Paris Metro Guide: 16 Lines, 308 Stations & Travel Tips

Paris operates 16 lines of Métro rapid transit totaling 226.9 kilometers with 308 stations, making it the tenth-longest metro system globally by route length. The system carried 1.52 billion passengers in 2019, the last year before pandemic disruption altered baseline ridership. Line 1 runs automated driverless trains on rubber tires between La Défense and Château de Vincennes, traversing 16.6 kilometers with stops including Louvre-Rivoli and Hôtel de Ville. Line 4 connects Porte de Clignancourt in the eighteenth arrondissement to Mairie de Montrouge south of the périphérique ring road, passing through Châtelet-Les Halles, the network's busiest interchange where five Métro lines and three RER regional rail lines converge. A single ticket costs 2.10 euros as of early 2024, valid for one continuous journey including transfers between Métro lines but not reentry after exiting gates. A carnet of ten tickets costs 16.90 euros. Daily Mobilis passes and weekly Navigo passes offer unlimited travel within selected fare zones, with central Paris occupying zones 1 and 2.

The Réseau Express Régional operates five lines labeled A through E, extending Métro coverage to suburban communes and airports. RER B links Gare du Nord to Charles de Gaulle Airport in 28 minutes and to Orly via the Antony transfer point. RER A carries more than 1.2 million passengers daily, the highest ridership of any rail line in Europe, running east-west from Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Cergy through central stations including Châtelet-Les Halles, Nation, and La Défense. RER C follows the left bank of the Seine through stations near the Eiffel Tower and Musée d'Orsay before looping north and south to suburbs. The network uses a distance-based zoning system with five concentric zones radiating from central Paris, requiring travelers to purchase tickets corresponding to their origin and destination zones. A zone 1-5 ticket costs 11.45 euros, necessary for airport journeys.

Île-de-France Mobilités operates 64 bus routes within Paris proper and more than 350 routes across the wider region. Route 21 runs from Gare Saint-Lazare to Porte de Gentilly, passing the Opéra Garnier and Jardin du Luxembourg. Route 27 connects Saint-Lazare to Porte d'Ivry via the Panthéon and Jardin des Plantes. Night service continues after Métro closure at approximately 1:15 AM on weeknights and 2:15 AM on weekends through 47 Noctilien routes radiating from Châtelet. Buses accept the same ticketing as the Métro, with passengers validating tickets in machines upon boarding. Real-time arrival displays at most stops show expected wait times drawn from GPS tracking data.

Tramway service consists of eleven lines operating primarily in outer arrondissements and inner suburbs where street width permits dedicated rights-of-way. Line T3a and T3b form a semicircle around southern Paris along the former Thiers fortification route, connecting Pont du Garigliano in the fifteenth arrondissement to Porte de la Chapelle in the eighteenth via Porte de Versailles, Porte d'Italie, and Porte de Vincennes. Line T3 carried 110,000 passengers daily before pandemic adjustments. Tramway platforms stand level with train floors for accessibility, and tickets follow Métro pricing.

Vélib' Métropole operates approximately 20,000 bicycles at 1,400 stations across Paris and 60 surrounding communes, managed under contract by Smovengo since 2018. Mechanical bikes cost 1 euro for a single 30-minute trip or 3.10 euros monthly for residents, with electric-assist bikes commanding premium fees. Stations average 300 meters apart in central areas. The system recorded more than 30 million trips in 2019. Bike lanes total approximately 1,000 kilometers across Paris, with protected lanes along Rue de Rivoli completed in 2020 and along the Champs-Élysées added in sections. The Seine riverbank expressway was closed to car traffic and converted to pedestrian and bicycle use in 2016, creating a 3.3-kilometer car-free route along the Right Bank.

Taxis display an illuminated roof sign when available, with white indicating availability within Paris and orange indicating availability but returning to suburban base. Minimum fare stands at 7.30 euros, with daytime rates of 1.14 euros per kilometer in central zones and higher rates evenings, Sundays, and in outer zones. G7 operates the largest fleet with approximately 9,500 vehicles bookable by phone or app. Taxis legally must accept card payment for fares above 15 euros following a 2015 regulation. Charles de Gaulle Airport to central Paris costs a flat 53 euros to Right Bank destinations and 58 euros to Left Bank under fixed-price rules introduced in 2016.

Ride-hailing services including Uber, Bolt, and Freenou operate under regulations requiring advance booking, prohibiting street hails reserved exclusively for licensed taxis. An April 2022 survey by the Autorité de Régulation des Transports counted approximately 30,000 active VTC vehicles in the Paris region, the French licensing category for private hire cars. Pricing fluctuates with demand algorithms, typically falling below taxi rates during low-demand periods and exceeding them during peaks.

The périphérique ring road encircles Paris in 35.5 kilometers with 30 exits, carrying approximately 1.1 million vehicles daily and ranking among Europe's most congested roads. Speed limits dropped from 80 to 70 kilometers per hour in 2014. On-street parking in most central arrondissements requires payment via Flowbird terminals or smartphone app from 9 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and 9 AM to 8 PM Saturdays, with rates reaching 4 euros per hour for non-resident vehicles in the first and second arrondissements. The city government removed 70,000 on-street parking spaces between 2001 and 2024 to reallocate road space to bus lanes, bike lanes, and pedestrian areas. A low-emission zone covers all of Paris and communes within the A86 motorway, banning vehicles registered before 1997 and progressively restricting older diesel vehicles, with non-compliant vehicles subject to 68-euro fines.

River shuttle service Batobus operates eight stops along a 12-kilometer Seine route from the Eiffel Tower to Jardin des Plantes, with boats departing every 20 to 25 minutes during operating season from late March to early November. A one-day pass costs 19 euros and a two-day pass costs 22 euros as of 2024. The service functions as tourist transport rather than commuter transit, carrying approximately 400,000 passengers annually. Vedettes de Paris and Bateaux-Mouches operate sightseeing cruises without hop-on hop-off capability, departing from Pont de l'Alma and Pont Neuf.

Walking remains efficient for distances under two kilometers in central arrondissements, with the distance from Notre-Dame to the Arc de Triomphe measuring approximately 4.5 kilometers. The Promenade Plantée, a 4.7-kilometer elevated park built on a former rail viaduct, stretches from Bastille to the périphérique near Porte Dorée, predating New York's High Line by two decades with completion in 1993. Pedestrian signals at most intersections default to red, requiring button activation, though new installations increasingly use automatic detection. The city installed approximately 110,000 bollards to separate sidewalks from vehicle lanes following vehicle-ramming attacks in the 2010s.

Charles de Gaulle Airport lies 23 kilometers northeast of central Paris in Roissy-en-France, connected by RER B in approximately 30 minutes to Gare du Nord and 35 minutes to Châtelet-Les Halles, with trains departing every 10 to 15 minutes from 5 AM to midnight. The Roissybus shuttle runs directly to Opéra Garnier in 60 to 75 minutes depending on traffic, departing every 15 to 20 minutes for 16.60 euros. Le Bus Direct line 2 serves the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower in 70 to 90 minutes for 18 euros. Orly Airport sits 13 kilometers south, reachable via Orlybus to Denfert-Rochereau Métro in 30 minutes for 11.20 euros or via RER B to Antony station and then Orlyval automated rail in a combined 35 to 40 minutes. Tram T7 connects Orly to Villejuif-Louis Aragon Métro terminus on Line 7 in approximately 30 minutes for standard Métro ticket price but requires walking between airport terminals and tram platforms.