If you will use RATP transport* more than 15 times during the Monday-Friday, then a 2-zone <i>Carte Orange</i> is economical. If you go to Zone 5 for anything, then a 5-zone is practical. But one trip to Versailles (Zone 4) will not break even on a 4-zone, because the full fare is only 2,70&euro; each way.

* M&eacute;tro and RER require one ticket for a ride of any length, including connections, but the bus requires one ticket each time you board (no transfers).

Thank you for the information and asking our dates. We will arrive early wednesday and will leave Sunday mid-day.

Did I understand correctly that a 5 zone CO will cost the same as a round trip CDG to Paris plus Versailles round trip to paris? But I won't have to pay anymore to use the Metro or bus?
That sounds great.
Also (apologize if this is a silly question) but do you keep the CO with you at all times or do you have to stamp individual tickets?

thank you !!

A 2-zone CO costs 16&euro;; a 5-zone is 31,50&euro;.
CDG is 8,10&euro; each way.
Versailles is 2,70&euro; each way.

So a 5-zone is cheaper than a 2-zone plus r/t to CDG - and Versailles is included (as well as unlimited within Paris proper).

CO is a permanent ID card plus a ticket (to operate the ticket barriers) good for a week. You keep using the same ticket. No stamping required.

Are you getting more confused, or less so?

absolutely clear now - thank you so much. Great explanation!

sounds like we won't need to pay any more for our transportation the whole time?

are there any transfers on the train from CDG to the 1 e?
thank you again,

Robespierre - you already answered this question of mine in another posting. Thank you. We are staying at the Westin, i think near the Louvre...

Dear Robespierre, you have already helped so many travellers!! May I join them? I am one of those desperate who are trying to solve the &quot;Carte orange - Mobilis - Paris Visite etc&quot; puzzle. I will arrive on Saturday night and leave Thursday night. I noticed that you generally do not reccomend Paris visite but I am afraid that for me it is the best possibility. I will need to get to and from CDG airport and then I also want to visit Disneyland. If I pay 46 euro for Paris visite 5 zones, it will cover all the cost from Saturday till Thursday, won´t it? Or is there any better way? Thank you very much for your advice. Petra

Unfortunately, your scheme won't work. The <i>Paris Visite</i> will run out after Wednesday, because it's good for five days at most.

For Saturday and Sunday, you will need 8,10 to get in from the airport (by RER) plus however much local transport you can use. At minimum, you might just walk around the immediate area surrounding your hotel on Saturday and use a few single <i>tickets 't'</i> on Sunday. If you would use more than 5 tickets on either day, then a one-day <i>Mobilis</i> pass becomes economical. But there might be enough within walking distance that you won't need any transport at all. You'll probably want to take it easy if you experience jet lag anyway.

Now for Monday through Thursday. A single ticket to CDG costs 8,10, and the round-trip to Disney is 12,50 - so if you can schedule the Disney trip during M-W, then a 5-zone <i>Carte Orange</i> might work for you. The total of the above is 20,60, and the CO is 31,50, so there's 10,90 in there for the other two days (you probably won't need any other transport on the Disneyland or departure days). So a 5-zone CO is about a wash compared to single tickets plus daily <i>Mobilis</i> cards. If you <u>don't</u> need as many rides as <i>Mobilis</i> cards provide, then separate tickets is the way to go.

Your total might look like this:
CDG single 8,10 Sat
One <i>Mobilis</i> 5,50 Sun
<i>Carte Orange</i> 31,50 Mon-Wed
Total 43,10&euro; at most

THANK YOU, Robespierre! Genius, as usually :) May I ask you one final question? Since I do not speak french at all, how exactly should I ask for tickets? (According to your advice: single ticket from CDG, 3x mobilis, return ticket to Disneyland and then back to CDG)? Is it possible to buy everything at once? Thanks a lot.

Genius, eh? That total should be 45,10&euro;. Oh well - my calculus professor told us it would be the 3rd-grade math that would trip us up.

Here's your French. Just print this out and show it to the agent at the RER station in terminal 2 at CDG. (And don't forget to say <i>bonjour</i> when you get to the window):
<b>
S'il vous pla&icirc;t, je voudrais acheter

</b>a)<b> 1 billet aller-retour CDG-Paris 16,20&euro;

</b>b)<b> 1 ticket Mobilis Zones 1-5 12,30&euro;

Merci.
</b>
This will get you a) to and from the airport (M&eacute;tro is included) and b) to and from Disneyland plus all over Paris by M&eacute;tro, bus, tram, and train for one day.

For transport within town, you can either buy a <i>carnet</i> of ten single tickets and use them across several days:
<b>
Un carnet, s.v.p. 10,90&euro;
</b>
or, if you plan to use the M&eacute;tro or board a bus more than 5 times in one day, a <i>Mobilis</i> for that day.
<b>
1 ticket Mobilis Zones 1-2, s.v.p. 5,50&euro;
</b>
Keep your Disneyland Mobilis separate from everything else, so that you don't accidentally use it before you're ready to go to Chessy. Once it's been run through a turnstile, you can only use it that day.

