Carte Orange or Paris Visite
 

We are arriving in Paris (from Chunnel) on Tuesday and returning to London (same way) the following Tuesday.

What is the best/most economical way to use public transportation? A Carte Orange for the first week and then what? or Paris Visite instead of a Museum Pass and Carte Orange?

NOT the Paris Visite. It is rare to never a good investment. Get a CO and museum pass, IF you need one.

A Paris Visite and a museum pass are not related. The PV is only for transportation.

C.O. for Tuesday-Sunday
Mobilis (one-day pass) and/or just single tickets for Monday and Tuesday to the train station.

But it also has a bunch of discounts for museums you've never heard of, etc. Makes it look like a lot.

Gretchen, are you referring to the Paris Museum Pass..?

Actually, some of the <i>Paris Visite</i> attractions are recognizable, even if the discounts aren't outstanding:

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

No, PV. It has a bunch of discounts for &quot;things&quot; also. It is not just for transportation.

Ok, but the PV in no way can substitute for the Paris Museum Pass which has about 60 museums' entrance fees included (not just discounted). The way the OP worded the inquiry made it sound like they were interchangeable.

I said--don't get the PV under any circumstance.

Now wait a minute. For Tuesday to Tuesday, a PV is the wrong deal. But...

A 5-day <i>Paris Visite</i> is actually <u>cheaper</u> than five days of <i>Mobilis</i>, and fits that awkward situation when it's too late in the week for a <i>Carte Orange</i>. Plus - it gives you three zones (as if that were a big deal).

And a one-day PV is great for a CDG layover where you want to get into town and back and all over while in town.

So let's not throw out the baby.

that's ok, I was intending to clarify for OP, not for you :)

Gretchen,
I trying to find out about using the PV to travel outside it's zone. How and when do you pay the surcharge?

I have no idea. I don't think it is a good investment, but I hope someone can answer your question.

The zones covered by the minimum PV are 1-3, which is as far as the M&eacute;tro runs. So if you want to go outside Zone 3, you'll need an RER ticket for each specific trip. You can save a few Euro by riding to the furthest station in Zone 3, and buy your ticket from there to your destination. Get a round-trip (<i>aller-retour</i>) and you won't have to stop again on the way back. The price of these supplemental tickets can be found here: http://www.transilien.com/web/Nouvea...e=/site/pid/26 But if you plan to make a lot of trips, be sure to compare the prices of the various zone combinations of PV passes here: http://www.ratp.info/informer/tarif_...e=#parisvisite
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Gretchen - Suppose someone arrived on Thursday morning and was staying until Monday evening. The plan is to make six or eight trips by bus, M&eacute;tro, train, or tram every day - so <i>carnet</i> tickets are off the table. And they're arriving and departing by train, so all their transport will be within the central zone.

What is the most cost-effective way to travel for five days without a <i>Carte Orange</i>? I'll help you to reach an answer: a <i>Paris Visite</i> is 27,20&euro; and five <i>Mobilis</i> cards cost 27,50&euro;. Plus the PV provides 3 zones to the <i>Mobilis</i>' 2, and a bunch of (not-particularly-valuable) twofers.

Here's a map of the zones (it's a big pdf, so give it some time to load): http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...aux&amp;fm=pdf

The Paris Visite isn't ALWAYS a bad thing.

On 2 different Paris trips, both of which straddled weekends, it was our choice. We like the freedom of deciding, on the spur of the moment, to do something at the other side of the city. We DO walk alot too, but having a transit pass works best for us. It's not like it's a hundred euro investment or something!

~Liz

Good to know.

Merci all. We are planning a early September 8 day trip. I just hope the days won't be too hot.

Here is a print out from a site that is interesting since I have never seen the Paris Visite card sold this way.

There are numerous options and discounts. Here are a few to consider (as of July 2006):

The ten-ticket carnet (10,90 Euros) can be used at any time either on buses or on the Metro. I have saved these tickets for return visits a year later.

The Mobilis card is a one-day unlimited use card.
Zones 1-2 cost 5,50 Euros.

Whereas the Paris Visite Card (Zones 1-3) costs:
8,35 Euros for one day
13,70 Euros for two days
18,25 Euros for three days
26,65 Euros for five days

Paris Visite Card (Zones 1-5) includes transport to the airports:
16,75 Euros for one day
25,65 Euros for two days
37,35 Euros for three days
45,70 Euros for five days

The Orange Card or 'Carte Orange' is being replaced with the Carte Navigo. Carte Orange or Carte Navigo is a weekly or monthly pass. The current Orange Card rates are applicable to the new Carte Navigo.
(Zones 1-2) cost: 16,00 Euros Weekly - 52,50 Euros Monthly
(Zones 1-8) cost: 31,50 Weekly - 103,30 Monthly
(Normally, Zones 1 and 2 are the only zones you'll probably need if you plan on staying within Paris city limits).

BUT be careful you don't get the &quot;Paris Pass&quot; which is also an offering for a lot of money.

Also: that site's prices are at least one, and possibly two, years old - and prices will change again on July 1.