Dumb Paris Metro Question
 

I can hear sighs about my ignorance already! <GRIN> So my problem is this.
I buy my carnet of 14 tickets. I get on at a metro stop, punch in my ticket. I need to change trains ... do I still use the original punched in ticket or must I use another, new one for the second leg?

OR, do I save time and both by getting the Carte Orange for my week and just flash the pass whenever on metros or the buses... and I don't have to care one way or tother?

If you change from one train to another or from one line to another, you do not go through any turnstiles and you do not need to use another ticket. When you leave a metro station, there are barriers clearly marked as the limit of validity of tickets: if you go outside into the street and then try to re-enter the metro system, you need to use another ticket; within the metro system, you can change trains as often as you like on the same ticket.

Beauifully answered! I get it!
Whew! I leave in two weeks and I just wanted that straight in my brain.
Thank you. Merci.

One exception...if you switch from a regular Metro train to the RER, as long as you remain within zone 1 (basically Paris), you will have to put the ticket you originally used into an RER turnstile and use the same ticket as you leave the RER turf so to speak. So you insert the ticket to enter the Metro, insert the ticket again to enter the RER, insert the ticket to leave the RER but when you leave the Metro, it is not necessary to re-insert the ticket.

Just one more thing, a carnet is 10 tickets, not 14. You can also use them on the bus or on the funicular up to Sacre Coeur. However, if you have to change busses, you have to use another ticket. Have fun!

Glad you clarified that last point, SusanP. I was beginning to think this 14 carnet was something new.

Best Metro deal is the Carte Orange. One week zone 1-2 which is all you need costs 14.75 euros and is valid for unlimited number of Metro, bus, funicular and RER rides within the city. Pass validity runs from Monday - Sunday. You can buy the current week's pass up until midnight Wednesday at any Metro station after midnight Wednesday you will be buying the next week's pass. You will need a passport size photo to buy the pass. With the pass you get what looks like a regular metro ticket that you use over and over in the turnstiles while the pass with your photo you keep and can renew over and over again. A carnet of 10 costs 10 euros and individual tickets cost 1.30 euros so you can see the value of the Carte Orange. Also a one day pass called a Mobilis costing 5 euros is available.

Larry J

Here are some informative, picturesque sites about the Paris metro, and how to navigate:
http://bookparis.com/paris-metro.html
http://world.nycsubway.org/eu/fr/paris/
http://www.atkielski.com/PDF/data/ParMetro.pdf

Is there a way to buy the Carte Orange before arrival to Paris? We will arrive on a Thursday and leave on a Sunday so we would not have the opportunity to purchase before midnight Wednesday.

no, you can't buy public transportation passes or tickets outside Paris, only tourist passes. This is the case with every city I've ever known. I wouldn't usually buy a Carte Orange for 3 days, anyway, but if you really think you'll use the metro/bus that many times a day, you can just buy a Mobilis every day for that price.

I my opinion the Carte Orange is the best since you do not need to worry if you need a new ticket for a different direction on the Metro. We have used a both Carte Orange and Carnet and sometimes it was confusing to figure out if we needed a new ticket until we put the ticket in and the gate would not open. Just be sure to bring a small personal photo for your Carte Orange ticket.

LarryJ, I'll be arriving in Paris on a Friday morning and leaving on Tuesday. So if the Carte Orange goes from Monday to Sunday does that mean I could only use it for the Sun-Tues part of the trip? I'm usually only in Paris for a day or two and just buy a carnet, but since I'll be there longer I was going to get the Carte Orange, but it sounds like it won't work out.

To Mollyjar

You would only be able to use it Monday and Tuesday. You would be better off buying the Mobilis zone 1-2 for 5 euros per day. You will save 4.75 euros.

Enjoy Paris,

Larry J

Travelnut... Thank you!!
the site http://www.atkielski.com/PDF/data/ParMetro.pdf
is genius...answered all my questions!
THAT .pdf maybe should be required reading.

