Paris Métro, RER and bus tickets: buying, validating and changing trains

Choose the ticket for the transport you will use

For ordinary Métro, train and RER journeys within Île-de-France, the Metro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.55 at the 2026 full fare. It covers the rail networks, with exceptions for airport stations. The Bus-Tram ticket costs €2.05 and covers the surface networks. Changing from a bus to the Métro therefore means using a different ticket, not continuing the same surface journey.

For a first Paris visit, this distinction is more useful than memorising the old paper ticket names. Buy for the journey in front of you: rail, surface transport or an airport connection. The airport rail product is different; use the CDG and Orly arrival guide for that journey.

A Navigo Easy card and the tickets on it are separate purchases

Navigo Easy is a reusable physical card sold for €2 at carrier ticket offices and counters. Load eligible tickets onto it at a station, participating shop or through the Île-de-France Mobilités app. The card is a way to carry tickets, not unlimited transport by itself.

Each person travelling together needs their own pass and must validate it. An anonymous card can be lent to someone for another trip, but it is not a group ticket to pass back through the gate. The card cannot hold full-fare and reduced-fare versions of a ticket together; buy the appropriate fare for its user.

A compatible phone can store eligible tickets instead. Use the operator’s ticket and device instructions for the phone you intend to travel with. Loading a physical card through a phone is different from storing the journey ticket on the phone itself.

Enter, change trains and leave the station

Validate when entering the network and at any required transfer or exit gates. Keep the card or phone available until you have left the final station. An RER journey can require validation to exit as well as to enter; a successful first gate is not the end of the ticket’s use.

Inside the rail network, the Metro-Train-RER ticket allows permitted Métro, RER and train connections for two hours from the first entry validation. Follow the connection signs while remaining inside the network. Leaving through an exit to visit a café or attraction ends that continuous rail journey; re-entering is not the same transfer.

Choose the train’s line and destination before boarding. A line number identifies the Métro service, while the destination distinguishes its direction. For an RER journey, use the stopping information for the train rather than treating every train at the platform as serving every branch. RATP’s network maps and journey information help you identify the line and direction for the address you need.

Buses, trams and a change of plans

The Bus-Tram ticket allows eligible connections for 90 minutes from the first validation. Validate again when boarding the next service. It does not cover a return or an interrupted trip on the same bus, tram or Tzen line. A bus outing with a long stop and a ride back needs another valid journey.

The surface ticket does not include the Métro, RER or Montmartre funicular. Conversely, the rail ticket does not cover an ordinary bus or tram. If a journey planner offers a bus followed by the Métro, allow for the two ticket products when comparing it with a rail-only journey.

The Montmartre funicular is included in the rail ticket’s permitted modes, but its ticket does not provide connections to another mode. Use a separate valid journey for the funicular rather than assuming a preceding Métro ride automatically includes the hill ascent. The Montmartre walking guide separates that ascent from the stairs inside Sacré-Cœur’s dome.

A small city-travel budget

As an example, two ordinary rail journeys and one separate bus journey cost €7.15 at the 2026 full fares: €2.55 + €2.55 + €2.05. A new €2 Navigo Easy card would be an additional purchase. This example counts three single journeys; it is not the price of a day pass and does not include airport rail.

A day spent in the Marais may need fewer journeys than one split between several districts. Keep nearby stops together when that is the outing you want, rather than buying transport solely to add another named attraction. The Marais afternoon can be followed on foot once you reach the district.

Airport travel and an early departure

Aéroport d’Orly on Métro 14 and the CDG airport RER stations are excluded from the ordinary city rail ticket. The Paris Region Airports ticket has its own coverage and loading rules. Do not load a city ticket expecting it to open an airport gate.

Ticket validity and operating hours are separate questions. A correct airport ticket does not make a train run before the first service. For a dawn flight, use the early-departure guide to compare a date-specific rail journey with a night bus or road transfer.