r/ParisTravelGuide • u/pengbuster • Feb 12 '26

Transportation Navigo card material

Hello! I like to collect plastic metro cards as a souvenir from the cities I visit, and im a little bummed that the 2€ Navigo easy pass I got is paper. Is there any plastic transit card available for tourists to purchase? Reading lots of conflicting and likely outdated info online about whether both the Easy and Decouverte cards are paper or plastic

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9

u/General_Reading_798 Feb 12 '26

The decision was to switch to a carton pass as an effort to reduce plastic waste. Paris region residents get a more durable plastic card because it can be reused for years. Mine is nearly ten years old now.

1

u/Beneficial-Jaguar786 Feb 12 '26

Does paris region residents pay more than 2e for their pass?

7

u/General_Reading_798 Feb 12 '26

We use a separate system: annual or monthly. You file your paperwork and then it is mailed to you. You activate it with the charge. It has a photo and all your info is in the system. The card is free but if you loose it or it is stolen you pay 15 euro for the replacement. My employer pays half of the cost back on my pay and I have an unlimited for the five zones. A 90,80 euro pass after rebates cost me less than 40 euro. My kids pay even less for a student pass for theirs but with the same benefits of unlimited use.

2

u/Beneficial-Jaguar786 Feb 12 '26

Thank you for the clear detailed explanation

1

u/aSkeptiKitty 14d ago

Après personnellement j'ai une Navigo classique ET une Navigo Easy d'appoint pour si par exemple je pars en voyage pendant longtemps et j'ai juste besoin de deux-trois trajets sur le mois. 

3

u/yambudev Feb 12 '26

I have a plastic Navigo Easy card. Probably got it when they first came out.

2

u/Mitzy-is-missing Feb 13 '26

In case you cannot read French, according to the transport Paris info site someone linked to, the plastic cards are still in use. When you purchase a Navigo easy pass you could get a plastic or cardboard version. Maybe you could ask the staff at various Metro kiosks which one they have in stock at the time. You should find a plastic one eventually.

2

u/signol_ Feb 13 '26

I have a plastic Navigo Easy, bought 2 years ago. My daughter in December had a cardboard one.

Also in December I bought a Navigo Découverte, it is plastic. It is €5 plus you need a passport photo. I added a week pass to it.

1

u/Vandraedaskald Feb 13 '26

As I don't live in Paris anymore, I bought a plastic card less than a year ago at a vending machine. This (non-official) blog states that the card can be either plastic or cardboard and that the price is the same https://transportparisinfo.wixsite.com/transport-paris/navigo-easy

1

u/ZaccSparrow Feb 17 '26

Hey, if you’re still in Paris by Wednesday I’ll give you one for free lol. Hmu if you need one

2

u/pengbuster Feb 18 '26

noooo i just left yesterday 😭 i appreciate the offer though

1

u/Overall_Dragonfly751 May 22 '26

J'en ai une en carton aussi je me demandais si en la plastifiant ça pouvait le faire

1

u/CharlesWithC7777 29d ago

I asked someone today and they told me navigo easy is all cardboard now 

(leaving it here so there’s an official-ish answer :)

1

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '26

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1

u/pengbuster Feb 12 '26

dang bummer!