The Metro is one of the best escape rooms we have done and we’ve done a few. It was recommended by @slummysinglemummy so it was on our list of things to do in Paris to break up the sightseeing. We had a look at the different rooms on offer and Pip chose the Metro partly because it was recommended and partly because it was something a little bit different from what we have done before.
The Game
The room is an actual Paris Metro train carriage and the premise is that it has broken down and you are the engineers tasked with getting it going again and averting disaster.
From start to finish it is so cleverly thought out, clues and puzzles come in all shapes and sizes so it’s not just a case of finding 4 digit codes to open a padlock. Some serious detective work and lateral thinking is required, you need to pay attention to everything going on around you so as not to miss anything important.
Level of difficulty
We found the room perfectly pitched in terms of difficultly for the three of us (2 adults and one 11 year old, by no means MENSA candidates). Our room host was fabulous, he left us to work out puzzles and gave just enough hints that the adrenaline was flowing but we weren’t so frustrated that we gave up. The puzzles were challenging but not so difficult that we couldn’t work them out in the end, although one of them had us totally scratching our heads for a while.
What you need to know
- Rooms are bookable online and there are two venues to choose from; Cardinal Lemoine and Saint Michael which are about 10 minutes walk away from each other. Some rooms are available at both locations including the Metro.
- You have the usual hour to get out of the room but plan to be there for around 90 minutes to include pre-game information and post-game round up.
- The games are suitable for any one from the age of 10 upwards. Players aged 10-15 need to be accompanied by an adult.
- Toilets are available onsite and you can take your belongings in to the room with you.
- Rooms can be played in French or English, you can select your language when you book.
- You don’t need any equipment but comfortable clothes would be a good idea, the Metro doesn’t involve crawling in to any small spaces or getting dirty.
- The games are designed to be played by teams of 3, 4 or 5, although you can book for 2 or 6. The Metro would definitely be easier to place with at least 3 people just because of how many pairs of hands you need for some of the puzzles.
Accessibility
The room is available in both French and English with clues being given in text on a screen in the room.
The room is in an actual train carriage with some smaller areas to explore, it also moves as if it is an actual train so it would be worth contacting The Game if you have mobility issues, are a wheelchair user or are unsteady on your feet.
Some of the information is in audio format and some in text format.
Our thoughts
We really enjoyed the whole experience from being welcomed with a drink to our room host taking us through the clues at the end so we could work out where we had gone wrong with the tricky ones. Pip immediately asked if we could book another room before we went home and it was just the right level of challenging and frustrating and we will be talking about how clever the last puzzle was for a long time to come. We give it an 8.5/ 10 and we will be back to play another room next time we are in Paris.
We visited in April 2024 when Pip was 11.
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