Métro: Metro (short for the Metropolitan), the Paris subway system
RER: The Paris regional railroad system
Navigo: the frequent rider card used on the Paris Metro...the equivalent of the DC Metro's Metro Card
carnet: a set/book ...usually of 10. Metro tickets are sold in a carnet of 10
ligne: line
pardon: pardon me
attention: attention
la porte: the door
Paris has one of the world's great subway systems -and one of the world's oldest. It has 14 main lines and two smaller ones serving 245 stations. Wikipedia says that after Moscow's subway system, Paris' Metro serves more people than any other in Europe. 4.5 million people ride the subway system daily.
The Métro was 110 years old in 2010. As a result, it is VERY unfriendly to anyone with mobility issues such as the handicapped. While some stations have escalators, most of the stations are accessible only via stairs. Many of the larger stations are huge mazes of tunnels with white tile walls. Many of the tunnels also include stairs. They can be a challenge to navigate at first. In some of the larger stations there are small shops, vendors, and musicians down in the tunnels. The Metro does offer a map and guide to navigating the subway with mobility issues. Some of the stations do have elevators, but like other cities' systems, the elevators seem to be closed for repairs often.
The 14 lines are both numbered as well as have specific colors. With a number of illiterate people visiting or working in the city, the colors are designed to allow people who cannot read to identify the line they need.
The Metro tends to be hot, humid, and while not exactly dirty it is...worn. Some of the major lines are often packed with people. The doors usually do not open by themselves. You have to lift a lever on the door to pop it open. Unlike in DC where people get up usually after the train stops, Parisians usually line up before the train stops. The stops are relatively short and when the doors close, the train leaves -even if your bag or leg is stuck in the door! You have to be pretty quick on the Metro.
There are these little drop-down seats by the doors. You can sit there, but it is the custom to rise to make room if the car gets full. There are quite a few Metro customs I've observed. The polite Parisians usually say pardon (the French word I use the most from passing people in my walks) as a way to say "please move, I need to get out" or when you bump into someone. If someone's bag is poking you in the eye, the stronger word is attention which equates to "watch out!" If someone is blocking the door, then there is the rare, irritated exclamation: la porte! ha
Metro tickets sell usually in a set or carnet of 10. They are about the size and shape of half a piece of long, flat chewing gum. Frequent users have a Navigo card that you just flash over the entrance gates to get them to open. I bought a Navigo when I arrived and recommend it for longer or frequent visits. The carnet tickets are confusing to me. As someone with limited French, I found it difficult to buy tickets via the automated machines. I am also spoiled by DC's own Metro system where your ticket is reused until exhausted of funds and where the remaining balance is stamped on the ticket. The Paris Metro tickets do not tell you if they have been used or how much money you have left on them. Ahhh, but the Navigo is so much easier. The Metro also sells special tourist passes.
As well as the Metro, there are two other train systems interwoven into the Paris rail transport system. The Metro connects to the Grande Ligne train stations such as Gare du Nord, Gare du l'Est, etc. where you get long distance trains to other cities or countries. The RER is a second rail system serving the Paris suburbs and nearby surrounding cities. Within Paris, the RER trains also serve as part of the subway system serving some particular stations such as the one for the Orsay Museum.
While it can be crowded and hot, the Paris Metro provides one of the densest subways networks in the world. So, you are usually not very far from a station. It unfortunately usually closes about 12:30am, so you cannot stay out late without using a taxi or walking.
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