The Paris Metro is one of the oldest public transportation systems in the world, and I think one of the best! Even better than London's tube. And yes, I will see you in the comments, Londoners, but it can be and feel overwhelming, especially if you've never taken a public underground train system before. So today, I'm going to show you all the tips and tricks. I'm going to tell you the Navigo card that I think you should get, the apps that are my favorites for getting around, and why the old maps on the walls are still your friends. We'll even throw in some tips about pickpockets and what might be happening around the Olympics towards the end. Make sure you stick around for that. But before you take the metro anywhere, you have to have a destination. So we're gonna look at my guide. Parisinmypocket.com. Hi, I'm Jay Swanson, and on Paris in my Pocket's guide to Paris. We have Fauna looks good. Some of the best coffee in the city, best drinks, best places to eat. It's pretty money. Parisinmypocket.com. Go check it out. And in the meantime, let's get out of here and tell you everything you need to know about taking the metro in Paris. Stop. Before we even head into the metro, you're gonna want to know where you're headed and how you're gonna get there. And the best way to get around is using Citymapper. Citymapper, in my experience, is the best app for navigating your way across town. They're better than Google Maps, and Apple Maps is absolute garbage, so don't even bother with that. Parisians like to be very efficient and get around quickly, and the nice thing about Citymapper is that they will be aware of any upcoming delays and help you to avoid any trains that aren't going anywhere. They also give you multiple options to get around, and we'll show you where on the train you want to sit so that you're best positioned to get off at the nearest exit or transfer as you go. The other great elements of Citymapper are that they'll let you know which exit to take when you get to the other side. And as you're getting on the train, what section, back, middle, or front of the train will be the most efficient to get to that exit or the transfer that you're going to need to take. Let's go. There are two really important signs to look out for when looking for a metro station. The first is the big, obvious sign that lets you know there is a metro station right here. They can be big yellow M's in circles. They can be white on black, they can be white on red. They can be dark green, Art nouveau. There's a variety of them you'll see around town. You can pick your favorite, but they make it obvious where the metro is. And there are some that look like ads. Unfortunately, there are a lot that depressingly, they basically are ads. The second sign is this gray one right here, which is basically warning you that you can't buy tickets if you go in this entrance. Some of the metro stations are large enough that they have exits and entrances that aren't connected to the main ticket section, and you won't be able to buy one. So if you don't already have a Navigo or a metro ticket, you're gonna be out of luck if you go in here, go back to the other one. The main one is just over there. You'll be fine. Nothing about life in Paris is easy, except the Navago easy. And this would be the one thing that I recommend you get. If you're gonna try and get around Paris, don't get tickets. Don't get any other Navigo pass. This is gonna start a war in the comments, but if you don't live here, in my opinion, this is the best option. You don't have to sign your name, you don't have to stick a picture of your face on it, which is, yes, something you're required to do for certain passes. There are like a dozen different options. They get really, really confusing, even for people that live here. The other reason that I want you to get this is to reward Paris for finally doing something administratively simple. I feel like the more people that buy this, hopefully it starts a trend and maybe life gets just a little bit easier here in the future. But how do you get your Navigo Easy? The answer is this window behind me. Every train station's got one of these service windows throughout the network. And always the nicest of people on the other side ready and willing to help. And usually their English is good enough to get you through it. So do not stress. Just walk up and say, Navigo Easy s'il vous plaît. And they're gonna hook you up with one of these guys. They're gonna ask you how much you want to put on It's actually only €20 for the first round because the Navigo easy is €2. And then your carnet is €17,35 on top of that. Merci, Monsieur, bonne journée. Oh, this is flimsy! Voyages come in packs of ten. Those are called carnets. So you're gonna want one carnet or two carnets, depending on how many trips you're gonna be taking. If, however, there's nobody behind the window and you do need to buy, like, let's just say, one ticket to get you through, there are these machines over here on the side. Make sure you go to the machine that actually says tickets on it. The other ones are just Navigo recharge. Rechargement navigo. And all you can do is recharge these automatically. It's very nice. You can recharge this automatically wherever you are, as you go. You don't have to hit the window a second time, but if you need a ticket, go to the machine that says tickets. These machines are fairly straightforward and are multilingual, but there is a very particular type of ticket you're gonna wanna