TIPS FOR USING THE METRO IN PARIS

Buy tickets

At the counter or in the automatic machines. Single tickets or a batch of 10 (cheaper).

Have your ticket ready when going in 

The last thing you want is a bunch of Parisians shouting at you for making them wait because you had to look for your ticket.

Don’t throw your ticket away

you might need it if you’re transferring lines or if there’s control in that station.

Plan the quickest route

Transportation time can get long, you don’t want to spend all of your holidays in the metro.

Watch out for strikes

The French love their strikes and sometimes these can ruin the entire day for commuters. Google it or visit the RATP website to get a hold of what lines/services will be off

Avoid rush hours

8am-10am and 5pm-8pm, it gets crazy!

Familiarize yourself with the city and some of the lines

Sometimes is better to spend 15 minutes walking on the seine and 10 minutes in the metro, than 10 minutes of walking & waiting in the underground passageways and 5 minutes in the actual metro. 

If you familiarize yourself with the city and some of the metro lines, it will make it easier to make these type of decisions.

Know the times of the last train

if you’re going out and plan to stay out late, make sure you have an idea of when you need to be back at the station to catch the last train.

Download the RATP App

this is the most accurate way to plan your itinerary, it uses your location and finds the fastest route to get to your destination, it even tells you the exit you should take when exiting the train station.

Move away from the doors 

Stand to the side and wait for passengers to get off the car before you try to go in. If try to make your way into the car while people are getting off you will get pushed or yelled at.

Don’t be shy on the pushing

In rush hours, if you need to get somewhere and you don’t think there’s enough space for you, just push and there’ll be enough space.

Don’t get into the empty cars

if all the metro cars are packed and but one is empty, DON’T GET ON IT, there’s a reason its empty. it could be anything from horrible smells, to someone causing problems.

Walk on the left, stand on the right

on the escalators, you will get pushed!

Be ready for stairs!

Take off your backpack

if the car is full, take off your backpack, you don’t want to take the much needed/appreciated space from others and you don’t want to push anyone with it since you’ll be completely surrounded.

Know your exits

sometimes it’s a drag to cross up to 2 streets to get to your destination, if you get the right exit number from the station, you often end up right where you want to go. And all the walking is done underground.

Beware of pickpockets

just like any other big city, there are pickpockets, especially on the lines near the most popular monuments. Such as line 1.

Don’t use the foldable seats when it’s rush hour

Take a shower!

You don’t want to contribute to the horrible smells in the metro, especially in the summer months. Also, after using the public transportation for a while, you learn to appreciate being seated next to someone that doesn’t have bad Body Odor

If you have luggage

it’s a nightmare to get around the city if you have luggage, try to give yourself more margin in time and avoid rush hours.

Don’t engage

For Parisians, it is considered impolite to try to engage with someone in the metro. In their eyes, the only people that approach you without knowing you are beggars or tourist traps. If you’re just looking for some directions, try to ask the people in the counters or if you ask someone in the metro, don’t expect them to be so helpful.

-Alan