While the Paris metro needs a ticket for the turnstile, there are no turnstiles in Berlin. Validation is esswential.

hey lincasanova. do you happen to know if that applies to a metro pass in Madrid too? I don't recall ever reading that I had to validate that when I buy it at Atocha. perhaps I will just ask when I buy it. It's the abono turistico, to ride the metro for a certain number of days w/o having to buy a ticket each time you ride(you probably know of it yes?). maybe I'll go peruse the metro website and see if I see anything about that. thanks!

Just called about the bono tursitico. and the girl on the phone didn't now that answer ( she was probably from some larger city hall info center). But when you buy it they will tell you.

It looks like to ME on the website that it will have your name and a starting date on it with passport number, so it does not look like a ticket you will put into a machine, but rather fill out before you use it.

Do make sure this is your better option as you may be fine just with the 10 ride metro/bus tickets that can be interchanged with anyone you are traveling with.

A 10 ride pass should serve you for at least 2 days, IMO.

In the European cities, if you buy a multi-day pass (weekly, monthly), is it usually necessary to still validate the ticket on every single trip?

For the metro, in New York one needs a ticket to get in but don't need it for leaving; in Washington DC, one needs to keep the ticket to get through the exit turnstile (I learnt this the hard way!)

"In the European cities, if you buy a multi-day pass (weekly, monthly), is it usually necessary to still validate the ticket on every single trip?"

I've never encountered that. From my experience with paper tickets, either the start date is printed on the ticket, or you write it yourself or you put it into the valdation machine once which prints a date on the ticket.

I imagine with these daily passes they might have a chip and many machines in spain now you just place the pass on top of the machine and it reads it.

In Paris you just wave the pass over the reader for the most common version.

Just had an experience in Athens that made me realize how glad I was I had purchased & validated my ticket! I first bought a weekly pass & used it frequently on buses, trams & metro throughout the city. No one EVER checked it. ON the day after my pass expired, I got on a bus at a stop where they did not sell passes & I really was not sure how to get one in that location, but that is not a good excuse...I was feeling guilty. Got off at the next big transfer station; bought my 1 day pass for 3Euro & within 5 minutes of leaving the sales machine, I was approached by a transit officer & had to show my ticket! The fine would have been 180Euro if I did not have it! Phew!

This is really an important post, and at the end of the discussion, I will save it in my travel files.

I have seen the authorities checking tickets in Venice with some frequency. They were not showing mercy to tourists, either. IIRC, they may have a "pay or stay" policy: on the spot fines.

thank you lincasanova for calling about that pass. We will be in Madrid for 4 days, arriving on a Tuesday, leaving Saturday. yea, I might look into the 10 ride pass. because at 17.60 euros, I would have to ride the metro at least 17 times in those 4 days for it to pay for itself. It kind of depends on the weather and/or whether or not hubby and I will want to walk places. so, if there's going to be lots of rain, we'd ride the metro more often. I appreciate your calling the metro to find out for me. muy agradecida

the 10 ride is good for metro/bus. And both use it at same time. Many times just better to hop on a bus. You can understand where the lines go on their circular "map" that has names of the cross streets/plazas on them.

yea, not so sure about buses lincasanova. but maybe it's not as hard as I picture. of course I rode the bus in Madrid lots of times when I lived there all those years ago. but this is now does the metro system run the buses too? or, if not, how would I learn the bus system? where can I look at this circular map that you refer to? appreciate the help!

and so, we use our 10 ride ticket the two of us. and when (I suspect we'll ride more than 5 times) it runs out you just buy another? and do you buy them at the metro stations? or kiosks? seems I remember buying them at kiosks but things could have changed. thanks again.

oh, I found the info about the 10 ride pass. but can't find the circular bus map. sorry for all the posts! and thanks again

The first time we used the train in France we did not validate the tickets. The controller asked ( in English! ) if it was our first time , told us to validate the tickets on the way back and that was it.
I also did not validate my ticket the first day in Berlin. As luck would have it, the inspectors boarded the train but realized I made a mistake and did not charge me.
The only time I had to pay a fine for not validating my ticket was in Split (Croatia).
I would imagine that most tourists make an honest mistake and that most inspectors would recognize it as such.

Having an unvalidated ticket is always better than not having a ticket at all.

My husband and I took a total of 5 tram rides in Sarajevo in October and inspectors came on to check tickets on two of these trips.

If you buy a multi-day pass it is important to understand whether it is good for X calendar days or X hours from the time it is first validated.

This is about the best touristy one I can find, but at each bus stop there is an oval route with important stops on it. I hope y can figure it all out. I am unable to find an example of what i am talking about right now.

http://www.emtmadrid.es/web_emt_babe...f4fbbea147.pdf

OK. If you go here

http://www.ctm-madrid.es/servlet/Red...1&CODBOTON=103


and put website in english, then EMT ( bus routes) and put the cursor on any route .. at the bottom you will see "line diagram".. with the name of each stop on it.

thanks lincasanova! I did find that emt site but could not find what you have here. cool, appreciate it.

p.s. I do read Spanish fairly well