Paris: Will buying a Navigo pass help you save on the Metro and bus?
Everyone wants to feel like a local in Paris, and taking the Metro is one of the best ways to achieve such status. But is it worth taking the plunge and subscribing to a transit pass, called the Navigo? Let’s break it down.
The Navigo
The Navigo pass is a card that allows you to enter the Metro or bus system by simply tapping your card at the turnstile or on board. No paper tickets. No multiple visits to the machine. Once your card is charged for the week or month, you can take the Metro, bus or tram as many times as you’d like within a certain area.
Depending on your plan, the Navigo will cover only a certain number of the five zones in the greater Paris region. Most visitors will only visit within zones 1-2, but you can buy for zones 1-5 if needed. Separate “supplement” tickets can be bought to get to the outer zones for those isolated trips to Versailles or the airport.
It’s a convenience for those commuting to and from work every day, but the Navigo isn’t always going to be a budget traveler’s best friend.
To purchase a Navigo pass, you can go to any Metro station. Photo: Bryan Pirolli
Short Visits
If you’re only in Paris for a few days, I don’t think that you should even consider it. A monthly or weekly pass isn’t worth it, and you can rely simply on the “carnets,” or packs of 10 tickets purchased at a reduced rate of €14.90. So you get 10 rides split between however many people you’d like. Just note that paper tickets will be phased out by 2021, so you might not want to stock up on too many carnets.
Besides, walking is the best way to explore the city.
Longer Visits
If you’re here for at least a week, you may want to consider a weekly pass. The passes start on Monday and are valid through Sunday, so if you arrive on Friday, you’ll still have to buy regular tickets (or carnets) and wait until Monday to start the weekly pass. If this seems frustrating and complicated, don’t even bother with it.
The pass costs €22.80, plus €5 for the actual card that needs to be purchased from a ticket window. So the total is €27.80. But there is one more thing you need: a photo of yourself. You used to have to get the photo taken at a station, but now you can do it yourself. Your photo could be any size, and it does not have to be glossy or photo paper. There are instant photo booths in major stations if you need to take one there.
To insert your photo, peel the adhesive cover on the Navigo card and stick on the photo. Then you slide it into a plastic cover that comes with your pass. You can do this later, at your hotel or whenever you have a free moment. This is convenient because someone else (like a friend living in Paris) could buy the pass for you ahead of time, so you’ll be ready to go from the moment you arrive.
But for just €29.80, you could have 20 tickets or two carnets, that will probably be more than sufficient for your trip. If you think you’ll take more than 20 rides in a week, then consider the weekly Navigo.
Or maybe consider re-organizing your trip, because that is a lot of time in the Metro.
Really Long Visits
If you’re staying for more than three weeks, you may want to opt for the monthly Navigo at €75.20 for all zones, which includes all 20 districts of Paris. Like the weekly pass, you’ll need to purchase the card and get a photo for it.
These passes start at the beginning of the month and have an advantage that the weekly passes do not. On weekends (midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday) and holidays, the passes allow you to travel to any zone. So if you are planning weekend trips to Versailles, Disneyland, the airport, or anywhere else that is outside of central Paris, you could end up benefiting from a monthly pass.
And chances are if you are here for a few weeks, you’ll have walked enough that the comfort and ease of the Metro will come in handy more than just once a day.
Bottom Line
Plan it out. If you’re staying out in zone 4 for some reason during a prolonged three-week stay, you might want to consider the monthly or weekly pass to save money.
But if you’re staying central for a few days, forget the Navigo pass. It would be a shame to waste hard-earned money on a Navigo that you end up not using at all.
What do you think?
Do you agree with our assessment of the Navigo pass? Have you purchased one when visiting Paris? Tell us about your experience in the comments section below.
About the author
We visited from the U.S and purchased a weekly Navigo pass for all zones for €35 each. We used the passes to go all over Paris. We used them for multiple trips each day. We are very pleased and feel that it was a great value. It was significantly cheaper than using taxis or even Uber. The Metro and the pass enabled us to get around like a native parisian
My wife and I both have Navigo Decouverte cards bought in 2019. We are usually in Paris every year and thought this was a good year. We are back in Paris this May and are wondering if we are going to be allowed to use this card and add more money to it for rides.
