PARIS METRO SYSTEMOne of the best and most popular ways to get around the city of Paris is to use the Metro system (subway) the underground railway system.On the streets of Paris stations are identified in a number of different ways (above) and all will get you into the Metro system. Metro trains are frequent and for the most part, clean and very efficient.There are 14 mainlines with two additional secondary minor lines 3b and 7b within the Paris metro system. These lines collectively service over 300 stations.
Before you venture on to the Paris metro system - Get yourself a map - these are available free of charge from any metro ticket / information booth. Better still, view and / or download a map before you travel from here: network operator (RATP) 
You can buy your metro ticket from the ticket office or self-service machines. A single ticket will cost you €1.90 or you can pay €14.50 for a book of 10 this is called a 'Carnet'. One ticket covers any journey within the central Paris Metro system including line changes. The machines have instructions in English.
To determine which line you want to take for your journey you should follow these simple steps.
View you metro plan/map to identify your nearest station - this will be the starting point of your journey, then find the station nearest your final destination. 
When you travel on a line it will be numbered and colour coded as the example above - these signs are for line 10. When you arrive in a station on a particular line, in this case line 10, you will be given the option of two directions which are identified by their destination stations, Gare d'Austerlitz & Boulogne in this example, so all you need to do is identify where your destination station lies and choose the corresponding direction.
Now find the lines that connect your departure and destination stations on the map. If they are on the same line you will only need to use one train If they are on different lines choose the best route between the two and determine where you will need change/transfer lines to continue your journey. For most journeys within Metropolitan Paris two trains should normally be enough to get you there.
Above is a fairly typical entrance into the metro system, this ones for for lines 5 & 10.You have to feed your ticket into the slot on the turnstile and retrieve it to continue your journey. Did you know that they say you are never any more than 10 minutes from a metro station anywhere in central Paris,not sure about that but they are never far away.
The metro system runs every day including public holidays from around 6am until around 12.45am (from Sunday to Thursday) or at 1.45am (on Friday and Saturday).At peak hours, metro trains run every 2 minutes. Best metro lines for tourist sitesLines 1, 4, 7, or 14 that are best for accessing the popular tourist sites.
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On our blog 'Mondays are for the metro' where you can check out some of the features of the Paris metro system.
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The busiest transport hub in the city |
