The best Paris Metro card option for tourists is determined more by the day of the week than your length of stay in the city. The weekly card operates on a fixed calendar and runs from Monday through Sunday; therefore, if you arrive on Thursday, you will have paid for a full week but only have four days of usage out of that week. The Transport Authority of Île-de-France (the region of Paris) sets this rule; it was confirmed that it remains unchanged from the time it was verified on September 20, 2026 on the official web site of the Authority when checking fares.
Choose the ticket product and its storage medium separately. Navigo Easy holds single tickets and day passes, but not Navigo Semaine. Navigo Découverte holds day, week and month passes, but not single tickets. Airport rail travel is included in an all-zones weekly pass during its validity, except Orlyval; it is excluded from Navigo Jour. An airport journey outside your pass dates needs a separate valid ticket.
What Changed After the 2025 Fare Reform and What a Ride Costs Now in 2026
The adult all-zones Navigo Semaine costs €32.40 in the official 2026 fare schedule. Use the fare for your travel year rather than the €31.60 figure from 2025.
The official weekly-pass page now also displays €32.40. Always check the date attached to a price: an older guide can describe the right product while quoting a superseded fare.
The fare figures used in the revised comparisons were checked against Île-de-France Mobilités on October 8, 2026. Recheck the authority’s fare pages before travelling; a calculation is only as current as its inputs.
In 2025, France’s RATP (the same company behind Paris’s public transit) substantially rebuilt its entire public transport system from the ground up rather than introducing a price increase for its ticket offerings. Paris had previously priced its tickets based on distance travelled using zone pricing; therefore, a ticket to the outer suburbs would cost a lot more than a ticket all the way across the downtown core. The arm’s length local pricing established through carnet or “books” of tickets provided bulk price discounts to customers who used their public transport system on a regular basis. As of January 1, 2025, this all changed. In RATP’s account of the reform, one flat-fare ticket now covers any metro, RER or suburban-train journey in Île-de-France, a second covers any bus or tram journey, and trips to the airports were pulled out into a ticket of their own.
The bulk discount for the carnet has also been removed. So, whether you buy one ticket or ten tickets, you will pay the same amount per ride.
Although RATP’s releases state that this reform represents a “simple” approach, it actually does provide for the same fare regardless of the distance traveled within the far/outer suburbs (for example, tickets from the far/outer suburbs to Paris). However, within the central districts of Paris, this revision to the pricing structure is less beneficial to infrequent users than the previous zone structure, as most of the visits to the City Centre occur within the old zone structure (zones 1 and 2). Therefore, if you remember that the metro was once less expensive than you remember now, then you did remember incorrectly; the current price is significantly higher than the price at which the same ticket was available in the old pricing structure.
In 2026, the prices for an adult would be (a) full price for each product, and (b) the benefits of the products purchased.
| Ticket or pass | 2026 price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Metro-Train-RER ticket | €2.55 | One rail journey anywhere in Île-de-France, airports excluded |
| Bus-Tram ticket | €2.05 | One bus or tram journey, airport coaches excluded |
| Paris Region ↔ Airports ticket | €14.00 | One rail journey to or from Orly or Charles de Gaulle |
| Navigo Jour (day pass) | €12.30 | One calendar day, all zones, airports excluded |
| Navigo Semaine (week pass) | €32.40 | Monday to Sunday, all zones |
| Paris Visite, 1 day | €30.60 | One day, all zones, airports included |
| Paris Visite, 5 days | €78.00 | Five consecutive days, all zones, airports included |
Navigo Jour excludes airport rail stations. Navigo Semaine is a fixed Monday-to-Sunday product, not seven days starting at your first tap. Check both coverage and dates before buying.
What about the cardboard tickets from your last trip?
On November 2025, Cardboard t+ tickets ceased to be available for sale. They have been invalidated for use on buses and trams. Île-de-France Mobilités’ August 2026 published note regarding Cardboard t+ tickets states that they remain valid for use on the Metro until 15 December 2026, and they can be exchanged at RATP or SNCF ticketing offices until 14 January 2027 for a maximum of five tickets (an exchange rate of €2) to obtain a Navigo Easy card. Cardboard t+ tickets which remain unused will not be refunded.