I seem to remeber there's a place in the large Montparnasse station where in the course of making a transfer you had to exit with a ticket, cross an internal lobby and then reenter with the same ticket.

By the way, never put a coupon hebdo from your carte orange into a machine on a bus, or you'll cancel it and lose the rest of your week! The carte orange system is designed for local commuters who are supposed to know the rules.

My friend and I will be arriving in Paris on a Wednesday, departing on a Sunday. I do not know how much use of the metro or bus we will need.
So, if we buy the Carte Orange pass on Wednesday, is it worthwhile?

CarisDC, This comes off a succeeding post:

"The Carte Orange for zones 1&2 will be your best pass. It will pay for itself after 15 rides and is also good on the RER within the zones covered and on the bus system. You can buy it when you arrive, but you won't be able to use it until Monday. (It's good for Monday through the following Sunday.) You'll need a passport-sized photo (cutting out a picture of yourself from an old snapshot will work fine). Some ticket agents are reluctant to sell the pass to tourists. Just go to another ticket window, if necessary. For your first two days and your last two days, buy ten-ticket carnets as needed and share them with your husband"

We were there for two weeks and found we used the metro far less than I had anticipated. There isn't much scenery in the metro, and if your lodgings are well located, almost everything is within easy walking distance, and the walks themselves are a big part of our memories of Paris.

I would suggest buying a carnet. It has the advantage that if you don't use all the tickets, as we didn't, you can use them on your next visit.

We shall arrive on a Wednesday and buy the carte orange the moment we arrive to a Metro Station, it will be good for that day, Wednesday ,till Monday. We are leaving on Sunday but will buy it even if we are not going to save too much because, it is so convenient and besides we like to take buses which are overlooked by many but are very easy to deal with and it is wonderful to have a view of Paris from point to point.
My only problem is to go to Versailles because I realize that even if we take the Metro to Port de Sevres with the CO and then the bus 171 the Co will be not valid for the bus...so I do not exactly how to do it, buy a RER
or take the metro to Porte de Sevres and then give individual tickets to the bus. ...does any one savy enough knows?

I think you can buy a bus ticket from the bus driver to go to Versailles...but you might need exact change, and I don't know how much. You might also be able to depart the metro at Port de Sevres, and buy a bus ticket at the metro ticket window.

well suzie, you aren't the only one who's "dumb", so here goes. I have been to paris twice and would you belive i have never been on the metro yet? well, anyway, did I understand correctly...if you actually leave the metro system..say you were traveling to some place in the morning...and then re-enter the meto system that afternoon, you would have to use a new ticket? Isn't one ticket good for each day, like when you get a tube pass in London, you just use it all day...you put it in the turnstile and it pops out the other end, you pick it up and keep it, and then use it again later. sorry, I should know this by now with all the Metro posts I'be seen, but I really don't recall seeing anything that specific, and actually I never thought about it. If my understanding of what was posted is correct you could go through a carnet pretty fast I think. Thanks in advance for the clarification.

Crefloors, you are correct that one ticket is good only for one journey. That journey can involve a number of trains, but once you leave the system the ticket you've used for that journey is no longer valid.

If you intend to use the Metro very often, you may be better off with a Carte Orange, although I've been going to Paris for many years and have never gotten one. I find that a carnet of 10 tickets lasts two of us for several days since we walk a lot.

By the way, talk of a "carnet" may confuse people who haven't used the Metro; it's not a booklet of coupons or anything like that. It simply means you buy 10 tickets at the same time, thereby saving money. When you come to the ticket window, you just ask for "un carnet" and get 10 tickets rather than just one.

shelio....thanks very much. since i haven't used the metro at all in two visits, when i go back the carnet will probably be fine.

SuzieC,
I like the Carte Orange, but you can't use it until Monday, so if you arrive on a Saturday, a Mobilis ticket works the same as a Carte Orange, only it's a little more expensive, and you don't need a photo. We generally arrive on a Saturday, so we buy 4 Mobilis tickets and 2 Carte Oranges.

