stormbird

I'm not sure what would work out best for us regarding trains/buses etc.
Our rough itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 Arrive Paris 2pm. Settle into apartment and stock up on supplies. Organise train/bus and museum tickets etc and do some familiarisation within the city.

Day 2. With Michael Osman all day doing the Louvre and museums etc. Definitely will need public transport for this day.

Day 3. Day trip to Versailles

Day 4. Another day with Michael Osman - probably would like to give him carte blanche to show us Paris. Public transport to get around as well.

Day 5. Shopping, fashion show, markets etc

Day 6. Visit Gardens of Giverny

Day 7. Day trip to Reims - plan to make our way there hopefully via the TGV.

Obviously, there are a few gaps with time to fill in but I think you'll get the general idea.

Do we go the Carte Orange ticket or is there a better option?

Also can we purchase our rail tickets for the day trip to Reims at any train station?

Many thanks for your help.

TimS

A little more information, please. What day of the week will you arrive and what day of the week will you depart? You don't mention day 8, but is that your departure day? Are you flying into and out of CDG?

Robespierre

Here's a little guide I put together: tinyurl.com/23uk82

TimS

Yes, you can buy your tickets to Reims at any mainline station in Paris. The standard 2nd class fare on the TGV is €28. However, if you book well in advance (up to three months allowed) at www.voyages-sncf.com, you can get PREM'S (discount) tickets for as low as €15. Leave France as the default country, do NOT choose cancellation insurance, and print your own tickets.

TimS

Robespierre's guide is very helpful and we should thank him for taking the time and effort to create it. Be aware, however, that two things in it are incorrect. The new t+ ticket allows transfers between bus and tram but not between bus and train (either metro or RER). While a single ticket is good anywhere the metro goes, on the RER it is only good in zone 1.

Robespierre

The guide linked above is correct.

stormbird

Sorry for the lack of info. We arrive on a Monday on the Eurostar from London. Our apartment is very close to the Gare du Nord so we will be walking there. Day 8 we pick up a car and drive down to Tours and eventually we will drop the car off directly at CDG.

Robespierre

You could probably use <i>Mobilis</i> passes on days 2, 4, and 5 - so you might as well spring for a <i>Carte Orange</i> as it costs just about the same. Bring 1&quot; square photos (digital ok) for the ID cards.

When you go to Versailles, you might want to use a <i>Forfait Loisirs</i>, a package which includes transport via M&eacute;tro and RER plus admissions, audioguides, the whole nine yards. Here's the web site: http://www.transilien.com/web/site/a...oisirs/lang/en

stormbird

Thanks all for questions answered. As always it is much appreciated.

TimS

Sorry, Robespierre, but in the FAQs on the RATP site it specifically says that a single ticket cannot be used to transfer between metro/RER and bus. And the fare calculator on the Transilien site gives a price of &euro;2.10--not &euro;1.50--for a ride from a station in zone 1 to a station in zone 2.

Robespierre

Okay, tell me what's incorrect in my article, and I'll fix it.

TimS

First, Robespierre, I want to thank you for all your very informative and helpful posts. You do a great job!

Here is a quote from your guide: &quot;Once you leave a train station and go out through a ticket barrier, you can't go back in - but you can continue a bus journey on a bus or tram using the same ticket for up to 90 minutes after you get on the first bus.&quot;

And here is a quote from the RATP FAQs: &quot;With the t+ ticket can you connect between the bus and the metro?
No. The t+ ticket allows connections either on the rail network between metro lines and with the RER RATP and SNCF lines (within Paris) or on the bus network between bus lines and with the tram lines, except for T4.&quot;

In re-reading what you wrote, I now see that you didn't mean to suggest that you can go from train to bus on the same ticket, but having everything in one sentence led me to think that you were.

I'm a little less certain about the second point I raised. The RATP site says that a single ticket is good on the RER &quot;within Paris.&quot; In the past I assumed that included zone 2. However, when I used the fare calculator on the Transilien site to get fares for travel from zone 1 to other zones, the fare shown was &euro;2.10 for any route I chose when the departure station was in zone 1 and the arrival station was in zone 2. Since a single ticket costs &euro;1.50, that has led me to conclude that &quot;within Paris&quot; means only zone 1, at least as far the RER is concerned. However, I have no concrete evidence to back this up.

TimS

stormbird,

I agree with Robespierre about buying Carte Orange passes and considering buying Forfait Loisirs packages for Versailles.