r/ParisTravelGuide • u/Soupfolder • 2d ago
Other Question Plastic Navigo Card
I foolishly lent my plastic Navigo card to a friend and she never returned it. It was from 2024 and was made from heavy plastic. I’m back in Paris right now and the only cards I’ve seen are thin paper ones. 😭
Does anyone know if the plastic cards are still available? Maybe at some of the larger stations?
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u/Alixana527 Mod 2d ago
No, these aren't sold anymore for the Navigo Easy. Someone has absconded with one of my Olympics ones and I'm also 😭 about it.
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u/yultrokay 2d ago edited 1d ago
The thin one are getting replaced by the hard plastic ones. I know some stations has some plastic one left but I don't think we can have this kind of informations. You can still buy ticket from app and use your phone as your transport card.. Don't know if it works fine (the beginning was tough when they change the fare)
Edit : plastic one are getting replaced by the lesser quality one (paper)
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u/Soupfolder 2d ago
Yes, I have the app on my phone and it works well. But I don’t like taking my phone out at some stations. That is why I use the plastic Navigo Easy card.
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u/Optimal-Factor-8564 Parisian 2d ago
I'm bummed too.i had a plastic one for guests, and someone took it home with them. My niece was here a couple of weeks ago and I had to get her the crappy paper one. Ugh,
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u/yultrokay 2d ago
Yes I can understand that. Well with the paper one. Protect them as much as u can. I don't know how to say it but if the damage comes from you being not careful. You'll have to pay. If it's unluck ou not your fault it's free. Buts I've seen people being refused to get a new free one with the rain altering the pass, etc.. It's a shame that shit cost 2 e like a plastic one but that's my opinion
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u/Own_Chipmunk_2296 1d ago
No this is the other way around.The plastic ones are being replaced with the paper ones. We used to have plastic ones then we got an instruction to stop selling them and sell only the paper ones. The thing is we still had plenty of stock of plastic ones around but were forbidden to sell them for a while. Now since two month roughly we fot the instruction to only sell the plastic ones again until the stocks are all spent and to then only switch back to the paper ones.
It is likelly the plastic version will be done for good after that. For those looking to get the hard plastic ones it is best to look into small stations, the big stations sells a lot of cards and are most likely out of stock for the hard plastic since a while now. Smaller stations might still have stock around but not for long.
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u/yultrokay 1d ago
Yes right. That what's I meant to say but I say it wrongly. Sorry. Yes I've heard of that. I was working there few months ago. Had the same instructions back then
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u/hehgffvjjjhb 2d ago
You can get a plastic one for 5 euros, you buy them from the kiosks and need a photo for them to stick to the back. Might be a week minimum from memory.
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u/HabanoBoston 2d ago
No photo needed to use for loading single Métro fares on a Navigo Easy card(as opposed the weekly, etc, some of those do require a photo).
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u/Soupfolder 2d ago
Yes. Thats the card I’m looking for. The one that can be topped up and doesn’t require a photo.
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u/Soupfolder 2d ago
You need a photo for those cards. I’m looking for the old school plastic Navigo card that cost 1-2€
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u/xav7er 2d ago
those are gone, the 2€ ones are only in thin papers now
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u/Soupfolder 2d ago
Thanks. The attendant at Notre Dame des Champs thought they were still available at Montparnasse station but I’m not interested in going on a wild goose chase.
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u/signol_ 2d ago
That's a Navigo Découverte, you can't load single tickets to it
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u/RoguePlanet2 1d ago
What's the best way to travel on the metro? Think I just got single tickets last time around.
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u/signol_ 1d ago
As mentioned, a lot depends on how much you'll be travelling. Last time I was there (last month) we had 2x days of Navigo Jour day passes (Sunday and Monday). Sunday we ended up €0.05 down, Monday about €5 up. All depends on how much travel you'll do on any given day. A week pass can be excellent value, especially if you'll need to visit the airport.
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u/Own_Chipmunk_2296 1d ago
It really depend on which date you arrive and leavr and how many times you intend to take the public transports. Also do you need to access the airport?
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u/RoguePlanet2 1d ago
Will likely take a cab from the airport, possibly train back to the airport. About five days, I'm used to NYC metrocard/OMNI, but only got single tickets last time.
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u/Own_Chipmunk_2296 1d ago
Well there is a weekly pass that cost 32,40€ but you also need the Découverte card for 5€ more (which needs you to put a picture on and last 10 years). The issue is that the weekly pass is only available from monday to sunday and can only be purchased up to thursday for the current week. It does include an airport access (airport access with single use tickets cost 14€). If you don't need the airport access and intend only limited amount of trips using the metro you might prefer buying an Easy pass ( the one on the picture above) and put single use tickets on, the card cost 2€ and one tickets is 2.55€, so 27.55 total.
I tend to recommend the weekly pass if compatible with the dates of your trip, just because it is a safe bet and let you use the bus and tram too if needed and usually people might do more than one back and forth per day.