One important distinction that should be made is that for tickets purchased through an app, there is no limit to how long those tickets are valid. The Cardboard t+ ticket has a defined expiry date; the price of a fare has no such limit.
As such, the remainder of this decision depends on the ticket pass itself, which must exist on some form of credit; the two methods of payment available to tourists through Paris do not offer the same form of payment.
Navigo Easy vs Navigo Découverte: Price, Photo Requirement and What Each Card Can Actually Hold
These are two different types of cards. One card will not hold whatever the other card does.
Reports of how much these cards cost (€2 for the Easy version, €5 for the Découverte) and what they carry (the Easy version carries no personal details; the Découverte version requires a name/photo) are correct. However, both reports do not mention what is causing confusion for people at the counter.
Navigo Easy cannot hold a weekly pass. Navigo Découverte can hold Navigo Jour, Semaine and Mois, but cannot hold single tickets. Paris Visite can be loaded on Navigo Easy or a compatible smartphone. Check the official Paris Visite page and Découverte information before selecting your medium.
| Medium | Holds | Does not hold |
|---|---|---|
| Navigo Easy, €2 | Single rail and bus tickets, up to 20 of each; the €14 airport ticket; two day passes; Paris Visite | The week pass |
| Navigo Découverte, €5 | Navigo Jour, Navigo Semaine and Navigo Mois passes | Any single ticket |
| Your own phone | Single tickets, day passes and the week pass | Nothing, but it needs an app account first |
Buying a €2 Navigo Easy card does not make it compatible with Navigo Semaine. If you choose a weekly pass later, use a compatible phone or the appropriate Navigo card. Include any new card purchase in your comparison.
Can you just use your phone instead?
In many cases, this is correct, but it avoids both cards and their respective fees, because it allows the user to store all types of tickets in their phone: single tickets, a day ticket, and a weekly pass. However, to make this all happen, the user must create an account first.
To create an Île-de-France Mobilités Connect account, you will need a mobile number where you can receive a verification code via SMS, and only mobile numbers from a prescribed list of geographic locations can be used. The information regarding the need to have a European mobile number circulating around is not what the online account application page displayed when checked on 20 September 2026. The verified sources use only European mobile numbers and numbers from Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the UK. Numbers from the United States, Australia, Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Morocco, Argentina, Algeria, and Colombia can only be used if created from within mainland France.
The second clause contains all the information. If you attempted to set up a phone number from Texas or Sydney the week before your departure, and it didn’t work, you would deduce that you cannot set it up via the phone. You would be able to set up a number after arriving in your destination, at which point the number would be made active. If you don’t see your country listed above, you should follow the instructions from the Île-de-France Mobilités website: set up your account when you get to France, or find a Navigo agency.
Before continuing to the next section, I want to point out one last physical feature regarding what you will be carrying. The Découverte is not one item; it is a chip card combined with a paper name card in a clear sleeve, both of which share the same six-digit number. According to the rules for how the pass functions, you need to show both components together because they cannot be separated. If you lose either your chip card or name card, you will not be able to replace either the card or the loaded pass.
The possibility of losing either of these components is not as much of a concern for a few days. However, a more significant matter is determining which dates the loaded pass is valid for because you do not have the ability to pick those dates yourself.
Why the Weekly Pass Runs Monday to Sunday and What Happens If You Buy It on Friday
How to calculate how much your €32.40 actually gets you divided by the number of days, with a Monday arrival only being a detail.
Dividing the €32.40 pass price by the remaining valid days gives €4.63 per day for Monday–Sunday, €6.48 for Wednesday–Sunday and €8.10 for Thursday–Sunday, rounded to the nearest cent. These averages describe the pass cost; they do not establish whether it is cheaper than the journeys you actually plan to take.
The official weekly-pass terms set validity from Monday 00:00 to Sunday 23:59, with a separate extension to Monday 06:00 for Noctilien night buses. This does not extend the pass to ordinary Monday morning metro travel.
