PARIS METRO CLOSURES — 20 SEPTEMBER

RATP’s current works notice says Metro line 6 will be entirely closed on Sunday 20 September, all day. The closure is part of the line’s modernisation programme and is one of several Sunday shutdowns already scheduled through November.

That is a substantial tourist-facing disruption because line 6 links Charles de Gaulle–Étoile and Nation and serves useful stops across western, southern and eastern Paris. It is also the line many visitors associate with the elevated stretch near the Eiffel Tower. If your Sunday plan assumes line 6 for Bir-Hakeim, Trocadéro-area connections, Montparnasse, Denfert-Rochereau, Bercy or Nation, build a different route before you leave.

Do not read “replacement bus” as “the line still works above ground”. RATP’s published substitute bus is limited to a western section of the route.

Line 13 has a different timetable. RATP says the entire line is closed until 12:00 on Sunday 20 September. The work is tied to infrastructure changes for the future MF19 rolling stock and the line’s future automation.

The practical distinction matters. If you are travelling in the morning, plan as though line 13 does not exist. If your trip is after noon, the published plan is for rail service to resume — but it is still sensible to check the live RATP status before setting out, especially if you have a train, flight or timed ticket depending on a tight connection.

Line 13 serves both northern branches as well as central and southern Paris, including Saint-Lazare, Invalides and Montparnasse–Bienvenüe. Many of those stations have other Metro or rail options, but the best alternative depends on where you are starting and which branch you would normally use.

For line 6, RATP says replacement buses will run between Charles de Gaulle–Étoile and La Motte-Picquet–Grenelle. RATP’s English works page also says bus line 71 will be reinforced. That does not replace the eastern and southern sections of line 6 station-for-station.

For line 13, the replacement bus runs between Asnières–Gennevilliers Les Courtilles and Porte de Clichy. Again, that is only one section of a much longer, branched Metro line.

If you are travelling beyond those bus corridors, use the RATP journey planner to build a rail alternative using other Metro, RER, tram or bus services. In many cases a parallel rail route will be faster and less crowded than trying to chain multiple replacement buses together.

Sunday 20 September is also the second day of European Heritage Days, so Paris already has extra event traffic and reservation-sensitive visits. If you have a fixed museum entry, a restaurant booking, a long-distance train or an airport transfer, this is not the day to discover the closure on the platform.

For Eiffel Tower visitors who would normally use line 6, consider your alternative before leaving the hotel rather than simply following the usual Bir-Hakeim instruction. For Montparnasse or Saint-Lazare transfers, remember that both stations are served by multiple lines, but line 13’s morning closure can shift passengers onto those alternatives.

Leave an extra margin, especially in the morning. Replacement buses can be slower than rail even when traffic is ordinary, and major planned closures tend to concentrate passengers onto the remaining network.

The easy mistake is to remember only the replacement-bus section and assume the closure is localised there. It is not. RATP describes both disruptions as full-line closures during their respective windows: all day for line 6 and until noon for line 13.

If you work Sunday, visit family across the city or rely on either line for a regular connection, check your route the night before. A normal interchange may still be open and served by other lines, but the passenger flow can be very different when a complete Metro line disappears from the network.

RATP already lists further full Sunday closures for both lines. Line 6 is scheduled to close all day on 4, 11 and 18 October, 8 November and 22 November. Line 13 is scheduled for additional Sunday morning closures on 27 September, 11 October, 1, 15 and 29 November, and 13 December, generally until noon.

Line 13 also has station-specific closures later in September, including Porte de Saint-Ouen from 24–27 September. If either line is part of your autumn Paris routine, it is worth bookmarking the official works pages rather than treating 20 September as the only date to remember.