We will first present you all the way of transport that you have in Paris and we will let you know about the transport fares and monthly pass in a second time.

Transportation system:

Transportation system in Paris is huge. It can even be a bit confusing if you're not used to crowded places.
But apart from the fact that our public transports are crowded, it's common to have a technical breakdown and strikes make them being late.
But I'm pretty sure you're gonna like them. Because our lines are well developed and you can go everywhere with them!
But we preferred to warn you, some stations are really big so if you have some change, don't worry if you get lost in the station (it also happens every time even for the inhabitant). It's also normal if you have to walk inside some station 10mn to reach an other line ;).

Metro: favorite way to go for the Parisians. Composed of 16 lines (14 lines + 2 secondary lines), the metro start at 5 Am and close at 1h15 Am from Sunday to Thursday and 2h15 Am Friday and Saturday. It operates every 2'mn during rush hours and commonly every 5'mn. If you are one of those who are going out everynight there's an iPhone app to let you know when is the last metro ;)

RER: This is something in between the Metro and an Urban Train. It covers suburbs area around 30 km of Paris from East to West, North to South and go through the main stations in Paris.
Composed of 5 lines (A,B,C,D,E) it start working around 5 and close around midnight.
It operates approximately every 6mn.

Bus: There are lots of buses in Paris. It's impossible to know all the lines. The best way for you to know which buses you can take is to ask the cashier at the Metro ticket office close to your accommodation or university which lines you could take and where they go.
Buses are one of the best ways to discover the city.
But be aware that taking the bus during rush hours is a complete madness because you'll be blocked in the traffic jam for ages! So avoid buses between 8-9.30 Am and 4-6 Pm.

Noctilien (aka Night Bus): When Metro, RER, Urban Train and normal buses stop to operate, Noctilien take it over.
It's a night bus and you will recognize it because the number of the line start with 'N' such as 'N 141'.
To get to know the timetable and where they go we recommend you to check the website first.
And be careful when you take one of them because most of the line go far away in the suburbs so pay attention to your stop if you don't wanna have an improvise night trip ;)

Tramway: just renewed we have 4 lines available (T1,T2-T3-T4)

Taxi: We suggest you to avoid to take a cab because it's really expensive (you are charged more than 6€ just to get in). In case you need one we let you the call center number: +33 1 41 27 66 99 (operates 24 hours a day, English spoken).

Vélib': A good way to have fun with your friends and discover the city at the same time is to rent a city bike. And our city hall team provides you a renting service for peanuts so enjoy it!
When you want to rent a bike you can directly register on the ATM (English, French, Spanish, German and Italian spoken). You can pay with a Mastercard & Visa International cards.
The fee for renting a bike for a day is 1.70€. After registration you can use the bike during 30 mn for free. That free time over, you'll pay 1€ for 1 hour of use, 2€ for 1.30 hour and 4€ for 2 hour and more.
When you give back the bike, make sure you put your bike back properly if you wanna see back your 150€ deposit ;).
Guys, have a look on the official website to get to know about all the details.
Don't forget to respect the Highway Code as your mum wanted to see you riding a bike.
Last but not least, we recommend you to rent the bike on Sunday when there is less traffic in the city.

Transilien (aka Urban Train): Transilien is our urban train who goes to Paris suburbs like RER one. The only difference is that Urban Train goes much further in the suburbs when RER stay only in the close suburbs. Transilien is the best way to discover Paris region.
You have several destinations. You can start your trip from Parisian train station (Paris Est, Paris Nord, Paris gare de Lyon, Paris Montparnasse, Paris Saint Lazare).
For more info check the transport map or the official website.

Transport Fares:

Here you have two different family of transport title:

For the last one, you need to choose in which area you want to travel to know which zone you will need for making your pass. You can see our zone system on this map.

As you're gonna use public transport a lot, we fully advise you to make your pass as soon as you can.

• The Pass System:

Navigo Card: Optimal for a frequent use, you can use this pass in several way of transport (metro, bus, rer, urban train, tramway).
You can charge the pass weekly or monthly and choose the zone you want in the ticket office or on ATM's.
As your not a permanent resident here and to avoid to justify that you lived here, we suggest us to order the "Navigo Decouverte" card. Of course you are able to recharge and change the zone as classic Navigo pass with your "decouverte" card.
To know how much you are going to pay, we invite you to check the price which corresponds to your transport zone.
You will also pay 5€ more the first time to make the card.

Nb:since the 1st of September 2012 you can travel to all the zones for free during week-ends or National holidays with your Navigo Pass.
(free zones journey from zone 1 to 5 from Friday at midnight till Sunday at midnight. You need to own a monthly or yearly Navigo pass charged for your usual travel zones. Free zones journey doesn't work with weekly top up).

Mobilis: Mobilis card is a day pass that you can use if you wanna explore the suburbs. This card looks like a metro ticket but you can use it all day long. Check also "Ticket Jeune Week-end".

Ticket Jeune Week-end: recommended because 50% cheaper than Mobilis card, you can use this day pass only during week-ends and public holiday if you're under 26.

• Journey Ticket:

Ticket t+: this is the metro ticket.
You can use it for 1 journey in the Metro, Bus, RER (only inside Paris) and Tramway.
If you need to use it for taking a bus, we suggest you to buy it in advance in metro stations because it's a little bit cheaper.
Check the website for more information about prices and use.

Train and RER ticket: you can use it from Paris to the suburbs with different railway transport (Metro, RER, Urban train). Choose the station you want to go and pay for the journey distance.