“Dirty”, “unstable” and even “dangerous”: the Paris public transport network is not spared from criticism. But if not all Parisians share this opinion, not everyone is in the same boat when it comes to the quality of their daily journeys. Our editorial team of metro users has taken a close look at every section of the metro to reveal THE most objective ranking of all the lines in the Paris network.
RATP’s best (and worst)
To do this, we took into account every possible criterion: ridership, service, safety, speed, temperature, cleanliness, (smell?), then ran them through our infallible state-of-the-art algorithm. The result is this indisputable ranking:
Lines 1 and 6
Although populated by tourists, these two lines certainly deserve their status. Air-conditioning and brand-new stations for one, views of the Eiffel Tower for the other: smoke and mirrors for some, a real daily pleasure for others.
Lines 4 and 14
Bright, fast and pleasant, these two lines are right where they belong. Line 14 deserved its coveted status as one of the finest lines on the Paris metro, but a vile smell of rotten eggs at Pyramides and Madeleine stations disrupted everything, which is a pity…
Lines 2, 3, 5 and 7
Hipsters’ and bobos’ lines, these four routes through most of northern Paris aren’t unpleasant, but they’re no picnic either. Saved either by air-conditioning, low ridership or overhead stations, they just lack that little something that would make the difference, hence their position in the rankings.
Lines 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12
Too short (line 11) or too long (lines 8 and 9), they’re just some of the lines that contribute to our daily metro laziness. It’s hard to decide between lines 10 and 12, the champions of traffic disruption and slowness.
Line 13
In a world where RER B didn’t exist, line 13 would effortlessly win the prize for worst line in the Paris network. Call it “the oven”, call it “Mordor”, the famous line 13, crossing Paris from north to south, has not stolen its terrible reputation. Fans of extreme temperatures and promiscuity, you’ve found your paradise!
What’s your favorite line?