Can I use my metro card on the bus in Paris?

Bus and tramway On the bus, you use the same ticket as on the metro, with no limit on distance (including the suburbs), except on certain Noctilien lines, the Orlybus and the Roissybus.



Yes, you can use your metro card on the bus in Paris, but the rules depend on which specific "card" you hold. If you have a Navigo Découverte or a standard Navigo pass loaded with a "Week" or "Month" subscription, it covers all RATP and Transilien transport, including the Metro, RER (within zones), Buses, and Trams. If you are using the newer "Navigo Liberté +" (a pay-as-you-go service), you can move seamlessly between the Metro and RER, but a transfer from the Metro to a Bus currently requires a separate validation/charge, though the price is discounted (around €1.64 for the bus vs €2.04 for the metro as of 2026). If you have a "Navigo Easy" card, you can load it with "Ticket t+" digital packs; these allow for a single journey on the bus or a transfer between buses and trams within 90 minutes, but they do not allow a transfer between a bus and the Metro on the same ticket. It is important to remember that you must always validate your card upon boarding the bus using the purple sensors, even if you just came from the Metro, to avoid a fine from transport inspectors.

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Buy a bus ticket at any métro station, some newsstands, or a tabac (tobacco store). You can also buy them on the bus, but those cannot be used for transfers. Be sure to punch your ticket in the machine beside the driver when you board and keep your punched ticket throughout the trip.

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Yes, tap water in Paris is perfectly safe to drink and is readily available wherever you go, even at public water fountains. As long as taps aren't labeled eau non potable—meaning “not for drinking” in French—everything else is potable. In fact, drinking water from the fountains of Paris has been encouraged.

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Zones 1-3 allow you to travel within the city of Paris, i.e. within the limits marked in yellow on the map. With zones 4-5, you can travel throughout the Greater Paris region, and venture even further, to Disneyland Paris, for example, or to Versailles and its chateau, as well as to the Paris airports.

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In the bus network, tickets are valid for 90 minutes between the first and last validation, including one or several transfers. T+ tickets must be validated each time you board a bus or tram. Bus drivers also sell tickets, but these are only valid for a single trip, without transfers.

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For journeys in the centre of Paris, a €1.90 t+ ticket can be used for a single trip in zones 1 and 2 on the metro, bus, RER or tram. It's usually worth buying a carnet of 10 for €16.90. For longer journeys, you can pick up point-to-point tickets or set-fare one-way tickets to and from the airports.

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Single tickets (t+ ticket) and carnets or books of ten tickets. The RATP run the Metro, RER, buses and trams within Paris and a single ticket can be used on any of the four modes for a single journey.

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