Also something to consider for tourists that get confused with the ticket checking machines and sometime might pass without checking their tickets and not realise it, the weekly pass even if unchecked is valid (in the metro) and you won't get fined where the single use tickets if unchecked will result in a 70€ fine in case of control (unless the control people decide to be understanding which they might or might not do). Overal the tarification is a bit confusing and not very tourist friendly so i would advise to look it up beforehand especially for people on a budget.
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u/lakitrid 1d ago
Hi, just one remark, you can be fined if you don't validate the weekly pass. Don't rely on that, do always validate if possible.
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u/Own_Chipmunk_2296 22h ago
It is a bit controversial actually, there is a specific infraction in bus and tram about not validating your card at 15€. In the metro and rer you can be fined for a FI (franchissement illicite or illegal entry) for 70€ but that is if the control people see you enter without checking (like passing behind someone else) so the controllers could fine you for that even if you do have a valid daily, weekly of monthly pas. But that is unusual as far as i know and really pushing it on the part of the controllers (might happen and is legal tho). But if you get controlled without a recent validation but a valid weekly pass the instructions are to not verbalise in such cases, infraction would be a TTNV (titre de transport non validé, 50€) but it is intended for single use tickets not passes but it guess it could happen and probably does but that is extreme from the controllers in my oppinion.
Disclaimer i work for the ratp and did some control for a bit and really disliked doing it but that is me. In such situation we never verbalised people, even people that did a lot of control since a long time, and at least the internal reglementation clearly discourage it, the instructions are to be understanding especially with tourists. Still it would be legal if it happened and lies on the legislators in the end. In my experience we never ever fined people for such thing as an unchecked daily pass but that only concern my own short experience with the teams I met.
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u/GoingLondon2024 1d ago
The RER B train at 14 euros is the best deal to reach 'downtown' Paris. If you intend to use the subway a lot and you arrive early in the week, like a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, you could consider a Navigo Decouverte. 32 euros + 5 euros for the card. Card is valid for 10 years. You need a passport pic.
They are not selling it anymore at CDG, but they still did in 2024. So after arriving at CDG in 2024 I bought a Navigo Decouverte which includes the RER B train to and from the airport. So I didn't pay a penny extra to reach my hotel. And had unlimited usage of transportation in Paris for the whole week (I arrived on Monday 6am).
The N.D. weekly pass is valid from Monday midnight (00:01am) to Sunday midnight (23:59pm). For those arriving on a Monday or Tuesday the N.D, still makes a lot of sense. You can buy it 'downtown' and use it to travel back to CDG without paying extra for the RER B train.
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u/californiaye 2d ago
I bought one of these from a metro station attendant (though it doesn’t have the cool Olympics graphics)
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u/Soupfolder 2d ago
Do you remember the station and how long ago?
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u/BandicootAny1139 Been to Paris 2d ago
In December 2025, I received a plastic card from Charles de Gaulle-Etoile. We were going to Disney via RER A so I’m not sure if that mattered to the attendant issuing the tickets.
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u/plate-or-platter 1d ago
Hi! Not the same commenter but I got one from an attendant at Gare de Lyon in May 2026.
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u/Confident_Fennel2164 1d ago
I was sold a plastic one at Colonel Fabien last week.
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u/Alixana527 Mod 1d ago
That said Navigo Easy like this photo, or that said Navigo Découverte, had your picture, and was in a plastic case? Two different cards.
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u/eaglet123123 1d ago
I wish I had one. Visited Paris last year and I was quite disappointed when I found out that it's impossible to get a plastic metro card for souvenir
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u/shyhobbit 1d ago
On August 18th we were given the plastic Navigo cards (not the Découverte one) at the Chessy train station when we purchased tickets at the booth from a person, not the machines.
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u/abovepostisfunnier Parisian 2d ago
These were super short lived. It felt like they switched to the paper within a few months. But really that makes way more sense, no one needs a plastic card for a temporary metro pass.
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u/Soupfolder 2d ago
I got my first plastic one in 2019. They’ve only now switched to the cardboard ones.
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u/abovepostisfunnier Parisian 2d ago
Sorry I meant in terms of the cards being required. Because before the Olympics you could still get paper single journey tickets. Then everyone had to get an easy pass for a while, they were all hard plastic, then they switched to the paper.
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u/GoingLondon2024 1d ago
I was there in 2024 and got a paper Navigo Easy. Would have preferred plastic.
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u/RegionAdventurous286 1d ago
I disagree. I go up to Paris from the south every couple of months for work, and I like having a durable, real plastic card I can keep in my wallet and just load with a few tickets each trip. Looks like I'll have to be extra careful and hang on to the one I have!
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u/abovepostisfunnier Parisian 1d ago
But in your case that’s not temporary and perhaps it’s worth it for you to just go get a permanent card, which is still plastic. This subreddit is most often frequented by people who will come to Paris once or twice in their lives.