The purchase policy follows the same general guideline as above. A weekly pass is available to you from the previous Friday until the Thursday of the week that the pass is valid for. However, if you take this logic from the perspective of the ticket counter rather than the calendar, you will still be able to buy a pass that covers the week that you are currently in on a Wednesday but not on a Friday when there are no weekly passes for sale except for the one that will become valid the following Monday.
The simple answer to the Friday question: Nothing went wrong, you just bought a pass that has not yet begun. You purchased a weekly pass that begins after you have left.
Check the displayed validity dates before paying. On Monday through Thursday you can buy the current week; from Friday through Sunday, the weekly pass on sale is for the following Monday. Buying on Sunday does not cover that Sunday.
The confusion over these passes is strong, even among experienced travellers. In a July 2023 thread on Rick Steves’ website, a traveller who was planning to travel Thursday through Sunday expressed confusion about what passes to buy, and he needed to buy a weekly. Many of the prices quoted in that thread have been changed since they were posted, but in that case, the same rules apply.
Can you get your money back if you buy the wrong week?
Under the official terms, an unused weekly pass cancelled before its validity begins can receive a full refund. Limited partial-refund rules also exist for specified circumstances after validity starts. Do not assume that choosing the wrong dates qualifies for a refund once the week has begun; check the cancellation channel and evidence required for your medium.
After a weekly pass has commenced, there is little option for a customer to obtain a partial refund unless your reasons for doing so meet specific criteria (i.e. sick, fired or relocated) — a visitor’s change of plans does not meet any of these criteria.
While the above outlines the terms of cancellation and the associated restrictions, it does not explain the other selling point of a weekly pass and how far it goes after entering through the gate; once you are through the gate, the use of day passes and individual tickets are completely different.
Airport, Versailles and Disneyland: Which Ticket Actually Covers Them
Starting in January 2025, two of the three exceptions already outlined no longer exist as exceptions. The third exception will continue to exist.
An ordinary Métro-Train-RER ticket covers eligible rail journeys to Versailles and Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy for Disneyland Paris, including permitted rail connections. These destinations do not by themselves require the airport rail ticket. Separate attraction admission is not included.
This point should be emphasized because several current English-language travel guides continue to incorrectly state otherwise. For instance, a popular English guide that was published in June 2026 tells readers that the RER C fare to Versailles must be booked as a point-to-point fare and that you must buy a separate RER A fare if you’re visiting Disneyland because both destinations are located outside of Zone 1. This was true before the reform; if you still believe that today, then you’re paying for something that you already possess.
Rail journeys to or from Orly via metro line 14 or Charles de Gaulle via RER B require the €14 Paris Région ↔ Aéroports ticket unless covered by an appropriate pass. It covers an eligible airport rail journey and permitted rail connections; it is not an unlimited day pass. Navigo Jour excludes those airport journeys.
People tend to get caught up when it comes to the Navigo Jour round ticket. This is an all-zones ticket which allows you to go anywhere within the region, including Versailles or Disneyland with no issue whatsoever. However, you will not be able to open the gates at the airport station. The exclusion is stated by Île-de-France Mobilités (the operator of the train service) in one line next to the price, and technically, it is not something that you can argue with at a barrier.
The weekly ticket (the one used on Mondays) is also available to get to the airport stations via the train, which makes it seem like a better option when you first arrive on a Monday. Its published terms still carve out a specific list, though, and these are named services rather than zones:
- the Orlyval shuttle between Antony and Orly
- Le Bus Direct and the VEA shuttles to Disney
- the OpenTour and Cars Rouges sightseeing buses
- the TGV, and any line that doesn’t apply Île-de-France fares
Zoning creates another problem. Weekly tickets are also available as a 2-zone version (2-3, 3-4, 4-5), which are priced a few euros cheaper but only valid for the zones you purchase. A 2-3 weekly transport does not go to Paris city centre or Charles de Gaulle airport. For travellers looking to travel into Paris, an all-zones ticket is the best option.
Why your card may refuse the airport ticket
This situation is more mechanical than geographical and is experienced when you arrive at the train machine on the first day.