Best,
Sandy

This is my little grain of sand, I bought a Card Orange saved and used for years, buying a ticket each time I go to Paris. Lately I bought another because now tthe Cart Orange is smaller and again I saved it and will use it this year buying only the ticket. Ok?

Hi Graziella,
We love the Carte Orange... even to ride just a few blocks when our feet get tired or when it starts raining. It is so convenient to just show the bus driver your card and not worry about anything else. I think the maps are great too.

Best,
Sandy

The Paris equivalent of a London Day Travelcard is called "Mobilis" and the RATP doesn't advertise it on their English site. It costs €5.30 for unlimited travel in Zones 1-2. It works on all the services: Métro, Bus, RER, Tram, and Montmartre Funicular.

To get to Versailles, you can ride as far as Issy on RER C with a Zone 1-2 Mobilis, then get off and buy a round trip to Rive Gauche for a couple of Euro. Be sure you get the correct train; there are two terminals in Versailles, and RG is the shortest walk to the palace.

I think a great (unstructured) introduction to Paris is to just get a Mobilis, grab the next random bus, and ride until you see something interesting. If you get flummoxed by the bus routes, just find the nearest Métro stop and navigate back to your base.

"insert the ticket again to enter the RER, insert the ticket to leave the RER"

This is for a regular RER ticket, but what about a Mobilis or Carte Orange Zone 1-4? Does that hold true for them also? Do you take the paper ticket out of the Mobilis or Carte Orange cover and insert it on the way in and out? I'm assuming that is what you do... is that correct?

Best,
Sandy

I've gone and returned to Paris since this original Post. To see it re-surface is a bit embarrassing, somehow.
Particularly since I am the confessed wuss and walked everywhere...and I adored it.

Next time, I have promised myself, I will actually USE the Metro...

sandypaws3

"Do you take the paper ticket out of the Mobilis or Carte Orange cover and insert it on the way in and out?"

Yes. Many Métro stations require you to punch out, as well.

hi - ok so now I am getting confused with ITaly and France (information overload!). In ITaly - I know you have to first validate the train tickets before getting on the train.

Do you have to do the same for Paris Metro/RER/Bus system? Or do you just stick the ticket in the turnstile thing and go though.

You can't enter the Paris metro system without inserting your ticket into the 'turnstile'. It pops out another slot for you to remove and hold in case you are checked by a controller (or to use to exit the RER station). There is no separate machine or process for 'validating' a metro ticket. (A regular train ticket, however, is validated (composted) in an orange machine near the tracks).

I think you are confusing trains and metro.

Putting the ticket in the turnstile IS validating it. That's what you are doing. The turnstile marks the ticket as being used.

I don't remember any metro station requiring you to use a ticket to exit, only RER stations. However, this isn't something you have to worry about remembering -- if you can't get out of the door/turnstile upon exit from the metro/RER just by pushing or walking through, you can presume you have to stick your ticket in there to open it and there will be probably a zillion other people around you that you can watch to see what they are doing.

I didn't think any metro required that because there is only one price for a metro ticket anywhere on the metro system. RER stations require it because I think they need to make sure your ticket is for the right amount. At least, that's what I think is the reason.

Message: "insert the ticket again to enter the RER, insert the ticket to leave the RER"
This is for a regular RER ticket, but what about a Mobilis or Carte Orange Zone 1-4?

I don't even know how a mobilis looks like, but it's true for the carte orange "coupon". The machine will give it back to you. Anyway, you don't have much choice, since the turnstiles will block your way.



Do you take the paper ticket out of the Mobilis or Carte Orange cover and insert it on the way in and out? I'm assuming that is what you do... is that correct?

Yes.

Yes, Mobilis and Carte Orange are issued in a plastic sleeve that has a pocket in front for the ticket. You keep the ticket in the pocket when you're not running it through the machines.

Pictures of M. and C.O. can be seen at
<b>http://www.citefutee.com/informer/tarif_tourisme.php</b>