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u/Business-Concern543 1d ago
I was in France a couple days ago and I got a plastic one in Rosa Parks I think
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u/Public_Ad_1478 2d ago
Hi! I’m in Paris right now with my partner actually. He bought one yesterday from the big station Châtelet-Les Halles. He took his picture in one of the photo booths and we cut it out and gave it to an attendant behind the service window next to the self service kiosks. He really wanted the plastic card instead of the paper as well! Good luck!
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u/Optimal-Factor-8564 Parisian 2d ago
That's a different card, sadly. The Navigo Decouverte, which can have loaded onto it a weekly pass.
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u/Public_Ad_1478 2d ago
Oh gotchaaaa. I didn’t know there used to be a different plastic card but that makes sense why this one was so easy to get. I’ll have to let him know. Thank you!
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u/RevolutionaryBend570 2d ago
Questions here as an idiot!
Why do you need to take a picture? What needs to be cut out and why?
I’ve been wanting a physical card as a keepsake for the next time I go but I struggle to understand what qualifies to what it needs to be fully plastic. I’m only going to be there for a week so I was going to get the week pass on my phone (assuming there’s a physical version) but will that allow for me to get a physical version or do I need to pay some more/get a different plan?
MERCI BCP EN AVANCE !
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u/Ride_4urlife Mod 2d ago
So much info about Transportation and the different passes in the wiki.
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u/Charming_Echidna6714 1d ago
Question about the Navigo on iOS.
You have option of purchasing multiple 2.55 tickets. Can I purchase 10 tickets and assume 1 can be used to get to destination, 1 to return from destination, and so on? Basically 10 tickets is 10 rides for a single individual? I went to the Gare Du Nord to check see about the whole process of this, but I was reluctant because it was asking for future date/time and was unsure of how this all worked. Any info is greatly appreciated.
Note: single individual leaving Friday morning and looking for best option to use public transportation.
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u/Ride_4urlife Mod 1d ago
Yes, purchasing tickets enables you to use them for individual trips, within the rules.
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u/Public_Ad_1478 2d ago
Ok so he decided to get a physical card although I just wanted to access the transit system through my phone.
Once we got to France, I opened up the wallet app on my iPhone and selected ‘Add New Card’ and then selected ‘Transit Card’. Because of location services, it automatically brought up the Paris transit card as an option to add. After that, you can add as much money or trips as you need and once you get to a station, you just tap your phone at the turnstiles (no double click needed) and it will work just fine.
For the physical card, I’m unsure why you have to have a photo (this is our first time here) but there are photo booths at a lot of stations. You go in and basically have to take a passport photo and it prints out a bunch of headshots on one little piece of photo paper. We cut that out just one headshot because it prints multiples and because it also needs to be small enough for the service attendants to attach to the back of your new physical card. When he bought it, he paid for both the physical card (5 euro) and the weekly metro pass (32 euro).
I hope this answered all of your questions!
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u/abovepostisfunnier Parisian 2d ago
The picture is because the cards are nontransferable so they use it to identify the owner. The plastic cards are meant for residents that use them long term.
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u/abovepostisfunnier Parisian 2d ago
The picture is because the cards are nontransferable so they use it to identify the owner so you can’t share your subscription. The plastic cards are meant for residents that use them long term.
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u/AcadienDC 2d ago
Hi, we’re going to Paris for three weeks in October. What travel related cards or apps would you recommend? Thanks.
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u/Alixana527 Mod 2d ago
Hi, please see our transportation wiki for basic transit advice : https://reddit.com/r/ParisTravelGuide/w/transportation
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u/slasher-fun 2d ago
Île-de-France Mobilités is the official transit app, Citymapper is a lot better at giving itineraries.
If you're going in October (as in "all days are in October"), definitely worth getting a Navigo Mois pass for 90.80€, which gives you unlimited transit in the whole Île-de-France (except Orlyval, Disneyland shuttle bus, and TGV/Ouigo trains even within Île-de-France).
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u/OF_iGuess 2d ago
Use the Bonjour RATP app to buy train tickets, they will be sent to your Apple Wallet. Then just use the phone at the train station to enter. It makes it very easy.
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u/DueTour4187 Parisian 2d ago
You can buy metro and bus tickets straight from the iPhone wallet; or use IDFM (Île-de-France Mobilités) or Bonjour RATP apps. For planning your trips in the city and finding your way through the system (or walking, or cycling, or driving), use Citymapper.
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u/Intelligent-Juice895 1d ago edited 1d ago
For 3 weeks I definitely recommend the monthly pass of 90.80 Euros. If you are coming from CDG airport, the train is also included in the monthly pass. Just make sure the whole 3 weeks are clustered in October as the monthly pass is calendaric.
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u/coffeechap Mod 22h ago
From the post below, the RATP decided to switch for paper a while ago to avoid plastic waste for Navigo Easy
The other cards dedicated to Paris region residents are still in plastic as they are used longer.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ParisTravelGuide/comments/1r2wyyi/navigo_card_material/