another Paris metro question...
 

Just when I thought I had all the info I needed about the C.O., Mobilis, 10 carnet, someone mentioned the Navigo. Is this just the new electronically updated version of all those other tickets/passes? If not, how is it different, and if I'm planning on traveling in central Paris for the most part, with maybe one trip to Versailles, is it relevant?
Thanks, in advance, for any answers!

It is the new version of the Carte Orange, not the others, as it's a long-term pass. The Navigo for visitors is called the Decouverte, you should ask for that. I think it costs 5 euro, in addition to the fare you put on it (which is the same as the Carte Orange). If you live there, the pass is free but you have to apply and get it by mail -- so if you need it right away, you pay the five euro for the one you can use right away. Other than that, I think it's the same -- you still need a photo and the fare is the same.

It doesn't have anything to do with the Mobilis or carnets.

Christina,
So it's the Carte Orange for visitors? It also needs a photo and costs the same?
thanks,
Susan

Yes, you still need a photo and it costs the same as the Carte Orange rates, + 5€ the first time (for the card itself).

Thanks for your quick responses. We're going to decide which way to go about the passes when we get to Paris, but at least now I know that we should bring photos, whether we use them or not, just in case! Maybe we'll just walk everywhere, to burn off all the calories from pastries, etc. we'll be undoubtedly be eating...
thanks again,
Susan

I had my 2 days in Paris, I walked and walked. And walked some more.

There never seemed to be a "tourist" option for the metro so when I did ride it, I just bought a ticket every time in the station. I didn't even buy any in advance.

Which is the exact opposite of NYC. When people come here, you can get a day pass. They even call it a Fun Pass directed at tourists.

t

I have some left-over tickets from a carnet purchased in March 2007. They are light purple and have a magnetic strip.

But I also found some old blue-green metro tickets, also with magnetic strip.

Anyone have any idea if these are still valid or if I should just chuck 'em???

I'll be there in 4 weeks -- guess I could just take 'em along and see...

The Mobilis is a day pass in Paris.

there are photo booths in the metro stations, near the booths

Old metro tickets remain valid indefinitely.

The Navigo Découverte pass does not require a photo, but it costs a 5€ one time fee to issue it, on top of the travel value that you load into it.

Kerouac--Are you sure? I just checked several sites for Navigo Decouverte info, and all of them said a photo was required.

http://www.ratp.info/informer/passe_navigo_orange.php

"...Le passe Navigo Découverte:
passe accompagné d'une carte nominative avec photo"

So is the Navigo thing exactly the same as London's Oyster Card - a way of paying the cheapest fare?

All the pictures of it in the descriptions on the website (RATP, etc) show the Navigo pass with someone's photo on it, also. Maybe you don't need a photo for the Decouverte one? That seems suspicious, I wonder why RATP would allow that as then you could pass it around.

The information specifically on the Decouverte pass says you need a photo on the Transilien website, also.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/36h6zs


Those instructions are in English, also, for those who want to read about it and don't read French.

<i>So is the Navigo thing exactly the same as London's Oyster Card - a way of paying the cheapest fare?</i>

Not hardly. The Navigo has zero provision for PAYG fares (which, to me, is Oyster's best feature when daily caps are considered). It's similar to TfL's Travelcard loaded on Oyster, but it only comes in weekly and monthly flavors. And the weekly Navigo has to start on a Monday, unlike Travelcards, which begin on any day of the week.

2 questions, please:

I have a CO from past trips, last trip being October (07). Can I just buy another weekly ticket for it as usual?

My husband does not have a CO. Will he be able to buy one or will he have to buy the Decouverte, which will cost the same as the CO plus 5 Euro?

When I was in Paris in 2006 we bought Paris Visite cards and figured we would buy those again this year but now I'm not sure which is the better option. Paris Visite or the Navigo??

cathies,

The advantages of the Paris Visite are that you can begin using it on any day of the week and you can buy it for shorter or longer blocks of days. A Carte Orange loaded on a passe Navigo Decouverte can only be used Monday-Sunday. But a Carte Orange can still be a better deal than a Paris Visite, even for a partial week, because the cost per day is less. If you plan to walk a lot, buying ten-ticket carnets as needed and sharing them with your travel partners may be the best option. Based on what days of the week you'll be in Paris, you'll need to do the math to determine which is best for you.

We (me and hb)will have 10 days and arrive on a Sunday. We do walk a lot and we like to catch buses if logical so we can enjoy the passing city. The Carte Orange sounds like a good plan. thanks TimS

Author: Celiaanne
Date: 02/20/2008, 09:14 pm
2 questions, please:

I have a CO from past trips, last trip being October (07). Can I just buy another weekly ticket for it as usual?
<font color="red">yes, you can just buy a new ticket to go with your ID card</font>
My husband does not have a CO. Will he be able to buy one or will he have to buy the Decouverte, which will cost the same as the CO plus 5 Euro?
<font color="red">it just depends on what is available at the station you go to... the paper version is still available but in dwindling supply, the electronic version is being phased in</font>


