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.