This was sooooo helpful!! Thank you
If you buy the book of 10 or 20 tickets are they each one way and are they valid on buses also? Can I buy them ahead before I get to Paris? Thank you
Hi. My son is living in Paris for the next 8 months occasionally returning to London – he will need to travel in zones 3 and 4 to get to and from work during the week via RER, bus etc. but I am sure will also want to travel into central Paris when not working. Please can you advise the best pass for him?
I visit Paris for a month every year. I have a Navago Decouverte card I purchased 4 years ago. I recharge it for a month when I arrive. How long is my card useful until I have to apply for a new one with a new photo?
Worth keeping in mind that things have changed since 2019.
For one thing, the 22.80 weekly pass is now a Zone 1-5 pass, which means it can take you quite a way out, including Versailles and many other destinations…including the RER trains to Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport.
That’s important because that’s otherwise a 10.30 fare, so now the cost of a weekly Navigo is down to 12.50, or less than a carnet of tickets. Conceivably, if you arrive on a Monday and leave on Sunday, you’d get two airport trips for a total of 20.60, leaving you with a cost of 2.20, just above the price of a single ticket, for all-you-can-eat transport. Even if you’re more than a week, it often pays to go this way…just do the math for your trip.
The second important thing is that it’s now MUCH easier. You no longer need to buy a card for 5 euros, you no longer need a picture, and you no longer have to figure out how to use the machine or have a friend buy it for you. You can now buy it in the Ile de France Mobilites app (which you’ll find as ‘vianavigo’ in the app stores, and then just tap your phone where you’d tap your card in the Metro or on a bus or RER.
Hello,
I am coming to Paris for the month of December. It sounds as if the Navigo ticket would be best for me.
Is there a place to purchase the Navigo at CDG, and without an extra commission fee?
Thank you for this information!!
We purchased Navigo passes at CDG when we arrived on a Sunday knowing they would be good for the week we were in Paris – Monday through Sunday. Absolutely loved them! Made travel so easy and convenient and used the pass multiple times a day. Our travel to Versailles was included as well as the return trip to CDG. Was well worth the money and the case can be used again and again.
Hello!
I am so thankful for all of the information you have provided on using the Navigo Discovery pass!
We will be arriving at the CDG airport very early in the morning on a Thursday in November, but I would still like to use the Navigo Discovery pass for traveling Thursday-Sunday. If I order the card on-line and get it mailed to my home in the US, how do I get it activated so I could use the card to get from the airport to my hotel (Disneyland Paris)?
Thanks so much! This is the first time I am traveling out of the country and am quite nervous about getting around on a budget.
Tammie
Hi Tammie,
It sounds like you’re going to have an exciting trip to Paris! I believe you can activate the card on the train platform or in the station. Once you activate it, it is good for the amount of time you purchased it for. This is from their website: “For all travel passes (regardless of the duration), the validity period starts at 12 a.m. on the first day of the period and ends at 11:59 p.m. on the last day.” You can also use this link to learn more: https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/paris-visite-travel-pass I hope this helps, and please let us know if you have any other questions.
Hi, I’m an older person not as mobile as I used to be and will be staying in Paris for 14 days. Lugging my bags around to and from the CDG would be difficult for me and as a senior pensioner I like to avoid high cost. What transport or which card would best suit me. I’m not going out of central just getting around from museums to markets. Please advice.
Hi Emmy,
You could buy a “carnet”, a pack of 10 tickets for the Metro for €14.90. The Metro is easily accessible from anywhere in the center city. You can also read our post about the Navigo Pass, but I think just buying the paper tickets will work for you if you aren’t traveling outside of the core. Have a great trip!
After I originally commented I appear to have
clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I recieve
4 emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is a way you are able to remove me from that service?
Kudos!
Hi there,
That’s a good question. Let me look into this and get back to you.
Best Regards,
The only cost-effective reason for buying a “carnet” is to share the tickets among multiple people when you’ll only be using public transport a couple of times. The Navajo pass is only 22 Euros for unlimited usage and also gets you into the city from CDG airport. Once you get to know the Paris transit system, you’ll be using it all the time, especially the bus since it travels above ground and you can see all of the city this way. Also, the bus is often the most direct and quickest way to go. I walk Paris all day but I still find myself using public transport 4-8 times daily. If you do as I do, it will even be worth it to buy a pass on Wednesday for the current week. The Paris Visite pass is normally not useful since the Mobilis unlimited one-day pass is almost always less expensive for the same duration and zones.