Author: cathies
Date: 02/20/2008, 10:51 pm
When I was in Paris in 2006 we bought Paris Visite cards and figured we would buy those again this year but now I'm not sure which is the better option. Paris Visite or the Navigo??
<font color="red"> what you are actually comparing are the Paris Visite and the Carte Orange. (the CO is given in either paper ticket or plastic card form). The PV has a higher price than the CO but maximum use is 5 days while CO can be used 7 days - the caveat is the PV is 'consecutive days' while the CO is Monday-Sunday only, no other arrangement of days than that. So it usually depends on your days of visit - if you were arriving Thursday and leaving Monday, then a CO wouldn't work at all.
Prices, zones and days:
http://www.transport-idf.com/frontal...&amp;langue=en </font>

Thanks Travelnut, couldn't ask for more info than that!!Cathie

They take your picture with a digital camera in the Navigo office. You don't need to bring a photo.

Travelnut, Thank you for the information.

So, if I understand correctly, the CO is still available but is being phased out in it's current format. However, some locations may still have the old &quot;paper&quot; ones. The CO has been updated to an electronic format called the Decouverte, which will cost 5 Euro to purchase(plus the Metro cost.

Iate to keep dogging this, but I've been in hot, noisy, crowded Metro locations without a great command of French trying to purchase the best Metro pass -- and it isn't pretty!

Here's an explanation I hope you will find informative: http://tinyurl.com/2fx9w3

<i>Mobilis</i> passes are 5,60&euro; per day, period.

<i>Paris Visite</i> costs more than that per day unless you buy a 5-day.

But a <i>Carte Orange</i> used for even 3 days costs as much as 3 <i>Mobilis</i>, which makes it the cheapest way to go.

We always buy the Paris Visite pass. It works on everything and gives us some discounts and is about the same price as the others. You only have to buy it one time for X amount of days.

cathies,

Yes, the Carte Orange will work very well for the days you'll be in Paris.

However, since you said that you and your husband like to walk and take the bus, be aware that a single ticket is now good for bus transfers within 90 minutes of boarding the first bus. It still is not valid for transferring between Metro and bus.

<i>Author: Pinchme_iam_dreaming
Date: 02/21/2008, 09:43 am

We always buy the Paris Visite pass. It works on everything and gives us some discounts and is about the same price as the others.</i>

I guess that depends on what your definition of &quot;about&quot; is :))

Days <i>Mobilis</i> <i>Paris Visite</i>

1 5,60 8,50
2 11,20 14,00
3 16,80 19,00
5 28,00 27,50*

* If you start using a <i>Carte Orange</i> on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and use it for more than two days, it's cheaper (16,30) than anything else.

On previous visits to Paris, the Carte Orange always worked.

This time, we (my 16-year-old daughter and me) will be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and likely using metro and buses heavily (guesstimate 4x per day).

Maybe the best solution is 3 Mobilis passes, and one carnet?

Kerouac--

I see that you wrote, &quot;They take your picture with a digital camera in the Navigo office.&quot; Do you need to go to a special office to buy the Navigo Decouverte identification card, or can it be purchased at any Metro station? Any large Metro station?

<i>Author: WillTravel
Date: 02/21/2008, 11:58 am

On previous visits to Paris, the Carte Orange always worked.

This time, we (my 16-year-old daughter and me) will be there Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and likely using metro and buses heavily (guesstimate 4x per day).</i>

For DD on Saturday and Sunday, I recommend the <i>Ticket Jeunes</i>, which costs about half of what a <i>Mobilis</i> does.

Hello Robespierre,
We will be going first time to Paris in May I have 2 DD traveling with me, what is the advantage of buying the Ticket Jeunes?

Lots of the large metro stations have a &quot;Club RATP&quot; office -- all of the big train stations, of course, but also the normal station where I get off to go to work, for example - Franklin D. Roosevelt.

A Ticket Jeunes is a one-day pass for persons under 26 and is good on Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays). A zone 1-3 Ticket Jeunes costs 3.20&euro;. A zone 1-2 Mobilis pass costs 5.60&euro;.

Thanks for the tips about Ticket Jeunes.

Would the Ticket Jeunes be good for Easter Monday, as well?

I know you can buy some metro tickets on the Thalys train. Can you also buy Ticket Jeunes there?

If Easter Monday is considered by RATP to be a <i>jour f&eacute;ri&eacute;</i> (feast day), then yes. But I don't know.

Onboard Thalys sales? I don't know, but I would say &quot;probably.&quot; They sell all the RATP products AFAIK.

bookmarking, thanks!

We bought a 3 and 5 day pass for our last two visits. The price was within a couple of euros between all of them.

Tuesday in Paris they had tables set up in the metro station getting CO users switched to the Navigo. We ended up buying a couple of carnets and that was plenty as it's so nice to walk everywhere and see things. I would have never used the CO/Navigo enough to make it worthwhile.

TripAdvisor forums have a poster saying the Carte Orange is almost gone.

I am taking my old Carte Orange in two weeks and will try to get the old card....Since I arrive on Wed it's borderline anyway, but I know if the weather isn't great I use the Metro more. If I can't get the Carte Orange I guess I will just go with Carnets.