Paris Metro (Le métro)

Paris Metro is not only the easiest and cheapest way to get around the city, but also one of the historical attractions of the French capital. The metro in Paris is one of the oldest in Europe, having welcomed its first passengers in 1900.

. Contents

Highlights

The French capital’s metro has 303 stations, 62 of which are interchange stations. It consists of 16 branches. Fourteen of them are numbered in order from 1 to 14, and two are branches, so they possess the numbers 3-bis and 7-bis. Each of the branches of the Paris metro is painted in its own color. Branches 1 and 14 want high-speed trains without drivers.

Most of the Paris metro lines are underground and run along historic streets. For example, Line 1 runs under the famous Champs-Elysees and further along the long Rue de Rivoli. Platforms are located on the sides of the train, and only some transfer stations have the island platforms we are accustomed to.

.

Parisians themselves and numerous tourists consider the metro to be a very convenient and profitable mode of transportation. During rush hours (8.00-9.00 and 17.00-18.30), trains come every 2 minutes, and during off hours the interval between them is from 8 to 10 minutes. After the Moscow Metro, the Paris Metro is considered to be the busiest underground transportation in Europe. Every day, about 4.5 million people use the underground lines.

Another curious feature is that in the city center metro stations are not far from each other, at a distance of only 500 meters. When moving from station to station, passengers often have to walk quite a long way, including up and down stairs. When it is necessary to calculate how long it will take to travel from one station to another, the formula is used: 2 minutes for the trip between stations and 5 minutes for each crossing.

.

How the Paris Metro was built

The metro in the French capital was the fourth in Europe. It was preceded by underground lines in London, Budapest and Glasgow. When they began to build the Paris subway, the train routes were laid exclusively under the streets, because deviating to the side, the builders could get into the cellars and basements of private houses. This led to some of the Paris metro stations being slightly crooked, and at a number of stations the side platforms do not stand exactly opposite each other.

.

The construction of the first line took only 20 months. The opening of the Paris Metro was timed to coincide with the World’s Fair held in the city in the summer of 1900. All citizens and tourists who came to the exhibition could buy a ticket to ride the underground train from the Château de Vincennes to Porte Maillot.

.

Most of the Paris metro lines appeared before 1920. Underground stations were built very densely in the historic part of the city. And since 1969, the metro lines have been linked into a single transportation system with high-speed electric trains RER.

.

From Art Nouveau style to modern design

The entrance to the subway is not hard to find on the city streets, as it is marked with the letter “M”. As a rule, the entrance pavilions to Paris metro stations are unremarkable. However, there are exceptions: pavilions built at the beginning of the last century are real works of art. They were created by the talented French designer and architect Hector Guimard, who was a bright representative of the Art Nouveau (Art Nouveau) movement popular at that time.

.

Today, three types of old Art Nouveau above-ground pavilions have survived. The entrance to some stations is decorated with long cast-iron “stems” with red lanterns in the form of flower buds. In the design of other pavilions, the staircase is flanked by a molded lattice. The roofs of a third look like opened shells. Such closed entrance pavilions lead, for example, to the Palais Royal and Abbesses stations.

.

The tradition of unusual decoration of the Paris Metro continues to this day. Many tourists and Parisians go down to the subway not only to get to the right place. They are attracted by the stations themselves, some of which have been turned into real exhibition halls.

On the platform “Bastille” you can see fragments of the walls of the famous Bastille prison. In addition, there are prints of newspapers published in France during the Revolution. And the “Hotel-de-Ville” station hosts changing exhibitions of prints, paintings and photographs depicting the Paris City Hall and the life of the neighborhood surrounding it.

The design of the Varenne station is dedicated to the sculptural works of Auguste Rodin. The platforms of “Louvre-Rivoli” station look like a real museum. There is a place for statues, bas-reliefs and historical photos. At the station “Pont-Neuf” you can see huge copies of French coins. And those arriving at the “Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre” platform are amazed to see a large mural made of 2 million pearls.

.

