I should know this from studying the boards last year, but I regret that I don't:

1. Is the Carte Orange good for RERs as well as the Metro and bus?

2. How do you get through the turnstiles that require a ticket to be inserted? I assume this is a larger card, probably laminated.

3. Is "Carte Orange" the proper name for it, or do the French call it something else?
Thanks.
--Logan

Yes it's good on buses, metro and RER.If your RER journey extends into a zone that is not covered by the carte you purchased you can by an extension ticket.

The Carte comes in 2 sections, an ID card with your picture and a specific number that has to be written on the second part, which is a ticket that is inserted into the machines one entering and leaving the metro.

Yes Parisians do call it a carte orange.

However it is being phased out and you might have to purchase a Navigo Decouverte, for 5€, which is a " chip card" that you hold up to a reader. The 1 week tariff is loaded onto the card.

Most people in Paris get the carte orange for zones 1-2. Zone 1 is the Paris city limits and zone 2 is the inner suburbs (you must always buy at least 2 zones). Some tourists who know they are going to the suburbs to somewhere else in addition to Versailles (zone 3) will buy zones 1-2-3, but if you are just going to Versailles, it is better to just pay for an extra ticket for that destination.

My understanding is the system is not set up the way it is in London...if your Carte Orange does not cover the zone you are travelling to on the RER, you have to buy a ticket to cover your whole journey...I don't think either, but I could be worng, they have boundary stations in two different zones.

Also if you believe what you read carte orange is on the way out to be replaced by a chip type card and the current thinking seems to be the system will be set up so it is only available to residents of the Paris region isofar as it will have to be posted to an address in the region...nothing seems to be official on that yet.

just a minor correction, but Versailles is Zone 4...

Yes, I always get that point wrong, because I only go there when I have a car.

Another minor correction. Single tickets and paper passes are inserted in the turnstiles when entering and exiting the RER, but only upon entering the metro.

...correct but even though you don't need to insert a ticket to exit from the metro, I have been involved from time to time with spot checks where they insist on seeing your ticket even if you just took the metro so hold onto your ticket.

It is not necessary to buy a ticket from Paris to an outlying destination.

If you pinch every penny (some students may fit this category), then you can travel to any destination outside Zone 2 such as Versailles by riding to the last stop in Zone 2, getting off, and and buying a round-trip ticket to the destination. You don't have to stop on the way back; just make sure you use your Zone 4-to-Zone 2 ticket when you get on, and your <i>Carte Orange</i> when you get off.

The price of a single ticket from Invalides to Versailles is 2,80&euro; - from Issy, it is 1,45&euro;. You can save 2,70&euro; on the round trip.

There is no residency requirement for buying a <i>Navigo Decouverte</i> card, which you can load a CO on.

Interesting...I haven't done this in a while...

I went to www.ratp.fr. It describes the various kinds of tickets available including the new navigo chip card which is sort of similar to the oyster card in London...apparently there are 2 types...the one for residents of ile de france (the immediate Paris region) which will have the cardholder's picture and one which can be procured immediately at a window with a separate card with the cardholder's picture much like what we have now (the carte orange has a picture but the actual ticket is separate)...but the interesting thing is if you go to the English language version of the web site by clicking on the British flag, the only tickets mentioned are Paris Visite and the new t ticket (which allows bus transfers) no mention of carte orange, no mention of mobilis, no mention of navigo....hm...

&gt;&gt; You don't have to stop on the way back; just make sure you use your Zone 4-to-Zone 2 ticket when you get on, and your Carte Orange when you get off.
&lt;&lt;

In practical terms, no, you don't have.

But the rules insist that not stopping on the way back is not permitted. Your &quot;entry&quot; into Zone 2 wouldn't, indeed, be registered. And if you have a Navigo, which memorizes the last three entry/exits, this can be easily discovered.


Frankly, this is just nit-picking, but I adore it.

I'm intrigued. Where are these rules published?

• Okay, so use your Navigo to get to Issy.
• At Issy, buy your ticket to Versailles and back.
• Use the Navigo to board the next train to Versailles RG.
• At RG, use your single ticket to check out.

• Going back, use your single ticket to get on the train.
• Use your Navigo to exit your destination station. No problem, because Navigo thinks you've been in Issy all day.

If this makes you the least bit nervous, just use Navigo to and from Issy and the tickets between Issy and Versailles, getting off the train both ways. Going out, you'll have to take the next train because of the ticketing delay, but returning, you might be able to get through the ticket barriers and back on the same train. If you can't, you may have to wait 15-20 minutes.

I'd do it in a NY&quot; - since I'd paid for the entire trip and the scam would be undetectable by <i>les flics RATP.</i>

Robespierre
Your example doesn't make sense : Issy is in zone 3 !

No it isn't. It's zone 2. Zone 3 starts in Meudon.

&gt;&gt;

http://www.stif.info/faq/#nbt8

This is taken from a customer FAQ. However, they say that they are <i>thinking about it</i>.

The official rule is to be found in each transporter's (RATP, SNCF, and the various private bus operators that serve the distant suburbs) conditions of carriage. Look for the words &quot;prolongement de parcours&quot;.

&quot;Also if you believe what you read carte orange is on the way out to be replaced by a chip type card and the current thinking seems to be the system will be set up so it is only available to residents of the Paris region isofar as it will have to be posted to an address in the region...nothing seems to be official on that yet'

As of Sept 1st the Navigo Decouverte is available to anyone with 5&euro; to spend. There is no residency requirement and you can buy them anywhere tickets are sold. You do need a picture which goes on a seperate ID card that is carried along with the Navigo .

True...

But again why is there no mention of navigo on the English language version of the web site?

Probably because the French site has not been updated, And on the English site they want to sell you the more expensive Paris Visite

Actually the French site has been updated with info regarding the new type of navigo but apparently, it costs &euro;5 (don't understand tha language concerning &euro;5) and apparently, at least for now, only 1 week, 1 month and 1 year passes can be bought on it.

(Incidentally the only tickets shown on the English language site are Paris Visite, which is as we all know pretty much a rip off, and the T tickets...nothing as noted above about carte orange, navigo, mobilis.

The ND costs a one time fee of 5&euro;, then you load your weekly or monthly tickets onto it.

There never has been anything on the English site regarding other options to the Paris Visite.