Quick Question:
Can I use CARNETS from CDG Terminal 2 to Gare du Nord (Central Paris Train Station) on RER B line ?
you can rely simply on the “carnets,” or packs of 10 tickets purchased at a reduced rate of €14.90.
So you get 10 rides split between however many people you’d like.
But for just €29.80, you could have 20 tickets or two carnets, that will probably be more than sufficient for your trip. If you think you’ll take more than 20 rides in a week
Need Help,
Arriving at 4PM CDG Terminal 2 and need to go to Gare Du Nord (Train Station) as I am staying there
But at the same time need a Pass for zones 1-3 to cover for me 24 Hours from 4pm
Let’s say arriving on 20 July 4pm so I need a day pass till 21 July 4pm to cover zones 1-3 and at the same time able to go from Airport Terminal 2 to Train Station
Hello Frank,
You would need to buy a ticket for the RER train at the airport. The RER and Metro are separate systems in Paris. RER is like a commuter train while the Metro is the subway. You can take the RER direct from CDG to Gare du Nord, so you won’t have to change lines. I hope this helps!
Thanks Craig, so that means, I will need to buy separate tickets
One for RER – €10.30
and other Day Pass for zones 1-3
Paris Visite €12.00
Mobilis €10
For all travel passes (regardless of the duration), the validity period starts at 12 a.m. on the first day of the period and ends at 11:59 p.m. on the last day.
Navigo
weekly or monthly or annual
It looks like you could also buy a Paris Visite (Zone 1-5) for €25.25. CDG is in Zone 5. See the official site for more details
https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/paris-visite-travel-pass
Paris Visite is significantly more expensive than Pass Navigo(weekly or monthly) or Mobilis (daily)
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I purchased a Navigo Decouverte pass in 2016 and found it really great. My time in Paris fell between a Monday-Sunday so one week was sufficient. I used the pass to travel to and from CDG and Versailles so it was really worth it. This year I’m planning another trip, arriving on a Tuesday and flying out on Monday morning so I will need to buy 2 weeks, or just purchase a separate ticket to get to CDG on the Monday, so I’m not so sure it will be worth it this time. Its always difficult to judge how many times you will ride the metro on any given day. I guess the advatage of the pass is to be able to just swipe on and swipe off and never have to worry how many tickets you have left and the hassle of queuing for more when you run out. If you use it for a return trip to CDG (E20) plus buy one carnet of tickets (E14.50), the Navigo pass would be better value.
Hi. I will be in Paris in august for 12 days with my family. We will have navigo passes. We will land in Orly. and i want to to know if i can buy the carte decouverte and the navigo pass at any of orly terminals (and not gare antony)to use it on the spot to get to Paris? Thanks in advance for your help
Can I get the pass right at the CDG airport when I arrive to avoid the high fare to get to Paris?
Yes. Remember to bring a photo 3cm X 2.5cm.
there is a little change, the monthly pass navigo (around 70 euros) works all zones 1 to 5 everyday. it means you do not need extra ticket to Versailles, disney, or airport…very interesting
I haven’t been able to find answers to these 2 questions on the RATP site:
Would we qualify for the senior “Amethyste” pass, or is it just for true residents? We’ve booked one month (May) in Paris.
If we choose the 73,00 Euro Navigo Mois, would it partially cover the train trip (non-TGV) to Amboise?
many thanks,
Susan
Thanks a lot for your post, Brian.
I am moving to Versailles, I will be living there and working in Paris near Opera.
I will buy Navingo – month. Could you please tell me how many zones should I buy (All?)
Thanks a lot
Buy the 5 zones which will cover all your needs in Ile de France for a very reasonable price.
If you are staying for 7 days starting Monday then a week of Navigo is worth it. Why? It includes CDG/Orly access. From CDG to Paris , it will cost you 10 euro each one way and going back to airport is another 10 that’s 20 Euro already. The weekly pass is 27 euro. The pass will even let you go disneyland paris and versailles , not to mention tourist mistake of taking wrong train and bus number 😬 plus the convenient of having one card to scan in the metro is worth it than trying to figure out which ticket is used or not
Great point! When you add in the airport access, it is a good deal. Merci.
