The Paris métro, operated by RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens), is the second-busiest subway network in Europe after Moscow with 1.541 billion passengers in 2012. It is also one of the densest transit systems in the world and one of the oldest (the first line opened in 1900). The Paris métro has 303 métro stations, 62 of them offering connections between lines. Here are the Top 10 busiest métro stations in Paris according to 2013 statistics…
The Busiest Métro Stations in Paris
The five busiest métro stations in Paris are those serving train stations: Gare St Lazare, Gare du Nord, Gare de Lyon, Gare Montparnasse, and Gare de l’Est (Paris’ sixth railway station – Gare d’Austerlitz – is ranked 23).
The busiest métro station in Paris is Gare du Nord, serving lines 4 and 5. Situated in the 10th arrondissement, the métro station is connected to one of France’s busiest train stations with trains serving RER lines B, D and E (via Magenta station), Transilien Nord commuter trains, regional trains to the north of France, Thalys high-speed train to Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne, and Eurostar to London.
The first station in the list that does not serve any railway station is République (lines 3, 5, 8, 9 and 11) with 16.6 million passengers. Opened in 1904, it took its name from Place de la République, a large square at the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements.
It is important to note that these statistics do not include traffic from the RER network. The second column shows both traffic (métro + RER).
| Rank | Métro Stations | Passengers 2012 | Traffic with RER |
| 1 | GARE DU NORD | 49,721,477 | 96,148,975 |
| 2 | SAINT-LAZARE | 45,666,162 | no data |
| 3 | GARE DE LYON | 34,971,365 | 79,654,020 |
| 4 | MONTPARNASSE-BIENVENUE | 31,453,903 | |
| 5 | GARE DE L’EST | 20,018,847 | |
| 6 | REPUBLIQUE | 16,670,353 | |
| 7 | BIBLIOTHEQUE | 15,866,423 | |
| 8 | CHATELET | 14,118,575 | |
| 9 | LA DEFENSE | 13,968,642 | 44,212,345 |
| 10 | BASTILLE | 13,187,049 |
The list goes on…
The list of the busiest métro stations ranking 11 to 50:
| Rank | Métro Stations | Passengers 2012 | Traffic with RER |
| 11 | LES HALLES | 12,895,661 | 25,023,652 |
| 12 | HOTEL DE VILLE | 12,778,262 | |
| 13 | OPERA | 12,606,068 | |
| 14 | FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT | 12,582,337 | |
| 15 | PLACE D’ITALIE | 12,110,645 | |
| 16 | BELLEVILLE | 11,650,697 | |
| 17 | NATION | 9,789,555 | 14,028,206 |
| 18 | STRASBOURG-SAINT-DENIS | 9,637,816 | |
| 19 | ESPLANADE DE LA DEFENSE | 9,502,985 | |
| 20 | PALAIS-ROYAL | 9,496,063 | |
| 21 | PORTE D’ORLEANS | 9,463,988 | |
| 22 | PLACE CLICHY | 9,345,445 | |
| 23 | GARE D’AUSTERLITZ | 9,304,834 | 96,148,979 |
| 24 | PORTE DE CLIGNANCOURT | 9,133,819 | |
| 25 | SAINT-MICHEL | 9,119,538 | 16,950,488 |
| 26 | BARBES-ROCHECHOUART | 9,104,266 | |
| 27 | CHARLES DE GAULLE-ETOILE | 9,037,623 | 18,814,385 |
| 28 | PORTE MAILLOT | 8,913,838 | no data |
| 29 | TROCADERO | 8,652,608 | |
| 30 | HAVRE-CAUMARTIN | 8,233,710 | |
| 31 | BIR-HAKEIM | 8,109,322 | 16,117,402 |
| 32 | LA MOTTE-PICQUET-GRENELLE | 8,053,581 | |
| 33 | CHAUSSEE D’ANTIN-LA FAYETTE | 7,850,185 | |
| 34 | STALINGRAD | 7,786,098 | |
| 35 | GAMBETTA | 7,653,199 | |
| 36 | MADELEINE | 7,237,082 | |
| 37 | CRIMEE | 7,206,325 | |
| 38 | GRANDS BOULEVARDS | 7,151,007 | |
| 39 | AUBERVILLIERS-PANTIN-QUATRE CHEMINS | 7,145,774 | |
| 40 | BOBIGNY-PABLO PICASSO | 7,113,513 | |
| 41 | INVALIDES | 7,095,632 | 14,739,542 |
| 42 | CONCORDE | 7,052,932 | |
| 43 | MAIRIE DE CLICHY | 6,944,913 | |
| 44 | CHATEAU ROUGE | 6,914,813 | |
| 45 | OLYMPIADES | 6,906,890 | |
| 46 | PONT DE NEUILLY | 6,752,497 | |
| 47 | ANVERS | 6,650,804 | |
| 48 | PORTE DE VERSAILLES | 6,644,069 | |
| 49 | CHATILLON-MONTROUGE | 6,483,965 | |
| 50 | SAINT-PAUL | 6,443,074 |
If the network of stations of Châtelet-Les Halles was considered as one interchange station (métro stations Châtelet and Les Halles, serving lines 1, 4, 7, 11, 14 and RER A, B and D), the total number of passengers would be of 39,142,227.
The vast network of underground passageways linking métro stations Saint-Lazare, Opéra, Havre-Caumartin, Saint-Augustin to RER E station Haussmann Saint-Lazare and RER A station Auber totalised more than 75,509,487 passengers in 2012 (missing data for RER E station Haussmann Saint-Lazare).
The least busy métro station of Paris
Twelve stations welcome less than one million passengers: Saint-Fargeau, Vaneau, Falguière, Porte d’Auteuil, Danube, Chardon-Lagache, Bolivar, Buttes-Chaumont, Pré-Saint-Gervais, Pelleport. The least busy métro station in Paris is Église d’Auteuil (line 10 westbound service only) in the 16th arrondissement. Situated in the neighbourhood of Auteuil, it was originally named Wilhem, a French musician. In 1921, it took the name of the nearby church as some people were convinced that the station referred to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.
| Rank | Métro Stations | Passengers 2012 |
| 301 | ÉGLISE D’AUTEUIL | 179,009 |
Sources: statistics based on 2013 RATP report, retrieved in May 2015 from Tout-Paris.org.
