I will be traveling to Paris later in the year and can't figure out what which is the most practical public transportation ticket to buy. I plan to take the RER to and from the airport. Am sure that I will be spending lots of time in the Metro getting from here to there. Maybe a side trip to Chartres and/or Giverny. Will the weekly orange pass cover all of these? Does it make sense to get this pass vs. carnet even if it doesn't pay for the out of town trips? I will be there for what I hope will be one glorious week.
Thanks to all in advance.

The Carte Orange, now called Decouverte, won't cover Giverny and Chartres. You take the train to these destinations.

Opinions are divided on the pass vs, carnet. If you do a search you'll find lots of threads on this topic.

Rather than spending lots of time on the metro why not consider walking and seeing the city; things you would miss if you were underground. Sometimes it's not practical to take the metro with all the stairs and line changes. Sometimes it's just as fast and convenient to walk, especially if you're staying in the center of Paris.

And use the buses to get around as well - there is a wonderful interactive map on the ratp website.

I use the buses and metro quite a lot when in Paris, and find a carnet uneconomical. I once got the old Carte Orange when I was there for 4 days and found I broke even after the 3rd day with regard to the cost. Usually I am only there for a couple of days so get the daily Mobilis pass for the zones I plan to travel within.

Like Julia I use my Navigo Decouvert even for a 4 day trip

Hit submit too soon! It will depend on what day you arrive in Paris, the ND is only good Monday thru Sunday, so arriving anytime from Thus on , you will need a carnet to cover the rest of the week. Don't know about transport from CDG as I always take a taxi or a shuttle. I much prefer the buses to the Metro which can involve a lot of walking.

I like the bus idea. Whats the best ticket to buy for a one week stay (arriving on a thursday) and are the tickets interchangeable ie, can you use them on a bus or the metro.
We've mastered Londons Tube, NYC Subway and Hong Kongs Subway. Surely we can master Paris????

You CAN master Paris.

I have always used one of the passes like the old Carte Orange, but on the most recent trip we were staying in a very centrally located apartment in the 6th and were within easy walking distance of the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame, etc, so we only needed public transportation on occasion. Carnets worked perfectly for this, especially once we learned about transfers (you can reuse the ticket on a different bus going in the same direction within an hour is an ultra-simplified version).

If we were staying in the 3rd, 4th, or 7th, as we have in the past, the Decouverte or Navigo would, I believe, be essential. We still almost always took the bus rather than the Metro unless we were going a long way.

You can transfer within the hour on buses IF you are using a carnet ticket. If you buy your ticket on the bus you cannot transfer

I loved my Navigo pass, as it's so easy to use, and you can jump on and off buses whenever your feet get tired. On my first few trips to Paris I used the Metro (and much walking!) almost exclusively. But after discovering the buses I much prefer them. Of course I use the Metro too, but there are a lot of steps to navigate in most of them.

OMG!!!!!! My trip was canceled because of the volcanic ash and I was so crestfallen that I never even looked to see your answers. It's a bit latge but have rescheduled for October and will use the info you sent. Thanks for everything and sorry for my negligence.