Paris Metro Pass

By | February 24, 2020 | in Passes Tickets

Paris Metro Pass Overview

To buy a Paris Metro Pass good for Paris Metro, Trains, Buses, and Trams one would buy either a Navigo Découverte Pass or a Paris Visite Pass.

Which Paris Metro Pass you choose depends on what day of the week you arrive in Paris and how far outside of central Paris you want to travel on Paris Public Transportation.

Navigo Découverte

Paris Visite Pass

Paris Visite Pass 5-day 3-zone

  • Paris Visite Duration, Zones and Prices:
    • 1, 2, 3, 5 day pass available for Paris Visite Pass
      • starts any day of the week
    • 1-3 zone (Central Paris + La Défense, see zone map)
    • 1-5 zone (CDG/ORY airports, Versailles, Disneyland, etc.)
    • Paris Visite Prices range from:
      • 13.55€ for 1 day 1-3 zone
      • 74.30€ for 5 day 1-5 zone
      • children prices (4-9 years, 3 & under free) are discounted ~50%
      • 6.75€ for 1 day 1-3 zone
      • 37.15€ for 5 day 1-5 zone
    • Includes discounts to a handful of tourist attractions around Paris

Which Paris Metro Pass to choose?

It depends…. Factors to consider in choosing which Paris Metro Pass:

  • Day of week you arrive in Paris
  • How many days in Paris
  • 4+ rides per day? Or less?
  • To a lesser extent: which Paris airport you arrive at

Day You Arrive

How many days you stay in Paris and the day of week you arrive in Paris are the two biggest factors in choosing a Paris Metro Pass to buy.

Monday – Thursday Arrival

If you arrive between Monday and Thursday, Navigo Découverte is always the best pass if you plan on staying more than 1 day in Paris.

Navigo, as a week pass, is only on sale for the current week up until Thursday midnight.  After Thursday midnight, all Navigo week pass sales (made from Friday 00:00 till Sunday 23:59) are only valid for travel for the following week starting Monday 00:01.  Example: if you purchase Navigo on Friday at noon, you cannot use the Navigo week pass until Monday morning.

Friday – Sunday Arrival

Arriving on Friday means you can’t use Navigo week pass until Monday. For unlimited ride passes your choices are:

  • Paris Visite
  • Navigo Jour Day Pass
  • Ticket Mobilis

Days in Paris

If you need 2-3 day coverage from Friday-Sunday and don’t want the hassle of juggling multiple day tickets, then Paris Visite is your best option.

Rides Per Day

If you plan on taking Paris Metro, RER, Bus or Tram 4+ times per day, then an unlimited ride ticket/pass is your best option. Options are Navigo Jour Day Pass & Ticket Mobilis day ticket.

If you plan on taking Paris transit 3 times or less per day, a pre-loaded ticket card called Navigo Easy, is a cheaper option

Navigo Jour Day Pass

If you only need 1 or 2 days of coverage, plan on 4+ rides per day and plan on getting a Navigo week pass on Monday, then Navigo Jour Day Pass is a good option.

One can buy Navigo Day Pass any day of the week and use Navigo Day Pass immediately until 23:59 that same day (or until end of Night Bus service if you’re using night buses, ending around 04:30 in the morning).

You cannot have more than two days of Navigo Day Passes on your Navigo card at any one time.  If you need Navigo Day Pass for more than two days, you can only buy another Navigo Day Pass after one of the two on your Navigo card has expired

Navigo Day Pass is valid on RER B trains from CDG Airport to Paris city center and from Paris city center to CDG Airport on RER B.

Navigo Day Pass is valid for Orly Airport to Paris on the Orlybus or Tram 7 (from Villejuif – Louis Aragon station terminus of Metro line 7)

Ticket Mobilis

Ticket Mobilis is a Paris transit day pass in paper ticket form. There is no “card fee” for Ticket Mobilis day tickets. (Navigo Day/Week passes require a physical plastic card, costing 5€.) If you only need one or two days of day tickets and don’t plan on using Navigo week pass, then Ticket Mobilis is a cheaper choice than Navigo Jour day pass, with exact same coverage (including CDG & ORY airports with appropriate Ticket Mobilis zone coverage choice).

Navigo Easy

If you don’t plan on using Paris Metro/RER/Bus/Tram more than 4 times per day, are mostly staying within central Paris, then a Navigo Easy pre-loaded ticket card may be a good option for you. There is no expiry date on the tickets loaded onto Navigo Easy. So for occassional riders for whom unlimited ride passes are overkill, this is a good option.

What Next?


Hi my name is Ben and I’m the creator & author of Parisbytrain.com. I want to empower you with the knowledge & confidence to travel Paris like a local through personally researched, in-depth articles like CDG to Paris by train and the Paris Metro. I moved to Paris in 2006 and started Parisbytrain.com in 2008 to share what I’ve learned about the vast & comprehensive Paris train network. Have Paris train questions? Ask them here. Have a great visit to Paris!
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Paris Metro Pass was last modified: February 24th, 2020 by Ben