Arriving in Paris After the Metro Closes: What Actually Works

When does the metro actually stop?

According to Île-de-France Mobilités, the Paris metro runs from about 5:30am to approximately 1:15am on ordinary weeknights, and about an hour later — to roughly 2:15am — on Friday and Saturday nights. That later Friday/Saturday closing catches out a lot of visitors who assume the last-train time is fixed all week.

There are two full exceptions: New Year's Eve (31 December) and the Fête de la Musique (21 June), when a large part of the network runs continuously through the night. Outside those two dates, once the last train has gone, it is gone — there is no late "sweep" train waiting for stragglers.

What is the Noctilien and how does it work?

Noctilien is the RATP and Île-de-France Mobilités night bus network that takes over once the metro and most RER services stop. Per Île-de-France Mobilités, the network runs from about 12:30am to 5:30am across 48 bus lines, built around five hub stations: Gare de Lyon, Gare de l'Est, Gare Saint-Lazare, Gare Montparnasse, and Place du Châtelet. Lines run in three shapes: loops within Paris, radial lines out to the suburbs, and suburb-to-suburb connections that do not pass through the centre at all.

You do not need a special night ticket. Noctilien accepts Navigo Day, Week, Month, and Annual passes, the Paris Visite tourist pass, and standard single t+ tickets — but each transfer between Noctilien buses needs its own validation, so do not assume one tap covers a multi-bus journey the way some daytime transfers do.

The practical limitation is frequency and directness: Noctilien lines run far less often than daytime buses, often every 30-60 minutes, and a cross-town trip may need a change at one of the five hub stations. Before you commit to a Noctilien route at 2am, check whether your destination needs one bus or several, since a single missed connection at a quiet hub can mean a long, cold wait.

Do the airports have their own night buses?

Yes, both CDG and Orly keep a night link running after the RER stops. At CDG, the Noctilien lines N143 and N140 connect the terminals to Gare de l'Est, according to Paris Aéroport. At Orly, four lines — N22, N31, N131, and N139 — link the airport to Châtelet or Gare de Lyon. These are standard Noctilien fares and passes, not an airport-specific surcharge route.

This is useful for a very early departure or a very late arrival, but treat it as a fallback rather than a primary plan: night bus frequency is lower than the daytime RER B or metro line 14, and a delayed flight can leave you timing a connection you cannot verify from the aircraft.

The table below sets out the two airport night links.

How does a taxi's price change at night?

Official Paris taxis do not charge one flat metered rate around the clock. The Préfecture de Police sets three tariffs — A, B, and C — that vary by time, day, and zone. Tariff A, the cheapest, applies only in the urban zone (Paris up to and including the ring road) between 10am and 5pm. Tariff B applies in that same urban zone from 5pm to 10am, all day Sunday, and all day on public holidays, as well as in the surrounding suburban zone during the daytime. Tariff C, the most expensive per kilometre, applies in the urban zone from midnight to 7am on Sundays and holidays, in the suburban zone at night and on Sundays/holidays, and everywhere beyond the suburban zone regardless of time.

In practice, this means a taxi ride taken late in the evening or overnight is billed under Tariff B or C rather than the cheaper daytime Tariff A, so the per-kilometre and per-hour rates are higher than they would be for the same trip at 2pm. A EUR 8 minimum fare applies regardless of tariff, and a EUR 3 pickup charge is added on top of the metered amount.

Is it reasonable to wait at the airport for the first train?

Sometimes, yes. If you land at CDG or Orly in the small hours and your hotel check-in does not open until morning anyway, waiting in a terminal for the RER B, metro line 14, or Orlyval to restart can be more comfortable and cheaper than paying for a partial hotel night or a long night-bus journey with transfers. Both CDG and Orly have areas that stay open or accessible overnight, though comfort varies by terminal and facilities can be limited between very late and very early hours.

Waiting makes less sense if you have a same-day commitment in the city, if your terminal's overnight seating is genuinely full or closed off, or if a direct Noctilien line or a taxi gets you to a booked bed within a reasonable fare. Weigh the wait against what a few hours actually cost you elsewhere, rather than defaulting to either option automatically.

Before you rely on a night connection

Confirm the day of the week before you plan around a specific last-train time, since Friday and Saturday nights run later than the rest of the week. If your route needs more than one Noctilien connection, build in slack for a missed transfer, and if you end up choosing a taxi, expect the night tariff rather than the daytime rate you may have seen quoted elsewhere.