I arrive in paris on thursday from CDG going to Radisson blu boulounge and leave Monday by gar du nord. I want to go to Verseilles on Saturday. Should I get a Navigo Decouverte> Does it cover from cdg to my hotel and Verseille. Thanks
Four nights in Paris – ie parts of 5 days starting Monday – gave value to the Navigo pass. We made multiple trips on Metro around the city – occasionally entering wrong barriers in error and having to exit again to find correct entry [would have used up paper tickets]
Also covered train and bus to and from Fountainebleau. plus bus to airport. Bus to airport alone is quoted as 11 Euro – so I feel that the card was good value.
Obviously would need to reassess if our stay hadn’t started early in the week.
We are travelling to Paris as a family (2adults +2 children ) for 4 weeks 20th july-17th August. We hope to go several times to Disney and are flying with Ryanair to Paris Beauvais. Wondering about the monthly card….ones it only work for a calendar month and is there a child’s version?
getting to Charles de Gaule on a Thursday, so I could get a week pass and use it for the transport to Paris, which will save me 10 euros, then I could use the pass Thursday, Friday, Sat and Sunday. Then I could buy another pass for Monday and Tuesday since I plan to drop off my suitcases to a hotel close to the airport then return to Paris and enjoy the day and then go back before train stops to go back to the hotel near the aiport. Does this make sense? if not, I would still waste money to store my suitcase for 10 euros in the train station and then still paying 10 euros to take the train.
Thanks for being so clear. I’m a first time visitor to Paris, staying for 6 days and I was a little overwhelmed when I found out so many different options for the metro alone…
This was really helpful!
As of July 2015, the Navigo monthly passes will cover multiple zones (not just 1 and 2) as reported on Navigo’s site. Check it out!
To be specific: It was voted to modify the passes in July (I think) but they become multi-zone starting in September 2015.
Thanks for the update Barbara. We’ll check it out!
Barbara,
I’m not seeing that it started July 1. The website says September 1. Maybe it’s because of the summer holidays? Anyway, handy to know also that the weekly Navigo Pass will also be all zones. There are some minor exceptions that will not affect most tourists (like using it in Orlyval or if you don’t include zone 1 in your pass, etc.) See the brochure for the exceptions: http://navigo.fr/IMG/pdf/depliant-navigo-toutes-zones.pdf
Here’s the official text. (For those who can’t read French, run it through Google translate.)
Au 1er septembre 2015, suite à une décision du STIF, les forfaits Navigo mois, Navigo semaine, Navigo annuel, imagine R Étudiant et imagine R Scolaire évoluent automatiquement en forfaits « toutes zones », sauf pour les forfaits 2-3, 3-4 et 4-5.
Hello,
It is not clear to me if the actual Navigo pass can be recharged for one week only. I still have my Navigo pass from when I studied in Paris (where I charged it monthly) and am wondering if I can pay to use it for just one week when I return there soon. In other words, I don’t need to pay for a new Navigo but am wondering if I can recharge the one I have already?
Thank you very much,
Katie
I’m sure you can recharge your old pass. I’ve used my same pass for 3 summers in a row.
Hey Guys,
This post is one of the most easy to understand when it comes to traveling in Paris with the Navigo pass. Thx for this!!
But, I have a question and was wondering if you could clarify.
So, I landed in Paris yesterday and am staying near Noisy-Champs station in Zone 4. I am here for three week summer course and will leave Paris on 30 July. My course is in Central Paris which means that I have to travel from Noisy-Champs (Zone 4) to Central Paris (Zone 1/2) almost everyday. I am confused about the concept of zone-free travel mentioned in the comments by KC (June 23, 2014 at 2:58 pm) and Rob (June 26, 2014 at 2:17 pm).
Do I have to buy a monthly Navigo for zones 1-4 costing 105.40 Euros or I can just buy a monthly Navigo for zones 1-2 costing 67.10 Euros and still travel from Noisy-Champs (Zone 4) to Central Paris (Zone 1/2) because its is summer and the travel is ‘zone free’.
Thank you for the help!!
I visited Paris for the first time in 1986, during which I got my Carte Orange, the predecessor of the Navigo card. For every one of my eight visits to Paris, I have used the Carte Orange or the Navigo card. Knowing that the weekly period of validity goes from Monday through Sunday, I always time my visit accordingly. I have never stayed in Paris for less than a week – it’s just that wonderful a place, and I don’t want to be in a hurry when I am there.
The Navigo card is especially valuable if you take part of a journey on the Metro and part on a bus, because there is no such thing as getting a free transfer from one to another.
