Published on: September 07, 2024 | By: @rprasanth_kumar
France is known for its beautiful cities and regions, and its public transport system makes it easy to explore them all. Whether you’re in Paris or a small town, France’s network of trains, buses, trams, and metros offers a convenient way to travel. It’s efficient, eco-friendly, and designed to make getting around simple and accessible.
In this article, we’ll explore the highlights of public transport in France and share tips to help you make the most of it during your travels.
Public Transport in France
The public transport system is very extensive in France with trains, metros, trams, buses, cable cars, and ferries. Each city has its own transport company and you can subscribe to a monthly or annual pass with them.
You can also use websites and apps like citymapper.com to plan your public transport journey across France. The mobile application updates its city maps based on your mobile’s GPS location.
On your arrival in France, you can purchase a few tickets for daily commutes. After opening a French bank account, you can subscribe and get your public transport card by visiting public transport offices present in some big stations.
Students and/or those under 26 years qualify for discounted fares when purchasing a public transport subscription. Example: Imagine R card in Il de France region.
Paris City & Il de France Region
The public transport is managed by RATP and Île-de-France Mobilité. The network is divided into 5 zones (Île-de-France region) and Paris City is limited to zones 1 & 2. All the maps are available here on ratp.fr/en/plans.
The transport system consists of
- Metro: With 16 lines (M1 to M14) and more than 300 stations, the metro is a fast and economical way to get around Paris. Recognizable by the yellow letter “M” at the entrance, the metro’s frequency varies according to the times and the days. Each line has a distinctive color. Line directions are designated by the first and last stations on platforms and maps. Metro tickets are valid in fare zones 1 and 2 only.
- Tramway: Paris and its region have 13 tram lines that serve the outskirts of the city and part of Île-de-France. Tram tickets are the same as those for the metro and RER.
- RER (Train): The RER network of local trains has 5 lines (RER A to E) serving Paris and its region (Ile-de-France). For the RER, the tickets and fares are the same as those of the metro, on the condition that you travel only within Paris city (zones 1 & 2). Beyond that (zones 3 – 5), you must have a ticket or pass, the price of which covers the journey to your destination in the Ile-de-France region.
- Bus: The Paris bus system runs Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 12:30 am, with some routes ending at 8:30 pm, and about half the lines operate on Sundays and public holidays. Buses display their line number and direction, and passengers must wave to stop the bus and validate their tickets or passes. To request a stop, press the red buttons inside the bus. The Noctilien night buses run from 12:30 am to 5:30 am and accept the same tickets or passes as the metro/RER.
- Transilien (Train): These trains (Lines H, J, K, L, N, P, R & U) leave from the main Parisian stations (Paris Gare du Nord, Paris Est, Paris Gare de Lyon, Paris Austerlitz, Paris Montparnasse & Paris Saint-Lazare). Tickets and passes are sold at ticket offices and ticket machines in stations, as well as in metro/RER stations. You can find more info on Transilien.com
Public Transport in Other French Cities
From Paris, you can travel to other cities by flight, TGV (high-speed train), Oui Go (low-cost medium & high-speed train), bus (Ex: Flix Bus), and car (Ex: BlaBla car).
Similar to Paris, other cities have their public transport networks.
- Toulouse: tisseo.fr
- Lyon: tcl.fr
- Marseille: rtm.fr
- Nice: lignesdazur.com
- Bordeaux: infotbm.com
- Nantes: naolib.fr
- Lille: ilevia.fr
- Strasbourg: cts-strasbourg.eu
- Montpellier: tam-voyages.com
- Grenoble: tag.fr
Imagine R Student Pass (Paris region)
If you are under 26 years old and studying in higher education, you can take advantage of the imagine R Étudiant pass, which allows you to travel throughout the Ile-de-France region all year round.
- The imagine R Étudiant pass costs €374 for 12 months (+ €8 administration fee), payable in one go by cheque or in 9 direct debits/monthly instalments.
- Five start dates are available: 1st September, 1st October, 1st November, 1st December and 1st January.
- You can subscribe online at iledefrance-mobilites.fr/titres-et-tarifs/detail/forfait-imagine-r-etudiant.
- Find out more about the great deals included with imagine R at imagine-r/bons-plans.
Navigo Jeunes Week-end Pass (Paris region)
Are you under 26 years old and travel at the weekend or on a public holiday?. Why not consider Navigo Jeunes Week-end pass.
- Navigo Jeunes Week-end is a one-day travel pass for young people under 26 years old for use on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays only.
- The Navigo Jeunes Week-end travel pass enables access to unlimited travel in the chosen zones on all modes of public transport in Île-de-France: metro, RER, bus, tram, and train (except Orlyval).
- It can be loaded onto all Navigo travel cards and onto phones.
- It is valid for one day from 12.01 a.m. to 11.59 p.m.
- For more information, please refer to ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/navigo-jeunes-week-end.