buy. It says tickets, speaks English, hit English, you can recharge your Navigo pass. If I put this here, it's gonna detect it, and then it will offer to add more trips to it. What we want is the T+. The main thing you're looking for is T+. So whether you buy a single ticket or a pack of them, just make sure you get that one to pay the full fare. You don't wanna end up getting caught not paying full fare and have no proof that it's justified. Then you pick however many tickets you want. And as you can see, nine tickets here cost as much as ten, plus your Navigo easy if you're buying them out of the machine. So I'm gonna stop advertising for the Navigo easy now, I trust you're smart enough to make up your own mind, because you're here watching my video. So we're gonna just go ahead and assume you know what's best for you. So these machines do take cash card by insert, and then also contactless so you can pay with your watch. The final note for Americans in particular: this is not like a gas pump, right? When you stick your card in there, leave it in there until it tells you to take it back out. If you just swipe it right away, it'll error out and you'll have to start all over again. Common mistake. The Navigo Easy really is the simplest and most direct option you can get. And unless you're gonna be traveling at least five times a day, the day pass is, in my options, not really worth it. But what you're gonna wanna do no matter what you get. If you take my advice and get this, or you get a day pass or a ticket or anything else, is hold on to it until the end of your journey. If you get caught on the inside of the metro system without a validated ticket, they are going to find you and it is going to suck. Cause they are not nice. The turnstile situation may look a little different depending on which station you're getting into, but the concept remains the same. When you walk in, you make sure to put your Navigo on the patch to the right. Or you stick your ticket there as well and then walk through. If it's glass, it'll open. If it's a turnstile, it'll roll through. And of course, if it is open like this. Cause this one's brand new, it's under construction, you're gonna wanna validate it at a little box on the other side. Don't think it's a free ride because if you get caught, they're not gonna be very nice about it. If you come in through the turnstiles and somebody tries to come behind you, for one, you can hold it open just as a polite thing to do. But also, somebody might try to jump the turnstile behind you. That's fine. Just let them through. You're not gonna get in trouble for it. Don't stress, but do watch your pockets. And we are gonna talk about pickpockets a little bit later, so be sure you stick around for that. But in the meantime, whatever. If somebody wants to jump the turnstile, that's their business. Don't worry about it. All right. You know, you need line nine because Citymapper told you to take line nine, but which direction do you go? These are the most important parts at the top. This is the end of the line. Montreuil and Pont de Sevres. We are trying to get to Oberkampf, which is going to be right there. So we know that this is the correct direction. This sign is pointing that way. We don't want to go that way. We want to go this way. These signs also tell you where possible transfers are. So you can see that line 13 is going to be caught at Miromesnil, or you could get line eight at Richelieu-Drouot or RER A all the way at Nation. But I highly recommend you avoid the RER at all costs. And we'll talk about that later. We'll talk about it. You can tell which way you're headed when you're on the platform as well, because the name Montreuil is listed right above the times. These are new screens that'll also show you any delays that are happening. They're not on every train platform yet, but they're coming very quickly. The number on the left is the time in minutes to the next train, and the number on the right is the time in minutes to the train after that. So you know how much time you're going to have to spend waiting, along with the actual time in the corner there. Before we keep talking about signage, and there's a lot to talk about when it comes to signage. Let's talk etiquette. Believe it or not, there is a lot of etiquette that goes into riding the metro, and it's really important to make sure you nail it so you don't stand out like a tourist or piss any Parisians off. First thing is to make sure you're standing to the side of the door so that when it opens, anybody that wants to get off can get off first. Then you get on to the metro, like so, and don't stop moving. Make sure you get away from the door. A lot of people will cross the threshold and then stop because they made the train, and they think, that's it, I've made it, I'm done. No, there might be people behind you and they're gonna get pissed off at you if they have to push to get on the metro behind you. So keep moving. Find a spot. Stay there. There are multiple different generations of trains in Paris, and a lot of new ones coming in. They're trying to rush it before the Olympic games, but the rules remain basically the same. For one, you have seats that are reserved for people with limited mobility. So people that have any mobility issues get priority over seats whenever you see this sign. Otherwise, there's also the folding chairs. The folding chairs can be pulled down on any train to be sat upon, as long as there's enough space. If the train gets