The Navigo Easy card will house the airport ticket, but it will also hold ordinary Metro-Train-RER tickets. In accordance with the compatibility rules of Île-de-France Mobilités, updated in April 2026, you cannot load both types of tickets at the same time. Additionally, RATP’s guidelines about airport tickets are consistent with those from Île-de-France Mobilités (under which you cannot have an incompatible ticket on the card if you are offered only a Metro-Train-RER ticket). If the machine does not display the Metro-Train-RER ticket for purchase, it already has an incompatible ticket loaded onto the card (usually an airport ticket or leftover cardboard-era t+ credit).
The remedy published by Île-de-France Mobilités is twofold and completely straightforward. You can either use all of the tickets that cannot coexist, or you may purchase the new ticket on a separate medium. In practice, this means that you will arrive at Charles de Gaulle Airport with the existing €14 ticket already loaded onto your Easy card, take the Metro or RER into Paris, and then load your Metro-RER tickets after your arrival in the city; alternatively, you may download the airport ticket onto your smartphone and retain your card for your trip into Paris. There is also a limit to the number of tickets that you may store on the Navigo Easy card: within the rigid card typology, you can store up to four ticket types, while the flexible version allows for a maximum of two ticket types.
The above rules are also responsible for preventing families from sharing one Navigo Easy card without prior notice. A Navigo Easy card cannot store both an adult and a child (aged four to nine) with their respective single fare and reduced fare tickets; therefore, a second €2 card is required, rather than being a workaround.
The Coverage section informs customers where each version of the Navigo Easy card will provide service. However, there is no current information about which type to purchase; this information can be calculated in approx one minute.
How Many Rides Make a Day Pass or Weekly Pass Cheaper Than Single Tickets
The majority of the calculations can be made using information pertaining to transportation fares in 2026 from three separate numbers.
For rail journeys without airport travel, four €2.55 tickets cost €10.20: singles are €2.10 cheaper than a €12.30 day pass. Five tickets cost €12.75: the day pass saves €0.45. These fare-only comparisons assume you already have a suitable medium, or use a compatible phone, and count separately ticketed journeys rather than every rail connection.
Seven €2.55 rail journeys cost €17.85. Thirteen cost €33.15, making the €32.40 weekly pass €0.75 cheaper before card costs. If you need a new €5 Découverte card, the initial weekly total is €37.40; against singles on an existing medium, 14 journeys cost €35.70 and 15 cost €38.25. In that scenario the weekly option first becomes cheaper at 15 journeys. If singles also require a new €2 Easy card, compare both complete totals instead.
Airport journeys can change the break-even point, but only when they fall inside the weekly pass’s valid dates and use a covered route. Calculate them separately before adding local journeys.
Two €14 airport rail journeys cost €28. Add two €2.55 local rail journeys and singles total €33.10, compared with €32.40 for the weekly pass on a compatible phone or existing suitable card: a €0.70 saving. With a new €5 Découverte card, the weekly total is €37.40. Against singles on an existing medium, three local journeys plus the airport round trip cost €35.65, while four cost €38.20; the weekly option first saves money at four local journeys. Add the €2 Easy card fee to the singles option if you also need that card. Both airport journeys must be inside the same valid week.
Count journeys on each day and in each Monday-to-Sunday week. With four local rail journeys in one day, singles cost €10.20 and beat the day pass. Across several days, however, the same journeys may make a weekly pass cheaper. A daily comparison alone cannot decide your whole-trip purchase.
Four questions that pick the product
- What day of the week do you land?
- Does your whole stay sit inside one Monday-to-Sunday week?
- How many rail rides will you take on a normal day?
- Will you take the train to or from Orly or Charles de Gaulle?
The table below narrows the options. It does not declare a guaranteed cheapest product without your journey count, airport dates and card costs.
| Your situation | Options to compare | Check before choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival Monday–Thursday; travel within one week | Navigo Semaine versus singles and day passes | Remaining journeys, airport coverage and card fees |
| Four local rail journeys in one day | €10.20 singles versus €12.30 day pass | Singles win for that day; also assess your whole week |
| Five local rail journeys in one day | €12.75 singles versus €12.30 day pass | Day pass saves €0.45 before medium costs |
| Stay crosses Sunday into Monday | Separate totals for each calendar week | One weekly pass does not cover both weeks |
| Arrival Friday–Sunday | Singles, day passes or Paris Visite until Monday | Weekly purchase starts the following Monday |
| Two-day weekend with airport rail round trip | Paris Visite versus local and airport tickets | Use actual ride count; compare the worked example below |
For Friday-to-Sunday arrivals, compare the tickets needed before Monday separately from travel in the following week. A weekly pass bought over the weekend does not cover the arrival day.
