Buses in Paris

City buses in Paris are the perfect way to see the city while getting to your destination. More than 60 daytime lines and more than 30 nighttime ones, for a service that runs almost 24/7.

City buses are another popular means of transport in Paris, thanks to the numerous lines available and wide-reaching network. Traffic permitting, the service is reliable and fast. The biggest advantage that buses have is that they are above ground. This means you’ll be able to see the city as you travel from one point to the other.

To this purpose, more than ten bus lines have been selected as scenic lines, ideal to get acquainted with Paris’ most well-known and beautiful monuments. We particularly recommend bus lines 24, 30, 48, 69, 82, and 95, which all follow marvellous itineraries.

Bus driving on the streets of Paris
Author: Stephen Rees. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The bus network comprises daytime and nighttime lines, which manage to provide a nearly non-stop service. You probably won’t rely solely on buses, but these characteristics make them a great form of transport to integrate with the Métro and RER services.

Our recommendations

If you’re in a hurry to get somewhere, it’s best to avoid buses during rush hour. They tend to get stuck in traffic. Instead, use them to get a nice view of the city’s most scenic areas.

Tickets & passes

Paris buses accept a variety of tickets, often valid for other means of transport in the city. You just need to choose which one is right for you.

Children discounts

Children under the age of 3 ride for free, and children aged 4-9 often have discounts.
Ticket
Type
Zones
Valid for
Ticket T+ tickets Titre à Bord SMS Carte Mobilis Paris Visite Navigo Découverte
Type Single ticket Virtual single ticket One-day travel pass Multi-day pass Weekly or monthly pass
Zones Zone 1 All zones available All zones available All zones available All zones available
Valid for Métro, RER, buses, tramways, and funicular Buses Métro, RER, buses, tramways, and funicular Métro, RER, buses, tramways, and funicular Métro, RER, buses, tramways, and funicular
  • T+ tickets are your basic one-way single tickets. Once you validate your ticket on a bus, it will be valid for 90 minutes. You can buy T+ tickets as singles (€1.90) or in a contactless packet (carnet) of 10 (€14.90). If you don’t have a ticket, you can get one directly on the bus for €2.00. A ticket bought on board does not allow for transfers on any other means of transport.The 10 T+ packets need to be loaded on a Navigo Easy Pass, which you will need to get with a one-time purchase (€2.00). Children between 4 and 9 have reduced fares on the 10 T+ ticket packets (€7.45). If you have doubts about the T+ tickets, you can check out our dedicated article.
  • The Titre à Bord SMS is an SMS bus ticket you can get on the spot. When you see your bus approaching, you’ll have to send an SMS with the word Bus+n° of your bus line to the phone number +33 93100. For example, if you are taking bus 51, text Bus51. You’ll receive an SMS that you can show as you would a ticket. The cost (€2.00) will be deducted from your phone bill.
  • The Carte Mobilis is a single-day limitless pass. It comes in different zone availabilities, but the one you’re most likely to use is the Zone 1-2 (central area), which costs €7.50.
  • The Paris Visite is a multi-day pass, frequently used by tourists since it also offers discounts on museums and tours. These passes come in different duration options (1, 2, 3, or 5 days) and different zone validities, since they are used not only for buses, but also RER trains, Métro, tramways and funicular. You’ll most likely only need the 1-3 Central Paris zone option. Discounts apply for children aged 4-9. If you want to know more about the Paris Visite pass, you can read our dedicated article.
  • Finally, the Navigo Découverte is a weekly or monthly pass with no zone limitations. It requires separate purchase of the card (€5.00) and costs either €22.80 (weekly) or €75.20 (monthly). The weekly ticket is valid strictly from Monday to Sunday, regardless of which day you purchased it. Starting Friday, Navigo Découverte passes for the current week are no longer sold, and you can only buy them for the following week. If you want to learn more about the know more about the Navigo pass, you can read our dedicated article.

Watch out for the type of card

Navigo Découverte is ideal for visitors in the city, while the regular Navigo is reserved for locals only.

Schedule

As with any other bus network, each line follows its own schedule, so below you’ll find the earliest opening time and the latest closing time.

Keep in mind that a lot of day buses, for example, stop running at 8:30 pm. On Sundays and public holidays, there are significantly fewer buses running. Similarly, frequency also depends on line and time of the day.

Day
Day Buses
Noctilien
Day Opening time Closing time
Day Buses 7:00 am 12:30 am
Noctilien 12:30 am 5:30 am

Things to keep in mind

Helpful tools

The entity that operates the majority of public transport in Paris (including the buses), the RATP has a route planner on its website.

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Introduction
Buses in Paris