Paris has moved decisively away from paper tickets, and the practical answer to "how do I pay for the Metro?" is now almost always: get a Navigo Easy card and load it with tickets or a pass. The old paper t+ ticket, once a Paris souvenir in its own right, is being phased out, and the system now nudges everyone — visitors included — toward a small reusable card. Here's how it actually works.
Navigo Easy: the card you need
The Navigo Easy card is a small, free-to-buy (a nominal fee applies) rechargeable plastic card, sold at Metro station ticket windows and machines. Unlike the personalised Navigo card used by Paris residents (which requires a photo and is tied to weekly or monthly passes), Navigo Easy is anonymous and reloadable, and it's the version aimed at visitors and occasional users. You load it with individual tickets, a carnet (bundle) of tickets, or a day pass, then tap it on the reader at Metro gates and bus doors.
Buying and topping up
Navigo Easy cards and top-ups are sold at station ticket machines (which have an English-language option) and at staffed ticket windows in larger stations. You can load:
- A carnet of 10 single tickets — cheaper per journey than buying tickets one at a time, and the standard choice for a short visit with moderate Metro use.
- Individual single tickets — convenient for a very short stay or occasional use, but the least cost-effective option per trip.
- A day pass (Navigo Jour) — unlimited travel within selected zones for a calendar day, worth it if you're making four or more trips in a day.
- A weekly pass (Navigo Semaine) — runs Monday to Sunday regardless of when in the week you buy it, which matters: buying one on a Saturday only covers you through Sunday, not a full seven days forward.
Machines accept both cash and card, and staffed windows are useful if you want a top-up explained in person or run into a machine that doesn't accept foreign cards.
Zones: what a standard ticket covers
Central Paris and its Metro network sit within zones 1–2, and a standard single ticket or carnet ticket covers unlimited transfers within those zones for the duration of a single journey, including changes between Metro lines. If your trip extends further out — to Versailles, Disneyland Paris, or one of the airports via RER — you'll need a ticket or pass that covers the wider zones, since a standard Metro ticket doesn't stretch that far. Day and weekly passes can be bought for all zones (1–5) if you know you'll be making an airport or Versailles trip, which is often simpler than buying a separate zone-specific ticket for that one journey.
The RER is different from the Metro
Within central Paris, RER fares work the same as the Metro on a standard ticket. But if you ride the RER out to the suburbs or an airport, the fare is calculated by distance and a standard central-zone ticket won't cover it — you'll need a specific point-to-point RER ticket for that journey, which you can also load onto a Navigo Easy card. Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports both sit in outer zones, so travelling to either by RER or the dedicated airport lines needs its own ticket rather than a standard Metro ticket. See our Paris airports to the city guide for the specifics of each airport connection.
Buses and trams
The same Navigo Easy card and the same tickets work across Paris buses and trams, not just the Metro — load it once and it covers all three. Tap on when boarding a bus; there's no need to tap again to exit, unlike the Metro's gated system.
Contactless bank cards: not yet standard
Unlike London, Hong Kong or Sydney, Paris has not (as of writing) rolled out direct contactless bank card tapping as a default fare payment method across the whole network in the way those cities have. Some newer readers and specific services accept it, but the reliable, universal method remains loading tickets or a pass onto a Navigo Easy card. Check current rollout status before assuming your bank card will simply work at every gate — for now, a Navigo Easy card is the dependable choice for visitors.
How Paris compares to other major networks
Paris is a partial outlier among the cities in this series: where London, Sydney and New York now let a visitor simply tap a foreign contactless bank card and rely on automatic fare capping, Paris still expects you to actively load a ticket or pass onto a Navigo Easy card before you travel. It's a small extra step, but worth planning for on arrival rather than assuming your bank card alone will get you through the gates the way it might elsewhere.
Which option suits your trip
- A weekend with light Metro use — a carnet of 10 tickets loaded onto a Navigo Easy card, used as needed.
- A few days of heavy sightseeing — a Navigo Jour day pass on your busiest days, carnet tickets on quieter ones.
- A week or more in the city — a Navigo Semaine weekly pass, remembering it runs Monday to Sunday regardless of purchase day.
- An airport transfer — a specific RER/airport ticket for that leg, loaded onto the same Navigo Easy card you're using for the Metro.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still buy paper Metro tickets in Paris?
Paper t+ tickets are being phased out and are no longer sold in most stations. The practical replacement is a Navigo Easy card loaded with tickets or a pass, which works the same way at the gates.
Does one ticket cover a journey with Metro line changes?
Yes — a standard single ticket within zones 1–2 covers unlimited transfers between Metro lines for one journey, as long as you don't exit through the gates and re-enter for an unrelated trip.
Do I need a different ticket for the airport?
Yes. Both Charles de Gaulle and Orly sit outside the standard zone 1–2 Metro area, so getting there by RER or a dedicated airport line requires its own ticket, which you can load onto the same Navigo Easy card.
Is a weekly pass worth it for a short trip?
Only if your visit lines up well with the Monday–Sunday week the pass covers — since it doesn't roll forward from your purchase date, a pass bought mid-week may not be worth it for a short stay. A carnet or day passes are usually more flexible for visits that don't span a full calendar week.
Sources and further reading:
- RATP and Île-de-France Mobilités official ticketing and Navigo Easy pages.
- SNCF/RER information for airport and suburban zone fares.