A side benefit of having the card is that it enables me to go on adventures that I call Random Bus Rides: get on a bus without any idea as to where I am going. Just keep looking out the window until I see something that catches my attention, get off the bus, and explore. More likely than not, I will walk a little until I see yet another bus, or maybe even a Metro station.
The best aspect of having the Navigo card is simply not having to worry about getting any more tickets for the remainder of the week.
I especially appreciate your info, above, about the benefit of the monthly pass, wherein you can travel to and from the airport during the weekend. That’s terrific new information, as I will most likely spend the month of September 2017 doing a home exchange in Paris, so I will definitely time my flights to arrive and depart during a weekend day.
Now I have a question for you: Do you know if it’s possible to register a card and add value to it online? If I can do that, I would arrange to pay before I arrive, and then be good to go when I get there.
Hi Melanie,
The Navigo Semaine (weekly) pass is good for a calendar week – Monday to Sunday. You could buy a card for Aug 4 – 10, and would need to use regular tickets from Aug 1 – 3.
Kids 4 and under are free. There is a reduced price carnet for children 4 to 10, but I don’t see anything about a Navigo for children.
KC
If I buy a monthly pass but need an extra week, can I add a week and not an extra month? Example: arrive July 7 to July 31, but then need Aug 1-7
Are kids discounted? Do they need their own pass?
Thanks for the help
Good comments on the Navigo Pass, but a few other points are worth considering for those staying in Paris a week or more:
1. The Navigo is valid on both the bus and Metro, so you can easily transfer between them for journeys that require both. (For example, in some locations like Montmartre, you can be 8 or 10 minutes from a Metro, so a bus to the Metro saves steps. With tickets, you can’t transfer between the Metro and bus, so you have to use two tickets.)
2. You can just bring a photo with you of the required size. We photocopied our driver’s licenses and trimmed them. They worked fine.
3. If you’re staying a month or more in the summer, the Navigo gives you free travel throughout the Ile de France in weekends, which makes it a bargain to go to Vaux-le-Vicomte, Fountainebleu, Provins, Auvers-sur-Oise, and other places.
I have a month navigo card. I have to go to the airport on Monday. So if I go RER can I just pay a supplement?
The RER stations have machines that sell the supplement. You place your Navigo on the machine’s charging dock, pay the fee, wait for it to download to the card, and go.
On my trip last year the supplement had to be bought within hours of the trip, so you can’t do it the day before.
The Navigo is one of the great conveniences of the Paris public transit system. It’s possible to over-calculate the costs — at worst it might cost you a euro or two more than using the tickets, but as one reader noted, with the Navigo you feel perfectly free to catch the bus for a one- or two-stop trip if time is short or it’s just started to rain.
Navigo can now be used to register for Velib – check out its web site, Velib.fr. (I haven’t tried it.)
Here are a few more data points to enter into the calculation:
First, Navigo is not just a Metro pass. It works as well on the buses and trams. You just swipe your card over the reader as you enter. If you have a Navigo card, you won’t have to think twice about hopping on a bus for two stops when it’s raining or just to save your energy. Depending on the journey, buses can just be plain easier to use than switching on the metro.
Second, the Navigo (month or longer) besides during holidays and summer vacation (mentioned above) also allows one to travel in all zones during school holiday periods of Zone C (Winter, Spring, All Saints, and Christmas.)
Third, if you do travel outside your zone(s) when not free, you now need only pay the additional fare (le complément de parcours), say, if you are going to Versailles.
Lastly, do not underestimate the ease of just slapping down a card on the reader instead of fishing around for tickets, or change to buy tickets, or finding a station that will actually accept your non-chip credit card to buy a carnet.
Also the Navigo Mois lets you travel in all zones from mid-July to mid-August.
KC
Is this something that I should ask for specifically? We will be there from July 7 to Aug 7… ( with kids who are 3.5 and 5.5 yrs old) suggestions for them?
Thanks for the help, especially the part about the navigo being used on the bus system too 🙂
Hi Bryan,
Thanks for the tip that monthly Navigo passes are good for all zones on the weekend! I’m flying in/out on weekends and staying for 3 weeks.
It’s worth mentioning that the 5 euro for the card is a one time cost. I’m about to take my 3rd trip, and will use the same card.
You can also save the cost of the photo by bringing one from home. I printed mine on photo paper on an ordinary inkjet printer. The RATP website has details on the size.
KC