really full and there's standing room only, you'll be expected to stand up. You can push this sometimes because it doesn't really save that much space, but you might get some dirty looks, so I would be careful with that one. Finally, Parisians aren't that into eating on the go, so it's considered pretty rude to break open a sandwich or eat while you're on the metro, and drinking anything beyond water is pushing it. Generally, I'd say don't eat or drink on the metro. Keep the space clean and, you know, remain quiet. You can tell I'm speaking with a quiet voice because I know that I'm the annoying guy on the metro talking right now. Regardless of whatever train you're on, it should have one of these linear maps above the doors to let you know where the stops are and in what order. If you're on any of the more modern ones, some of the really modern ones, skip this part. You'll see lines that flash at the station that you're at that are illuminated in the direction that you're going. And that are not illuminated are dark in the direction that you've already been. So you know that we're headed this way. It's also where you can check to see where you might have transfers along the way. And common practice would be to go ahead and count the number of stations you've got to go and then keep that count going in your head so you don't feel like you're going to miss your stop. They'll also have giant signs at every station on the wall saying the name of the station. So if you don't hear the name or you don't recognize it and you're just trying to match where you're headed with what you see, that's a good way to see it, and then jump off. Another really fun thing to do is to listen to —— Richelieu - Drouot --- is to listen to the names as the automated voice says them and then repeat them back. It's a good way to practice. Richelieu - Drouot. It's like that, that you can, you know, get better over time. Let's talk pickpockets. Among the many reasons that I can and would recommend that you check out Le Frenchies YouTube channel, a phenomenal YouTube channel that gives a lot of really good advice to visiting Paris is their deep dive into pickpockets. So we'll keep this short because, again, we know you're clever. Cause you're here, right? You're watching this video. The main trick to avoiding pickpockets, whether in Paris or anywhere else in the world, is to make sure that you're not an easy target. Move with intention. Look like you know where you're going. Keep your head up, keep your valuables close, and wherever it is that they can't get to it too easily. I'm looking at you. IPhon- in-the-back-pocket-Steve, there is a story that I put in my guide a long time ago, and it still holds true. You've probably heard it before, but it's about two hikers walking along a trail in the woods and they see a bear running down the trail straight at them. One of them goes to run, but the other one stops to switch his boots for running shoes. And his friend says, "what are you doing? You can't outrun a bear." And he says, "I don't have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you." Which is dark. But the point holds true, right? Don't make yourself an easy target. Pickpockets are a thing. They're gonna exist, unfortunately, probably for the rest of time. Not a problem that you're here to solve while you're on vacation. So do your best to make yourself the least presentable target possible, and you'll have a grand old time. I have a lot longer piece about pickpockets in my guide if you want to read that, but I think that should be enough for...We don't need no more negativity. Let's keep going. Two notes about exiting the train. The first one is that the modern trains, most trains now the doors will open automatically, but on the older trains, not all of them will. So you're going to want to look to find a little hook, handle, or a push button to make sure that you can free yourself. And then when it's time to get off the train, especially if there are a lot of people around, you don't just get off and stop and look at your phone. If you need to stop for a second, you're not sure which direction to go, walk pretty much all the way to the wall and then turn around and get your bearings, like so. All right, so we made it off the train. Huzzah. The first sign we're gonna need to look for is our transfer sign. In case you're making a transfer, you're gonna wanna look over here for the symbol of the line you're looking to move on to. Metro lines are all signified by a number and a color. They're matched. So line five is always orange. Line two is always blue. You get the idea. If you happen to be looking for line five, find the orange five and then head that way. There are times where you'll see only one of the directions listed. And in that instance, you're gonna need to look for the other one because it's only gonna be for that direction. But in this case, both directions are here, so we can go that way to find it. But just so you know, on transfers, your Navigo will transfer between metro lines, no problem. If you go into the RER, which I highly recommend you don't, you will need to use it to get in and back out of the RER system. And then if you're going to a bus or a tram, you should be fine. Basically, it covers you for a voyage that lasts for 90 minutes. If you transfer to a bus or a tram within that 90 minutes, you're good. But paper tickets will not transfer to the bus or vice versa. You've been warned. But when you're in the station and you want to