When the tourist pass actually wins
Paris Visite uses consecutive calendar days rather than a fixed Monday-to-Sunday week. Its value depends on airport travel, local journey count and actual dates. A five-day Paris Visite costs €78.00; a €32.40 weekly pass may be cheaper for covered journeys within one valid week, but cannot substitute for days outside that week.
To illustrate the above, a weekend trip, 2 days, landing on Saturday, and taking the train both ways to/from the airport.
For an adult staying Saturday and Sunday, taking two airport rail journeys and four local rail journeys each day, the fare-only totals are: Paris Visite for two days, €45.40; two €12.30 day passes plus two €14 airport tickets, €52.60; eight €2.55 local tickets plus two €14 airport tickets, €48.40. In this exact example, Paris Visite saves €7.20 against day passes plus airport tickets, or €3.00 against singles. If all options use a new €2 Navigo Easy card, totals become €47.40, €54.60 and €50.40 respectively. The cheaper option can change with fewer journeys or airport travel outside those two days.
Paris Visite offers half-price fares for children aged 4 to under 10. Do not apply the adult calculations unchanged to a family: compare each traveller’s eligible fares and products separately.
The important things to remember about this process do not come into play until you have the actual pass in hand, at which point you will encounter the final set of problems.
How to Buy Your Card at the Station, on Your Phone, and Avoid the Photo Fine
The locations that are frequented by many tourists to purchase a Navigo Découverte are now the only locations that do not offer the sale of this pass.
Charles de Gaulle Airport has ceased to offer the Navigo Découverte pass from August 2025, and the website Paris by Train also reflects this change as of March 2026. The reason for the withdrawal has been reported as the lengthy process of creating a new card while other customers stand in line to wait for a new card. This is an operational decision made by an individual station, and could be changed back with no warning; for this reason, it is wise to plan a trip around the possibility of having to purchase the Navigo Découverte elsewhere rather than waiting in line at the airport and having to change your travel plans with your luggage.
What is still available at Charles de Gaulle Airport is the Navigo Easy pass, the airport ticket, and the Paris Visite Pass, all of which will allow you to enter the city and give you sufficient time before proceeding to your destination. As for the Navigo Découverte, you will need to buy it from a staffed window located in one of the major train stations such as Gare du Nord, Gare de Lyon, Gare de L*Est or one of the other major train stations. Alternatively, you can also obtain a Navigo Découverte pass at an approved local retailer.
It is worth noting that there is a significant difference between the points of sale for the Navigo Easy pass and the Navigo Découverte pass. The Navigo Easy pass can be obtained via a ticket machine (which is available in English) that accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards. A Navigo Découverte pass cannot be obtained via a ticket machine, as it must be assembled by an employee who works at the ticket counter; this is the specific reason why the airports chose to no longer sell the Navigo Découverte pass.
What the photo rule actually says
This is less than what the internet claims, but more than is required to purchase the ticket.
The requirements for obtaining the Découverte offered by Île-de-France Mobilités state that the holder must write their full name on the card, affix a clear frontal photo of head and shoulders (not scanned or photocopied), and seal the self-adhesive flap. The requirements do not outline the millimetre dimensions of the photo; however, the 25 x 30 mm measurement commonly referenced is derived from practical guides provided by Île-de-France Mobilités’ photo service offerings and is reasonable. Standard passport-sized photos are generally too large and will need to be trimmed down when presented at the counter.
The requirements also specify when an inspection will occur. The holder is required to have both the smart card (loaded and validated) and the identification card (completed with photo and the self-adhesive flap closed). Inappropriate use of either can result in fines and penalties as established by the public transportation rules for Île-de-France. Fines that go unpaid for three months will be applied against the holder and will become increased fines collected by the French Treasury. The requirements do not specify how much the fines will be, as no euro amount is provided within the requirements.
