Annual thread about Paris Metro tickets!

[Janek]

We are travelling through Paris next week and are spending 24 hours there a couple of weeks later, on our way home.

I have read online that they are phasing out paper metro tickets - does that mean you can no longer purchase a single t+ ticket without a Navigo card/suitable app? I am hoping the paper tickets will have not quite gone yet by the time we travel...

If they have gone, what is the best app to use on Android to buy tickets?

@oriunda you were the font of all knowledge on this last year when I wanted info. I was hoping you might appear again with all the answers!

I still have the end of a carnet on my phone from last year (which worked with varying degrees of success the three times I tried it...). There are four of us travelling this year, one of whom does not have NFC on her phone. So she at least will need an alternative to an app! Any advice gratefully received!

TIA

How are you getting to Paris? We bought rechargeable metro tickets on our TGV. You can also buy them on Eurostar. 5 euros each, and that includes a journey on the metro. They can be topped up. The queues at Montparnasse for buying metro tickets were huge yesterday. Also, a C large part of line 4 is closed, and line 12 will be closed later this month, so you may have to divert. Allow extra time!

Ds has the MyNavigo app, and that works.

Thanks for the info! We're getting the Eurostar so arriving at Gare du Nord. I always imagine I will pay an inflated price if I buy metro tickets on the Eurostar so have always avoided it. Perhaps I'm wrong.

I had forgotten to check on closed metro lines, I'll do that now (I think we need the 5).

Are you saying you cannot buy paper tickets at all now?

I’m just back from Paris. On iPhone it’s super easy as the Navigo pass is in your wallet and you just buy the ticket you want and tap your phone. . We used the airport one and then a few single metro tickets. On android you have to download an app and you buy your single/day tickets on there - to activate you just tap your phone whilst the app is open with the ticket showing. Your phone needs to be NFC compatible. Single metro ticket is €2.50 and I think it lasts 90 minutes which allows you to make as many metro/RER transfers as needed as long as your don’t exit

my DH is out at moment and he was one using android so I can update later with name of the app.

I just re read your message, not sure about non NFC phone. Go to trip advisor , go on the Paris forum (needs to be on laptop or pc as this doesn’t work on phone) and on the top right hand side there is a travel sticky thread that helped me loads

We were there in February. What you need to do is either download the navigo app on your phone or buy a reloadable ticket (€2) when you get there and top it up with money for each journey. We just used the cards. You can add money to them at machines at most metro stations.
All journeys cost €2.50, any combinations of trains taken within one hour. Tap in and out of the station.
The airports are different and have a single journey airport fee (about €13) but again you can load that on to your navigo card/app.
Children under 11 get 50% off all journeys.

All the info above is correct. Clearly it’s much easier with the iPhone, as you don’t need to download a separate app. For your light use, if you’re not on iPhones, I’d buy your ticket on the Eurostar; the Navigo rechargeable ticket costs €2, so with the additional single fare of €2.50, they’re not really gouging you. You can then buy more tickets on the machines, or via the apps. When I’ve bought tickets directly on my Samsung, I’ve not always had success in using. The app I use is IDF Mobilités, but I gather Bonjour RATP works too.

Thanks very much. It's annoying that you can't rely on an android phone - you said as much last year and I just had to hope for the best, because I'd already bought a carnet. In the event it worked fine the first time, didn't scan properly the second time (so the gates didn't open) and did scan, but didn't open the gates the third time. Luckily there were plenty of staff about because of the Olympics so they just opened the gate for me. I doubt there will be that much help available this year!

I guess I just have to bite the bullet and buy the Navigo cards I have been wanting/avoiding for so long, if there are no paper tickets.

You can still use paper tickets (not necessarily at all stops) but you can’t buy them anymore

good advice above. We had an absolutely nightmare trying to work out how to get tickets for the kids without using smartphones. Because the app can’t deal with people buying tickets for other people it appears.

in those cases you need to buy a navigo card. But it’s far from ideal because ticket stations have closed completely from the vast majority of stations and there are hardly any staff anywhere. I found it very frustrating indeed.

I travelled through Paris today and it's deadsville. Everyone has gone on les vacances. Some metro lines are closing for maintenance during July/August. No staff to be seen.

Anyone using a paper ticket should absolutely avoid the interchange at La Défense; it never works and you just need to do what everyone else does; jump over or crawl under, depending on your level of fitness.

Oh wow we are going to Paris in August and I didn’t realise I had to plan ahead for the metro! Haven’t been for 20 years and just assumed it would be like the London Underground!

So…family of 2 adults and 2 DC. All iPhone users.

Do we all download the app?

I just assumed I could tap in and out with Apple Pay

I'm pretty sure on an iPhone the Paris Metro is listed in Apple Wallet and it's easy to get a ticket. We are all on Android, which is unfortunately less reliable.

Word of warning. You can’t use 2 passes from the same phone at the same time. Probably obvious, but DH bought 2 tickets as my phone was playing up. His worked fine but not for me! So I had to run back to the machines and buy a ticket - it was €4.50 as I had to pay extra for the pass.

I think there are 2 Apps that work Bonjour RATP and IDF Mobilités.

Just pay 2 euros and buy the Navigo card - this was super easy!

Would I buy 1 card per person and load this with money?

We bought 4 cards (one for me, DH and both kids) and then topped up. I don't think you can share a card. Yes there was an 8 euro cost but it seemed waaaay easier to do this. We will return to Paris though so will use the cards again. If not we just would have given them to another tourist family trying to work out what to do!

We got on at Opera, the station was manned and the person at the counter sorted the cards for us.

Yes.

No. Or at least we couldn’t work out how. You need either the app or a card.

No. It doesn't work that way. You buy the
Navigo ticket and load it with your chosen journeys. Say you arrive at GdN and want to go to Opera. You buy one metro journey. The ticket gets issued and you'll pay the fare total (1 journey @ €2.50) plus the €2 fee for your Navigo card. Which is then rechargeable. So you'd pay €4.50 the first time, then €2.50 the next.

@Oriundathank you for being here! I knew you were the font of all information.

Thanks for this - so for my family
of 4, which is 2 adults and 2 children, I buy 4 cards and each time we travel we add a journey?

If we were hopping on and off all day can you add, for example, 6 journeys in the morning to cover you?

My kids both have iPhones - they are 11 and 15. So I assume we can all download the app.

Easiest in your case if you download the Apps on all phones and buy the tuckers you need. The website is pretty clear and from recollection I think there was an English version. You don’t need the navigo cards if you’re using the App.

We were there last month. Honestly the app was so easy. I'm a bit of a dunce with smart phones but I managed it on my android.

We just bought tickets as we went. The app didn't even need to be open for the gates to work! Mind blown!