actually get out of it, what you're looking for are these signs, the sortie signs. Sortie means exit in French. It's gonna be in white on blue every time. And you're gonna see the name, most likely of a street or a monument, but usually a street with a number. The number is what you're gonna see everywhere. So track that number. If, you know you wanna go to Jean-Pierre Timbaud, which I highly recommend, then go for exit number two, and it'll get you above ground in the spot you wanna be. There's another way of hacking our way through this, actually, in case you're unsure, because Google Maps and Mapster will screw you over on this from time to time. Let's go find that. Right now, there are a couple of maps that are gonna be really helpful. The first ones will be very obvious when you see them. They're a map of Paris with the metro or the entire transportation network on them. It's a good way to get oriented, make sure you're in the right place, or maybe you need to figure out where you're going next. That part's easy, but the map that might be my favorite is this one, the exit map. You should hopefully find these on most platforms, if not every platform you get out at. And what it is is an overlay of the neighborhood with the exits numbered everywhere you go. And so then you can zoom in and figure out, oh, the one I think I want is gonna be number one here, Boulevard Voltaire. It's gonna get me out very close to rue Oberkampf, which is the one we want right there. It helps when you actually know the street names, and then you can reorient yourself quickly. I've lived here for, like, almost a decade, so, you know you'll get there, don't worry. Listen, if the exits get confusing and you're really not sure where to go, you're feeling overwhelmed, we have a rule of thumb around here, and that is, when in doubt, just get out. It's gonna be really helpful, because once you're above ground, the sunshine will calm your nerves. You'll be able to orient yourself to the buildings, to the street signs, all of that. You'll figure it out much better upstairs. And you won't have to keep going up and down stairs in case you make a wrong turn. When in doubt, just get out. If you're wondering where the beautiful photos of the river Eiffel Tower and even Sacré Coeur are taken from on the metro, the answers are line two and line six. These mark an old wall of Paris before the Haussmanian reconstruction project. Line two pops up on the north of the city for a view of Montmartre and canal Saint-Martin. Line six crosses above the river on both ends, giving you one of the most famous views of the Eiffel Tower from the river. You might even catch Notre Dame on the far end. All right, as promised, the RER versus the metro. I would definitely say to avoid the RER basically at all costs while you're here, it adds an entirely different layer of confusion. It's not even on the same network like the trains run on the other side of the tracks. And as it leaves the city, it also leaves the zones that your Navigo easy or your metro ticket covers. So if you happen to accidentally go just a little bit too far, you could absolutely get fined. It might get you across town a little bit faster if you get into it, but they're also often crowded, overwhelmed with commuters. They suffer a lot of cancellations and delays. Ultimately, the RER, really not worth it unless you're headed out of town, like to the airport, to Versailles or Disneyland. And speaking of Disneyland, the Paris Olympics, summer 2024. Let's talk about that. I mean, we obviously can't talk about the Olympics without coffee, though. That's silly. Oh, they're closed. You're closed. The Olympics. There's a lot of speculation as to how it's going to affect Paris, whether it's going to actually end up leaving us overwhelmed with tourists or because there are so many hotels that haven't even booked out yet. Are we actually going to see a reduction in tourism this year? We don't know. But I do know two things to expect that are probably going to be fairly annoying. Annoyance number one is closures. Stations like the Tuileries or Concorde are basically guaranteed to be closed due to the duration of the games because they're going to have events going on basically directly above them. And then annoyance number two is that rather than make the metro cheaper or even free for ticket holders, as they were talking about doing, they're doubling the cost for everyone. It's going to be €4 per trip. So the only way around this right now that I know could be get a Navigo easy charged up in advance, and then hopefully you don't have to worry about it or get a monthly Navigo. But that's really only available to locals. So if we come up with any other solutions for you in the meantime, we'll let you know. But do expect to pay a little bit extra if you're here during the Olympics. And by a little bit, of course, I do mean double. Those aren't the only closures, though. Obviously Notre Dame is still closed too, and if this video has gotten you just craving some Paris action above ground, then make sure to watch this video where even though Notre Dame is still closed during 2024 and maybe they're going to get it open in this calendrical year, we'll find out, give you some options of other churches that you can visit around town, paired with some delicious places to get coffee, drinks and food. Because hey, it wouldn't be a Paris in my Pocket video if we didn't at least get one coffee somewhere in the middle of it. Thanks for watching.
