Do NOT get the Paris Visite Pass! It is expensive and has about 200 attractions on it that no one would ever want to see, have time to see, or even want to see. If you're planning on seeing a bunch of museums, get the Museum Pass.

I always just get a carnet. I think the Navigo, if researched properly, can work better for some people.

If you get a navigo, you will still need carnet for Monday and Tuesday of the second week, since it is valid 12:01 am Monday till Sunday midnight.

Bring pictures with you for the pass.

We like the pass, it allows you to just jump on public transit whenever the whim hits.

We always get carnets...very easy and can use on Metro and buses. We often buy them at whatever tabac is near where we stay. Just remember to throw your ticket away after you leave the station...if you don't they can get mixed in with unused tickets. You should retain your ticket while in the metro in case you are ask to show it.

The Navigo will cost 5 euros for each card (good for ten years) just to start with and you will need passport photos. Then you add the weekly fare depending on the zones you wish to travel in. The biggest problem is that they run from Monday through Sunday night...so not really an option for a Tuesday arrival.

Please understand that the "carnet" is not a pass, simply a bundle of ten standard tickets good for bus or Metro within the central area of the city. Easy to buy, easy to use, flexible and sold at a discount to the cost of single tickets.

The math works out to using public transit 3 single rides per day to be break even. ( approx. 25€ for pass with original cost which would buy approx 2 carnet (20 rides) for approx same price. Hope that makes sense.

Get the navigo and then buy carnets to share among the family for the last two days.
Of course a Tuesday arrival "works" for buying the Navigo. It is still on sale for that week. Deb has done the math, and that should be easy to cover the cost of the pass.
To the OP, don't forget about using the buses also. They will often take you closer to your destination--and you get to sightsee along the way.

Another vote for the buying the Navigo as well as a carnet for your last couple of days. We have done that and it makes it so easy. You can bring passport photos, or even ones from those little photo booths. I did not have a photo with me, so used the booth at Monoprix and just cut the photo to fit.

Navigo for sure - just a few trips over a week makes it pay off and then so easy to use.

And once you have the pass, you will find that you will put it too good use. And you are more willing to take the bus or metro, especially if the weather isn't great.

First the easy part - The Paris Visite is generally considered a tourist rip off to be avoided.
Now the part with more calculating required. Your criteria of most economical and easiest to use can result in different recommendations. After dozens of Paris trips I have concluded that if we will be there at least 5 of the 7 days a Navigo is valid it is the best option.

Navigo Découverte 5€ fee to obtain the actual plastic card and accompanying ID card to which you attach your photo and laminate with the provided material. Then 18.85€ for the zone 1 & 2 pass (which is all a tourist is likely to need) valid Monday through the following Sunday. Total cost is thus 23.85€
(This is if you bring the required 25 x 30 mm size photo with you - if not be prepared to pay an additional few € per person to have the photo made in an machine, if you happen to be in a station with a machine and it happens to be working and you happen to have the coinage required. Strongly suggest you bring your own - can be something you print out at home on regular paper, need not be studio quality.)

A carnet is a packet of 10 tickets, each of which are good for one trip on the Metro and transfer to bus lines for 90 minutes after the initial validation of the ticket. Cost is 12.70€ or 1.27€ per ticket. If purchases individually each ticket costs 1.70€

Navigo verus carnet: 23.85/1.27 = 19 trips is the point at which the Navigo offers the better cost option. On future trips where you do not have to pay the initial fee to obtain the card the calculation becomes 18.85/1.27 or 15 trips to make the Navigo the better option.

As for ease of use, the Navigo wins hands down.

Oops, hit Submit before I finished saying that the huge advantage of the Navigo is being able to jump on and off whatever form of transport (metro, bus, tram) without worrying about keeping track of tickets. Particularly nice to be able to get on a passing bus and enjoy the scenery as you go along, get off if something strikes your fancy.

One other thing - in addition to being a nice souvenir after the trip, the card is good for ten years during which time it can be reloaded with weekly (or even monthly) travel pass on future visits.

Note also that your 15yo will have free entrance to a lot of the museums.

Also, you will go though a lot of carnets with 4 people.

I am not sure one can purchase Navigo at all stations.
any old photo will do...cut it to size.

I have only ever bought carnets. On my last visit I had every intention of buying a navigo and even brought a picture along for that purpose. But my first few metro trips were all in stations with no live attendants, and eventually I gave up. I may try again next time. But the cost of each ticket in the carnet is so small that it never actually deters me from hopping on a bus whenever I felt like it.

Somebody above said that with a single ticket from a carnet you can transfer from the metro to the bus, but I believe that is not possible. You can transfer from the metro to other metro lines and to the RER, but not to the bus. You can transfer from one bus to another bus within 90 minutes, but not from the bus to the metro.

Thanks everyone! Such great advice, and I really appreciate it all being spelled out and having the numbers crunched.

I think because there are 4 of us we will get the Navigo. It seems especially easy for the kids to use, so as not have to mess with a bunch of carnets or booklets. Just have one card for most of the trip.


On the last Tuesday we are there, we'll basically be jumping on the train to head to Amsterdam that morning, so it's not an issue. As DebitNM and Seamus said, we can use carnets for Monday.

Thanks again everyone!

We'll get pics taken before the trip.

You will never look back from this. It is the best answer, and if you decide to suddenly to to A--just go. Have a great time.

Nikki- think you may be referring to my badly worded post above. It is indeed not possible to use the same ticket to transfer from Metro or RER to bus or tram. Should have written that a single ticket initially validated on a bus or tram is valid for transfers to other buses or tram for period of 90 minutes.

Which is just another reason I find the Navigo so nifty - so easy to jump on/off/between the various metro/RER/bus/Tram lines

Does Navigo cover the commuter boats operating along the Seine? Or are they even still running from my last visit to Paris - not the Bateaux Mouche tourist boats but regular commuter boats.

curious. I think the Montmartre funicular is also covered and a nice way to get up to the hilltop area.

no, the Navigo doesn't cover the Batobus because that isn't part of the city public transportation system, it's a private company. It isn't part of RATP. It has its own website www.batobus.com