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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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.

Things to keep in mind

• The service is significantly slower at rush hour, due to heavy traffic. Avoid getting stuck in traffic for a long time by avoiding these times.
• In Paris buses, you get on at front and get off in the middle or back.
• To open the doors, you have to push the button next to them.
• To request a stop, you have to press the red buttons in the bus.
• Some bus stops have USB ports that you can use to recharge your phone.
• There is a special bus that connects Paris (Opéra) to the Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle Airport (CDG). This bus - called Roissybus - runs from 5:15 am to about 12:30 am. The frequency is 15-20 minutes. The journey takes 60 to 75 mins.
• There is a special bus connecting Paris (Denfert-Rochereau) to the Orly Airport (ORY). This bus - called Orlybus - runs from 5:35 am to midnight. Bus frequency is 8-15 minutes, and the journey takes around 30-40 mins.
• Of course, there are also private transfers between the airports and the city centre. They take significantly less time and they can be reserved in advance. You can book your transfer to or from the Charles De Gaulle Airport here , and to or from the Orly Airport here .

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.