The Paris Métro in eight dates: from Line 1 in 1900 to Line 14 in 2024

Line 1 opened during the 1900 World's Fair. A century later Line 14 became the first driverless line, and in 2024 it grew to Orly airport.

October 3, 2026 · 2 min read

The Paris Métro has 16 lines today, and the dates below are the ones recorded in the line pages of this site.

1900: Lines 1 and 2

Line 1 opened on July 19, 1900, between Porte Maillot and Porte de Vincennes, to carry visitors between the sites of the World's Fair. It reached Château de Vincennes in 1934, Pont de Neuilly in 1937 and La Défense in 1992, and its conversion to driverless operation ran from 2007 to 2011. Line 2 followed on December 13, 1900, between Porte Dauphine and Étoile, and completed its arc across the north of Paris on April 2, 1903.

1904 to 1913: lines of the early network

Line 3 opened on October 19, 1904. Line 5 opened on June 2, 1906, Line 4 on April 21, 1908, Line 7 on November 5, 1910 and Line 8 on July 13, 1913. Line 9 came later, on November 8, 1922.

1910 and 1911: the Nord-Sud company

Two lines were built by a separate company, the Nord-Sud. Its line A opened in 1910 between Porte de Versailles and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, and its line B opened on February 26, 1911 between Saint-Lazare, La Fourche and Porte de Saint-Ouen. In 1930 the Nord-Sud was absorbed by the main Métro company, and the two lines were renamed Line 12 and Line 13. In 1976 Line 13 was joined with the old Line 14, which had run from Porte de Vanves since 1937, to make one long north-south line.

1935 to 1971: new lines and splits

Line 11 opened on April 28, 1935, between Châtelet and Porte des Lilas. Two short lines were later cut away from longer ones. Line 7bis, which had been a branch of Line 7 since 1911, became independent on December 3, 1967. Line 3bis was cut from Line 3 in 1971, when Line 3 was extended to Gallieni.

1998: the first driverless line

Line 14 opened on October 15, 1998, between Madeleine and Bibliothèque François Mitterrand, as the first fully automatic line of the Métro. It reached Saint-Lazare in 2003, Olympiades in 2007 and Mairie de Saint-Ouen in 2020.

2022 and 2024: the lines grow outward

Line 12 was extended north to Front Populaire in 2012 and to Mairie d'Aubervilliers in 2022. On June 13, 2024, Line 11 was extended east with six new stations to Rosny - Bois-Perrier, and on June 24, 2024 Line 14 was extended north to Saint-Denis Pleyel and south to Aéroport d'Orly. That last extension made Line 14 the longest line in the network. The Grand Paris Express lines 15 to 18 are not open yet, so they are not in the game.