There are euro amounts listed in the traveller reports, and these amounts should be treated as accounts rather than as rates. In the Rick Steves forum, a contributor in April 2019 stated that they had received a €35 fine at a Paris metro station because their card did not include a photo. The contributor also noted that “You will not be told that you must include a photo on your card.”
An additional contributor in the same conversation highlighted what the card picture area says: collez ici votre photo d’identité – paste your ID photo here. The total amount in that account in seven years does not help you to know what the penalty is in today’s world. The sequence of events does remain: nobody is finished with the card until payment is received, and no one at the window is required to finish the card for you.
You should take a photo printed at home and trimmed to size before you arrive, not after. Photo booths at stations are usually available for around €5 for a set of four. This is an expense for a problem that you could have solved by printing your own photos.
Why everyone in your group needs their own card
The Découverte card is personal and non-transferable, so you cannot share it with anyone else. The Navigo Easy is anonymous, so everyone thinks that it can be transferred; however, at the gates, you cannot pass it back for someone else to use. Therefore, if a couple has twenty tickets on one Easy card, they have one card that works for only one person.
The two adults will each require an additional €2 Easy card, and if they have a ten-year-old or older child, that child will also need an Easy card at full fare. If the child is under ten years old and requires a reduced fare, they must still have an Easy card since the one that is marked as Easy cannot hold both full-fare and reduced-fare tickets on the same Easy card.
The easiest way to do that is by using your mobile device’s NFC capabilities. If you have an Android or iOS device that uses Near Field Communication (NFC), transport app(s) installed on your device will read the physical Navigo card from the back of your phone as you are holding it up to the phone; showing you what you actually have stored on the card, as well as how many more rides per day and total remaining rides you have left. Using this once at the end of the day of your first ride will let you know whether the estimated distance from the previous section came close to the actual distance traveled, allowing enough time to adjust your travel plans accordingly.
Happy Day Turismo is an informational travel blog. We do not sell transport tickets, airport transfers or travel bookings. Purchase directly through the official transport channels, and contact the operator for ticketing or reservation assistance.
When going to the main train depot outside of the busy morning commute, you will find most likely a very short line, and the official price noted will be the price. Once you are in possession of the correct Navigo card, the only thing left to learn is the various gates, transfers and exits; everything is fully described in the companion guide for navigating the Paris Metro as a first-time user.
Quanto Você Deveria Gastar
There is basically one question to answer prior to leaving home: Does the entire duration of your travel exist in one week (Monday to Sunday) and will the train ride to/from the airport happen within this same week? If both answers are yes then it would be hard to beat the €32.40 weekly pass. If either answer is no, then typically the €2 card and €2.55 ticket option will be a better option. Make sure you do this comparison prior to arriving at the ticket selling kiosks as the machines will sell you an expired pass on your return trip home and the window for refunds is thereafter closed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a card before I get to France?
No, you can only get the Découverte from a manned counter in Paris. You cannot buy it online. The Navigo Easy is available in vending machines at your station. The only thing you can organise before you arrive is setting up an account in the app.
I land on a Sunday. Should I buy the weekly that day or wait?
You may buy the following week’s pass on Sunday, but it starts on Monday at 00:00. It does not cover travel on your arrival Sunday. Buy a separate valid ticket or day product for Sunday, then use the weekly pass from Monday if it fits your remaining journey count and dates.
If I switch from the metro to a bus, does one ticket cover both?
No, according to the transfer rules published by the STIF, a Metro-Train-RER ticket is valid for 2 hours for transferring between trains and a Bus-Tram ticket is valid for 90 minutes for transferring between buses and trams. If you want to combine a journey on both, you need both a Metro-Train-RER ticket and a Bus-Tram ticket.
Is a Navigo Easy card from an earlier trip still usable?
Usually, the answer is yes. There is one small problem, however. If you still have a balance of t+ tickets from the cardboard era on your card, you cannot buy a current metro train RER ticket or airport ticket until the balance of t+ tickets is exhausted. Also, any t+ tickets issued after December 15, 2026 will not work on the metro.
