Metro Lines Explained
The metro has 16 lines identifiable by number, color, and end-of-line names. For instance, line 4 is magenta and is called "Porte de Cligancourt/Porte d'Orléans" because it runs from Porte d'Orléans at the south tip of Paris to Porte de Clignancourt in the north.
Always determine which direction you need to go relative to the line's endpoints. If you are at Chatelet and need to get to Odeon, you'd look at the map and see that Odeon is located south of Chatelet, toward Porte d'Orléans. This is important because once you take the metro in one direction, it's impossible to change directions without exiting the turnstile and going through again. This is costly if you have single tickets.
Hours
The metro runs Mon.-Thurs. and Sun. from 5:30 a.m. to 1:15 a.m., and Fri.-Sat. from 5:30 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. Arrive at the station approx. 30 minutes before closing, as last trains depart at different times depending on the station.
Major Paris Metro Lines
- Line 1: Stops include Louvre, Champs-Elysées, Chatelet, Bastille.
- Line 2: Stops include Anvers (Sacre Coeur), Gare du Nord, Champs-Elysées, Père-Lachaise
- Line 3: Stops include St. Lazare, République, Père-Lachaise
- Line 4: Stops include Chatelet, St. Michel, Montparnasse.
- Line 5: Stops include Gare d'Austerlitz, Bastille, Place d'Italie
- Line 6: Stops include Eiffel Tower, Montparnasse, Champs-Elysees.
- Line 7: Stops include Place d'Italie, Louvre, Opera
- Line 8: Stops include Invalides, Opéra, Bastille
- Line 9: Stops include Republique and Grands Magasins
- Line 10: Stops include the Sorbonne, Gare d'Austerlitz
- Line 11: Stops include Chatelet, Republique.
- Line 12: Stops include Abbesses (Montmartre), Grands Magasins, Montparnasse
- Line 13: Stops include Invalides, St. Lazare
- Line 14: Stops include Chatelet, Gare de Lyon, Bibliothèque Nationale.
