In what year did the Paris Métro open?

The Paris Métro opened in 1900, with its first line entering public service on 19 July that year. The opening was timed to serve the Exposition Universelle, the major world’s fair held in Paris.

The inaugural route was Line 1, running between Porte Maillot and Porte de Vincennes. It crossed Paris from west to east and helped connect visitors with exhibition sites and the events associated with the 1900 Olympic Games. Construction began in November 1898 and was completed remarkably quickly under engineer Fulgence Bienvenüe.

The system’s early stations also established a visual identity. Architect Hector Guimard designed the distinctive Art Nouveau entrance surrounds, many of which remain recognizable symbols of Paris. The Métro expanded rapidly after its debut: Line 2 began service later in 1900, and several more lines followed during the first decade.

The year is sometimes confused with 1896, when Budapest opened its famous M1 line, or 1863, when London’s Metropolitan Railway began operations. Those dates belong to other pioneering urban railways, not the Paris Métro.