By the way, if you are under 26 years old, you can buy a special weekend ticket for Sunday that's cheaper than Mobilis. If you only want to get around Paris, then
<b>
1 Ticket Jeunes Zones 1-3 s.v.p. 3,20&euro;
</b>
or, if you want to go to Disneyland on Sunday, then
<b>
1 Ticket Jeunes Zones 1-5 s.v.p. 6,40&euro;
</b>
(The latter would be <i>instead</i> of the 5-Zone Mobilis listed as b) above.)

Super! I surely will use those sentences, although in a slightly modified way. I figured out that after all Carte Orange Zones 1-5 will fit better as I am leaving Thursday night, so there is one more day left that I can use metro as much as I want. So, single ticket from CDG, mobilis for Sunday and Carte Orange. 45,10&euro; total. Btw, I forgot to mention that I will not be there alone - should there be difference between singular and plural in my written request? 1 billet - 2 billets? Hope this is REALLY my last question - thanks for your patience and do not worry, your math is very very good :)

On the ticket for under 26, is there a reduction on the Carte Orange for youth or just the weekend ticket you specifically mentioned?

Jumping in on this one if I might. Family of four will be arriving in Paris on Sunday and departing on Saturday and will be staying in an apartment near the Filles du Calvaire metro. We will be taking a shuttle to and from CDG. We plan on doing all of the &quot;tourist sites&quot; Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Notre Dame etc. We don't mind walking but since we are not too close to these main areas we will have to use the metro or batobus. We will also be taking a trip to Versailles. As I understand it a Carte Orange for the week will work best for us. Or am I mistaken? What do we take for the trip to Versailles? Forgive me if I sound totally ditzy but I don't have any public transport where I live and big cities are new to us. Thank you.

Petulka -

okay, in that case you will want to request
<b>
S'il vous pla&icirc;t, je voudrais acheter

a) 2 billets aller simple CDG-Paris 16,20&euro;

b) 2 tickets Mobilis Zones 1-2 11,00&euro;

c) 2 Cartes Oranges Zones 1-5 63,00&euro;

Merci.
</b>
Don't forget to bring a 1&quot; square ID photo for each CO.
-----------------------------
crepes_a_go_go -

As the Carte Orange is intended for commuting workers, there is no youth discount. But remember that single tickets - RER and <i>tickets 't'</i> - are half price for under-11s.
-----------------------------
normal1983 -

The break-even point on a <i>Carte Orange</i> is at 15 rides in a calendar week (Mo-Su). Since you are going to be actively using transport only two days (Mo and Fr are travel days and one weekday is for Versailles), a CO might not pencil out in your case. Think about using <i>carnet</i> or <i>Mobilis</i> tickets for getting to sights within Paris, and either a RER ticket to Versailles (5,40&euro; r/t) or a <i>Forfait Loisirs</i> (which includes admissions to all attractions and audioguides for 21,45&euro;). If you do get a CO, remember that it qualifies you for a Batobus discount.

If you get 5-zone CO for the adults, their round trips to the airport and Versailles will total 15,50&euro;.

Can the CO be used for the hop-on-hop-off bus? Is this a preferred way of travel over metro/regular buses for tourists? Do they travel all around paris with same frequency?

No.
No.
No.

Can I please get some help with this too?

Our family of 4 (husband, myself, 21 year old and 17 year old) will arrive on Sunday. We leave Friday morning. This is our first trip to Paris. We will be doing the usual first time tourist &quot;things&quot;. We are staying in the 5th close to the 6th.

I read that the Carte Orange prices and details are changing July 1 which is our arrival day.

What is our best option. We are considering doing a day trip to Versailles, but thought we would buy the train/museum combo ticket.

Thanks for any help or assistance.

On our recent Paris visit, I noticed signs that the Carte Orange system was being phased out in favor of Navigo, which I believe was previously available only to local residents. Does anyone have more information on this change?

<b>mauitammy</b> - If they won't let you buy <i>Cartes Oranges</i> for Monday-Friday, you're probably about as well off buying a <i>Mobilis</i> daily pass or <i>carnet</i> tickets for each family member (except for the day you go to Versailles - see below).

For Sunday, your under-26es can use <i>carnet</i> tickets at adult prices, or <i>Tickets Jeunes</i>, depending on how each pencils out.

The Versailles <i>Forfait Loisirs</i> is highly recommended (it includes M&acute;tro as well as RER fare).

They always update various tickets prices on July 1st, that's just their annual cost update (STIF is the agency who does that). It's not that much, so you shouldn't decide on that -- it's 1.8% increase this year to all ticket fares I saw (single ticket, and weekly/monthly Carte Orange tickets, and Paris Visite, but they don't always enact the Paris Visite increase in July). They also are changing the basic metro ticket so that it will now cover multiple bus/tramway transfers within 1:30 hours.

AS for Navigo vs. CO, from what I've heard on here, it has not replaced Navigo completely for now. The recent announcement from STIF as to the 7/1/07 increases still mentioned Carte Orange coupons, so they have to still exist.

In response to my e-mail asking about the new (1 July) cost of a Carte Orange-Mensuel, RATP sent this information:

Bonjour,
Merci de votre visite sur le site de la RATP.

Ces tarifs seront en ligne la semaine prochaine.

Carte orange zones 1 et 2 au 1/07/07 : 53,50 euros


Cordialement,
Gilles Delbouille
Le Postmaster du site internet

That's a 1-euro price increase from the current price.