The RER is a huge rail network covering most of the Ile-de-France region. It consists of 5 lines referred to by the letters A, B, C, D and E. Within Paris, the RER operates in more or less the same way as the metro, except that you need to put your ticket through the automatic barriers a second time on the way out. If your RER station has a connection with the metro, you can use the same ticket for the whole journey.

Using the RER, faster than the metro because stops are less frequent, you can cross Paris in 15 minutes. It operates every day, including public holidays, from around 6am to 0.30am. The regularity of the trains is similar to the metro, although you may have to wait longer for trains to certain suburban destinations. Screens on the platforms display the departure times of the next trains, and notice boards indicate the full timetable.

When travelling outwards to the suburbs, once on the platform, make sure to check that the stop you want is indicated on the electronic destination boards. Maps of the network and details of the line can be consulted on the platforms and inside the trains.

To see the map of the RER network, click here Also see “Fares, travel passes and reductions”

Example of a journey on the RER

For example, you want to travel from Place de la Madeleine (“Madeleine” station) to the Château de Versailles (RER C “Versailles-Rive Gauche”). You can purchase your ticket through to Versailles at the ticket offices or machines in “Madeleine” station, at an approximate cost of €2.50 one-way (the price is the same from any station in Paris). Take line 8, direction “Balard”, and get off at “Invalides” station where you change on to the RER, line C, direction “Versailles”, to “Versailles-Rive Gauche”.