Differences between the Paris Metro and the RER

The Paris metro system serves urban neighborhoods. In contrast, the RER (Réseau Express Régional) high-speed electric trains connect Paris to its suburban area. By the way, the French pronounce “RER” as “er-ee-er.” The RERs are very comfortable commuter trains that can quickly take you from the center of Paris to its most remote suburbs. They, like the Paris Metro, are appreciated for their speed and relatively low fare of 1.9 euros.

.

Almost all metro stations go subway, with the RER lines tucked underground only in the city limits. On the schematics of both the metro and RER are drawn with colored lines, but the metro branches are marked with numbers, and the lines of high-speed electric trains are marked with Latin letters. The RER has five branches: A, B, C, D and E.

.

The Paris Metro is open to passengers Sunday through Thursday from 5.30 to 0.40, with the RER starting half an hour earlier. On Friday, Saturday, and pre-holidays, the metro runs until 1.40 a.m.

.

Interesting facts about the Paris metro

  • Underground trains do not move very fast. The average speed of the Paris metro is 35 km/h.
  • Most lines run five-car trains. On lines 1 and 14, where the control is switched to automatic, trains consisting of six cars run, and on the auxiliary line 7-bis – of three.
    • A free diagram of the subway lines can be obtained at each of the stations. To do this, go downstairs and ask the clerk for a large, small or pocket-sized plan of Paris.
  • To make it easier to navigate, it is worth remembering that on the diagrams, the metro line is indicated by the word “ligne”, the exit by the blue-colored sign “sortie”, and the change by the orange-colored sign “correspondanse.”
  • Each of the branches of the Paris metro has not only a serial number, but also its own name, consisting of the names of the final stations, for example, Balard/Créteil.
    • .
  • To understand where the train is going, it is worth paying attention to the signs marking the end stations on the line. If you use such directions or “direction” correctly, you can get to any part of the city practically in a straight line. True, in doing so, it will be necessary to make several transfers.
  • On any platform of the Paris metro hangs a scoreboard, which indicates the time remaining until the arrival of the next train, and the actual length of the route. On the platform there is always a detailed map of Paris with the names of streets, which makes it very easy for visitors to the French capital to navigate the city.
  • Most of the carriages need to be opened manually. This can be done from both outside and inside the train. To open the door, you simply press the green button and turn up the lever. The doors on trains running on lines 1 and 14 are automatic.
    • .
  • In the new trains of the Paris Metro, the next station is announced twice by an announcer. In addition, such cars are equipped with a light indicator showing the platform to which the train has already arrived and the next platform. In older trains, voice announcements are not made and there are no indicators. In order not to miss the right station, passengers must be careful and check the name on the platform with the scheme posted in the car.
    • .
  • In the Paris metro there are several stations named in honor of events that took place on the territory of Russia. The “Stalingrad” station is dedicated to the bloody Battle of Stalingrad, “Sevastopol” to the events of the defense of the Crimean city, and the “Crimea” station was named after the Crimean War of the 19th century.

Fare payment

All public transportation in the French capital has single tickets. That is, tickets bought in the metro are valid for travel on streetcars, buses, within the first zone on RER trains, as well as on the Montmartre funicular. Passengers must keep them until the end of the trip. If a passenger fails to show the ticket to the controller, the latter will issue a fine. In addition, one cannot exit through the turnstile at the end of the ride without a ticket.

.

Basic single-use “tiket+” tickets are sold in vending machines, ticket offices, railway and bus stations, buses, streetcars, and tobacco kiosks. Some tiket+ vending machines accept cash, while others sell tickets by credit card only. Conveniently, the ticket vending machines offer English, German or Italian language options in addition to French.

.

Single tickets are valid for 90 minutes and allow you to make one transfer. Buying 10 such tickets at once or a “cournet” (carnet) for 14.5 euros can save 27% of the total cost. Those who travel by metro several times during the day know how to save even more. They buy cheaper day, week and month passes (season tickets).

.

Tourists who come to Paris for a few days try to buy a tourist card “Paris Pass”. With it, you can visit many museums in Paris for free, get discounts on services, and travel for free on the Paris metro. Paris Pass” cards come in several types and are valid for 2, 4 and 6 days. They are sold in the metro, RER stations, tourist offices, FNAC stores, tobacco and newsstands.

.