to Sunday, regardless of which day of the week you actually start using it. That last point catches people out: the week runs Monday to Sunday as a fixed calendar block, not as seven days from your first tap. A pass bought on a Thursday still expires the following Sunday, so time your purchase with that in mind if your trip spans a weekend.

Because it is personal, the Navigo week pass requires a small photo, which goes on the card. Bring one from home, or expect to sort it out at a ticket counter, which takes a few extra minutes you might not want to spend after landing tired at the airport. The card itself is reloadable in future trips, in the same way as Navigo Easy, but the week pass specifically is the unlimited-travel product loaded onto it for a defined week, not a running balance of individual rides.

Whether the week pass or a Navigo Easy card loaded with individual Metro-Train-RER and Bus-Tram tickets makes more sense depends on how many trips you expect to take per day and how many days you are staying, a calculation this guide will not do for you since it depends on unpublished, changing prices. What matters here is knowing the two products exist and that one is unlimited-for-a-week while the other is pay-per-ride.

Paris Visite, the touristic option

Paris Visite is a separate pass, aimed specifically at visitors rather than commuters, and it does not follow the Navigo week’s Monday-to-Sunday structure. It is valid for a set number of consecutive days from first use, which makes it more flexible for a short stay that does not line up neatly with a calendar week. It does not require a photo. Some Paris Visite passes also come with minor discounts at certain attractions, though that is a secondary feature and not the reason most visitors buy it.

Choosing between a Navigo week pass and Paris Visite comes down to how your trip dates line up and how many days you actually need covered, not to which one is “for tourists” in any meaningful sense: both are legitimate options, and Navigo Easy loaded with individual unit tickets remains a third path for a short stay with only a handful of rides. None of these prices are published here because they change and because getting one number wrong is worse than leaving it out; check the current fare at a station machine or on the Île-de-France Mobilités site before you buy.

Option	Structure	Best suited to
Metro-Train-RER unit ticket	Single ride, metro/RER/trains, on Navigo Easy or phone	A short stay, or topping up as you go
Bus-Tram unit ticket	Single ride, buses and trams only	Bus or tram journeys specifically
Navigo week pass	Unlimited travel, fixed Monday-Sunday, photo required	A stay of several days that spans most of a calendar week
Paris Visite	Unlimited travel, set number of consecutive days, no photo	A short visitor stay not aligned to a Monday-Sunday week

Buying and loading your ticket

Navigo Easy cards and unit tickets are sold at metro station machines and ticket counters across the network, including at the airports, so there is no need to arrange anything before you land. The process is straightforward: buy the Navigo Easy card once, then load Metro-Train-RER or Bus-Tram unit tickets, or a Navigo week pass, onto it as needed. A phone can be set up the same way through the relevant transport app, without a physical card at all, if you would rather not carry one more piece of plastic.

One practical note on the Navigo week pass: because it is personal and tied to a photo, it cannot be shared between two travellers, even on different days. Each person in your group needs their own card if you are all buying the week pass. Navigo Easy cards loaded with individual unit tickets have the same restriction in practice, since each tap deducts one ride from that specific card, so a group of four still needs four cards or four phones set up, not one card passed hand to hand through the barrier.

If you are only in Paris for a few hours between flights, working out passes and cards may not be worth the detour at all; see the layover itinerary for a lighter approach, and the guides to getting in from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Paris Orly (ORY) and Paris Beauvais (BVA) for what each airport connection actually involves.

What this ticket does not cover

The Metro-Train-RER unit ticket, the week pass and Paris Visite all cover public transport: metro, RER, trains and, where relevant, bus and tram. None of them apply to taxis or ride-hailing, covered separately in the guide to taxis and ride-hailing in Paris, and none apply to the city’s bike-share scheme, covered in cycling in Paris. If your plans involve dedicated train travel beyond the Île-de-France region, such as a departure from one of the city’s main stations, that falls under the Paris train stations guide rather than this ticket system.

Driving in Paris is a separate matter entirely and is not recommended for visitors: parking is difficult, traffic is dense, and a low-emission zone requiring a Crit’Air sticker covers the city, on top of driving on the right, which can be its own adjustment. None of that intersects with the tickets described here, which apply strictly to public transport.

a guided city tour by Can-Am or a 1.5-hour guided Segway tour can be a pleasant break from ticket machines on a day when you would rather not think about transit at all, though both are extras rather than a substitute for knowing your ticket options for the rest of the trip.

A simple way to decide

For most short stays, the practical path is: get a Navigo Easy card at the airport or your first metro station, load it with Metro-Train-RER unit tickets to start, and switch to a Navigo week pass or Paris Visite only once you can see how many rides per day you are actually taking. Since the January 2025 reform removed the old confusion between separate metro and RER tickets, the single Metro-Train-RER product now does the heavy lifting for almost every trip into the centre, out to the airports, or around the wider Île-de-France region, leaving Bus-Tram as the only ticket you need to think about separately, and only if buses or trams are part of your plan.

If cost per day is your main concern rather than which pass to pick, the broader guide to Paris on a budget covers where transport spending fits against food, sights and lodging. For questions about metro safety, contactless payment on the network, and the specific Orly line 14 connection, see the related reading below.

a guided bike tour is another way to cover ground without relying on any of these tickets at all, worth considering on a day when the metro is crowded and the weather cooperates.

Paris metro tickets and Navigo: frequently asked questions

Do I still need separate tickets for the metro and the RER?

No. Since the January 2025 fare reform, the single Metro-Train-RER unit ticket covers the metro, the RER and Île-de-France Mobilités trains across the region, including the airport lines, except where a specific airport fare applies. You no longer need to work out which line needs which ticket.

What happened to the old paper carnet of ten tickets?

It has been phased out. Paper tickets are being retired in favour of two dematerialised unit tickets, Metro-Train-RER and Bus-Tram, loaded onto a reusable Navigo Easy card or stored directly on a compatible phone. Paper tickets are harder to find and are not the default option any more.

What is Navigo Easy and do I have to buy a new one each trip?

Navigo Easy is a small reusable card you buy once and top up with unit tickets or passes as needed. It is anonymous, does not require a photo, and can be recharged at metro stations, so you keep the same card for a return trip to Paris.

What is the difference between the Navigo week pass and Navigo Easy?

Navigo Easy holds individual unit tickets you buy as you go. The Navigo week pass is unlimited travel from Monday to Sunday on a personal card that requires a photo, which suits a stay of several days better than buying single tickets each time.

Is Paris Visite worth it for a short trip?

Paris Visite is a pass aimed specifically at visitors, valid for a set number of consecutive days rather than a fixed Monday-to-Sunday week. Whether it is worth it depends on how many trips you take and which zones you need, which this guide does not price out, but it is the more flexible touristic option next to the Navigo week pass.

Does one ticket work at the airport too?

The Metro-Train-RER unit ticket covers RER and train travel across Île-de-France, airports included, except where a specific airport fare applies on certain journeys. Always check at the point of purchase, since airport connections are the one place a different fare can still apply.

Can I still buy paper tickets if I do not want a card or a phone app?

Paper tickets still exist in a reduced form but are being phased out, and machines increasingly push travellers towards Navigo Easy or a phone. Do not count on paper as the default; plan to get a Navigo Easy card early in your trip instead.

Do I need a photo for any of these tickets?

Navigo Easy does not require a photo. The Navigo week pass does, since it is a personal, named card. Paris Visite does not require a photo either. Bring a small photo anyway if you plan to get a week pass, to avoid a second trip to a ticket counter.