Getting Around Paris in 3 Days

Getting around Paris in three days is simple once you know two things: most of what you want to see is within walking distance of something else, and the metro reaches the rest in minutes. The ticket system was simplified in the latest fare reform and is now easier for visitors than it has ever been: one price for a metro, RER or train ride anywhere in the region, a separate ticket for the airports, and passes that rarely pay off on a short stay.

This guide explains which ticket to buy for three days, how to get in from the airports, when the metro runs, and when a taxi, a riverboat or a hop-on hop-off bus is the better choice. Fares are the current full adult prices published by the Paris transport operator.

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Which ticket to buy for 3 days in Paris

For most visitors the answer is single tickets loaded onto a Navigo Easy card or a phone. The routes on this site use six to eight metro rides over three days, because the days are planned around walking, and single tickets cost far less than a pass for that.

Versailles and Disneyland are both reached on a single Ticket Métro-Train-RER under the current fares, which makes the day trips much cheaper than they used to be. Children under 10 pay half price on Paris Visite; children under 4 travel free.

💡 Pro Tip

Do the pass maths before you buy

A 3-day Paris Visite costs as much as twenty-five single rides. If you will not use the metro for almost every hop and for the airport, single tickets on a Navigo Easy card are cheaper.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

From the airports to central Paris

Both Paris airports are reached by rail with a special ticket, the Ticket Paris Région-Aéroports, at €14 full fare and €7 reduced. It is only sold in digital form, on a Navigo Easy card or a phone, and it can't be loaded onto a card that already holds Métro-Train-RER tickets; use a second card or your phone for it.

A Paris Visite pass covers the airports, which is the main reason to buy one on a three-day trip. Families with luggage and small children usually find a taxi easier; the fares from both airports to the city are fixed by zone.

💡 Pro Tip

Use your phone for the airport ticket

Load the airport ticket on your phone and your metro tickets on a Navigo Easy card. Because the two can't share one card, splitting them avoids the most common ticket mistake visitors make on arrival.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

The metro, RER and buses: what to know

• Hours: the metro runs from about 5:30 until about 1:15, and until about 2:15 on Friday and Saturday nights. Night buses, the Noctilien, run after that from Châtelet and the main stations.
• Lines: sixteen metro lines are numbered and colored; follow the line number and the name of the last station in your direction.
• The RER is the express network, useful for the airports, Versailles (RER C), Disneyland (RER A) and long crossings of the city.
• Buses are slower but show you the city; lines along the river and across the center are a cheap sightseeing tour.
• Accessibility: most metro stations have stairs; line 14 and the newer stations have lifts. Buses take wheelchairs and strollers.
• Pickpockets work on crowded lines, especially line 1 and around the big stations; keep your phone and wallet in front.

💡 Pro Tip

Walk anything under two stops

Central Paris metro stations are close together, and changing lines often takes longer than walking. If your destination is one or two stops away, walk it: you will see more and arrive at the same time.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Seeing Paris from the river or an open-top bus

On a short trip, two options combine transport and sightseeing. The Batobus is a hop-on hop-off boat that stops at the main riverside sights, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre-Dame and the Jardin des Plantes. Hop-on hop-off buses run loops past the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées, the Opéra and the islands with commentary in many languages.

Neither replaces the metro for getting from one area to another quickly, but on a slow day, or with tired legs, they turn travel time into sightseeing.

Day trips from Paris by train

Every day trip on this site is reached by train from the center, and most on an ordinary Ticket Métro-Train-RER. The table shows how to get to each, and which route on this site uses it.

Trains to Versailles and Disneyland run every few minutes for most of the day; leave early to arrive at opening, which is the single biggest difference to the quality of either day.

How much transport each route needs

The routes on this site are planned to keep metro rides to a minimum, so that transport costs stay low and you see the city between the sights. A rough guide to what each type of route needs:

• The classic 3-day route: six to eight single rides over three days.
• Family routes such as Paris with kids: a few more rides, and buses for strollers.
• Neighborhood routes such as the Marais and east Paris: mostly on foot.
• Routes with a day trip: two extra train rides for the trip out and back.
• Paris after dark: a taxi or night bus home after the last metro.

💡 Pro Tip

Keep one ticket in reserve

Ticket machines at busy stations have queues at rush hour and sometimes refuse foreign cards. Always keep one spare ride loaded on your card, so that you are never stuck at the barrier of a crowded station.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Taxis, ride apps and bikes

• Taxis wait at ranks outside stations and big hotels, and can be hailed in the street when the roof light is green. Short rides in the center are reasonably priced; they are the easiest option late at night.
• Ride apps work everywhere in Paris and are useful after the metro closes.
• Vélib', the city's shared bikes, have stations every few hundred meters, and Paris has added many protected cycle lanes; riding along the Seine is one of the pleasures of the city.
• Electric scooters for hire are no longer available to rent on the streets of Paris, after the city voted to ban them.

Getting around Paris with children, luggage or limited mobility

The metro is fast but it is not easy for everyone. Most stations were built more than a century ago, with long corridors and stairs, and only a minority have lifts. If you are traveling with a stroller, heavy luggage or someone who struggles with stairs, a few habits make the city much easier.

• Use the buses. Every Paris bus is low-floor, with a space for strollers and wheelchairs, and the routes along the Seine and across the center pass most of the sights.
• Prefer line 14 and the RER for longer trips: the newest stations have lifts, and the RER stations in the center have escalators.
• Take a taxi from the airport with luggage and children; the fixed fare removes any surprise, and the RER at rush hour is hard work with suitcases.
• Plan the day by area. The routes on this site keep each day in one district precisely so that you walk between the stops rather than changing lines.

The toddlers route and the easy-pace route are both planned around buses, taxis and step-free stops.