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Metro: Dozens of Stations Closed This Weekend, What Are Your Options?

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The Editor

© Le Bonbon / DR

Heads up, dear travelers, we need to warn you—the weekend is shaping up to be hectic on Paris public transportation. Twenty-five stations will be closed Friday and Saturday for the Pope's visit to the capital, no less! Here are a few tips to help you get through it!

A truly rare event is shaping up in the capital. In two days, Pope Leo XIV will arrive in the city to carry out a packed schedule. A visit to UNESCO, vespers at Notre-Dame, strolls along the Left Bank, a vigil at the Stade de France, and a grand finale with a massive mass on Place de la Concorde. And to ensure the safety of the Holy Father during all these events—as well as that of everyone who wishes to attend—the Paris police prefecture pulled out all the stops, closing no fewer than 25 metro stations over the two days.


11 lines in chaos

A few days ago, the RATP announced no fewer than 11 stations closed on Friday, September 25, po

to ensure the smooth running of the UNESCO visit, but also the procession of the popemobile through the 5th and 6th arrondissements of the capital. As a reminder, the stops Alma-Marceau and Iéna (line 9) will be inaccessible from 9am, Notre-Dame-des-Champs (line 12), Vavin (line 4), Saint-Placide (line 4), Port-Royal (RER B), Luxembourg (RER B), Saint-Michel (line 4, RER B and RER C) and Cité (line 4) will be closed from 10am, and the stations Varenne (line 13), Ségur (line 10), Saint-François-Xavier (line 13) and Duroc (lines 10 and 13) will be closed from 12pm to 6pm.

But here's the thing, as if things weren't already complicated enough, around ten additional closures have just been added to ensure the smooth running of the mass on Saturday, September 26th. So, from the opening of service at 5:30 a.m., you can cross off Alma-Marceau and Iéna (line 9), Pont de l'Alma (RER C), Charles de Gaulle-Étoile (lines 1, 2, 6 and RER A), Concorde (lines 1, 8 and 12), Champs-Élysées-Clemenceau (lines 1 and 13), Franklin D. Roosevelt (lines 1 and 9), Kléber and Boissière (line 6), and George V, Tuileries and Argentine (line 1). At 12 p.m., the stations Ternes (line 2) and Saint-Philippe du Roule (line 9) will be added. Not to mention Saint-Michel and République, closed for entirely different reasons.


Some backup options?

To deal with these hiccups, you have a few alternatives at hand. The first is to steer clear of the spots frequented by the head of the Catholic Church, namely around Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Saint-Michel on Friday, and around Concorde on Saturday. If you don't have a choice, you can try to fall back on a few buses (but watch out, traffic will be heavily impacted too), or failing that, a bike or your own two feet — because really, you're often your own best resource.

And if you'd like to attend mass on Saturday, September 25th, Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) has published a list of recommended stations, including Haussmann-Saint-Lazare (lines 3, 9, 12, 13, 14 and RER E), Auber and Opéra (lines 3, 7, 8 and RER A), Châtelet-les-Halles (lines 1, 4, 7, 11, 14, RER A, B and D), Assemblée nationale (line 12), Madeleine (lines 8, 12 and 14), Invalides (lines 8, 13 and RER C), Miromesnil (lines 9 and 13), Trocadéro (lines 6 and 9) and Porte Maillot (line 1, RER C and E).