Robespierre

It depends.

If you plan to do a lot of walking, you probably won't need anything but single <i>tickets &quot;t&quot;</i>, which can be bought individually or with a quantity discount when you buy a <i>carnet</i> of 10.

Many people (I among them) like to see Paris from ground level, and use the buses to save time getting around if the walk is more than a few minutes. If going across town, the M&eacute;tro is usually the best way to do it (although if you have to change lines to reach your destination, a lot of walking may be required). Sometimes there's a bus/M&eacute;tro combination that works best.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that some people will use public transport many times in a day, if only for short hops here and there. If you would use a <i>ticket &quot;t&quot;</i> more than 5 times in a calendar day, then you should look at the <i>Mobilis</i> pass, which buys you one day of unlimited travel via all modes. Ordinarily, you would buy a <i>Mobilis</i> for Zones 1-2, but if you're going out to Versailles or Disneyland, then you would buy a Zone 4 or 5 for that day.

If you are under 26 years of age, there is an even better deal good only on weekends and holidays called a <i>Ticket Jeunes</i>.

Whether you use <i>carnet</i> tickets or <i>Mobilis</i>, you should calculate whether you will probably spend more than the cost of a <i>Carte Orange</i> while you are there. This is a weekly pass (always Monday through Sunday) that costs about as much as 3 <i>Mobilis</i> cards (or 15 <i>tickets &quot;t&quot</i>. So if you use transport more than twice a day for that one-week window, it's cheaper than anything else. But there's a potential resulting from the way they're sold.

Next week's ticket goes on sale Friday of this week, and is sold through Wednesday. On Thursdays they aren't sold at all. So if you are in town before Thursday, you can buy one good through the following Sunday. If you don't arrive before Thursday, you're out of luck, and will need to fall back on either <i>carnet</i> or <i>Mobilis</i>.

The <i>Carte Orange</i> consists of two parts: a permanent ID card (you need to present a 1&quot;x1&quot; photo) and a weekly ticket that you run through the automatic turnstiles in the stations. Some ticket agents may hassle you about not being French when you ask to buy one, but you can probably get some leverage with a printout of this page from the Paris Office of Tourism:

<b>http://www.parisinfo.com/paris_map/rub6235.html&amp;id_article=6771</b>

You also might have better luck with another agent.

Robespierre

...there's a potential <i>snag</i>...

jody

And the &quot;snag&quot; is????????

Robespierre

&quot;But there's a potential resulting...&quot;

should read

&quot;But there's a potential snag resulting...&quot;

Robespierre

Another set of parameters involves whether or not you will be traveling outside Zone 2 (CDG and Disneyland, for example, are in Zone 5).

The Mobilis isn't valid for airport transfers - but if you have a <i>Carte Orange</i> for Zones 1-2, you can use it to buy part of your fare. From CDG, buy a single ticket to La Plaine Stade de France for 6.65&euro;. This will get you from Zone 5 to Zone 2, where your pass takes over.

The same strategy can be used to get to Versailles:

kwren

Would the same strategy be true if you have a Carte Orange and are going from the center of Paris to Disney? Does it cover part of the trip on the RER and you only have to buy a ticket for the outlying part?

Robespierre

Theoretically, yes. The fare from Paris to Disney is 6.25&euro;.

The furthest RER station within Zone 2 is Vincennes, but I can't find what the fare is from there.

Since it can't be any <i>more</i> than the longer trip, I'd say go ahead and buy it.