Olympics: High Metro Fares and the Paris 2024 Pass

After announcing plans to make public transportation free during the games, the city of Paris has gone the other way and made it more expensive. By a lot. To make matters worse, the daily, weekly, and Paris Visite passes you may be familiar with won’t be available during that time. Instead, your only two options as a visitor will be single tickets or the new Paris 2024 Pass.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

Prices from July 20 – September 8

*only available on a Navigo pass

The Paris 2024 Pass is available for 1-7 days and as you can see, the more days you buy, the cheaper it gets. Although ‘cheap’ doesn’t really apply here, as 7 days with the Paris 2024 Pass costs almost as much as a monthly pass. And there are no half price fares for children for this kind of ticket either. Ugh.

To get a carnet or a Paris 2024 pass, you either need to buy a Navigo Easy pass (which will cost you another 2 euros), which is a reloadable ticket the size of a credit card that you can load with the number of tickets or days you want. You can either do this at the ticket window in almost every metro station, or you can order it online and have it sent to your home.

Load up if you can

You can also use the Île-de-France Mobilités app to buy tickets. Probably the best option, though, is to download the Transport Public Paris 2024 app, which was created specifically for the Olympics and is frankly quite useful (download for Android or iPhone). Not only can you buy your tickets directly from the app, but you’ll also find maps, real-time updates, itineraries, and more. It’s easy to navigate and helpful for getting around Paris.

If you happen to be in Paris before July 20, it would be smart to load up your Navigo Easy with single tickets at half the price you’ll pay during the Olympics. Frustratingly, the stock-up limit is 30 tickets, but you can always get a second Navigo Easy if you feel you need more.

Escape the chaos with our Olympic Guide

15 million tourists are expected to visit Paris for the games, so if you think the city is crowded during normal times, brace yourself. Tourist traps, sorry, we meant to write cafes, restaurants and other venues in the center and around the competition sites are likely to be overpriced and packed. But where should you go if you don’t want to drown in a sea of other tourists, when on top of that many businesses – despite the ongoing Olympics – close their doors during the summer?

Fear not, we’ve selected 30 great non-touristy places for you to experience your best Paris during this exciting, once-in-a-lifetime period. Click here to get Le Olympic Guide.