cooncat

OK folks - I've read all the threads - carte orange, carnet, zone this zone that. If you don't mind I'd like to tell you what we're doing and then someone can tell me the easiest way to do it. A million thanks in advance: So - we're hitting Paris for 7 days. Two people. Plan to take RER to hotel (de suez, right on Blvd. St. Michel). We will walk a lot and take the metro as well. Usually I just get a carnet. We may go to a few museums, too, and plan one day trip - don't know where, will wing it and decide when we get there. (If I were going to save a ton of money I might plan ahead. Trip options include Versailles, Troyes, Rouen, Giverny) OK this is getting trop complicated. I have no clue what the zones are. Should we just get the carnet and buy our train tickets when we decide where we're going? Is there some sort of deal where we could get Versailles train tickets in advance and save our euros? Lord. Sorry for all the questions. Just want to make sure I'm not going the real expensive route. Thanks to all you great Fodorites!

ChevyChasen

i used the carte mobilis for around €5 a day depending on zone.you will easily make more than 4 metro trips per day and so this wins over carnet. carnet are good if you like walking/using the taxi a lot because the unused carnet doesnt expire. RER/metro tickets are the same.its the zones which vary pricing.
I went to Versailles,it is on the RER. you dont need to buy anything before you leave home.i would buy the mobilis with the zones needed the night before so i wouldnt have to queue at rush hour in the morning.

Intrepid1

You'll have a much better idea about the zones if you use the map(s) at www.ratp.com

ira

Hi coon,

We have never used more than a carnet of tickets per person per week.

>Should we just get the carnet and buy our train tickets when we decide where we're going? <

Yes.

Versailles is on the RER C line - exit at Rive Gauche.

Giverny is best reached by bus from La Defense.

You take the SNCF train to Troyes and Rouen.

Robespierre

Single <i>tickets 't'</i> cost &euro;1.05 when you buy them 10 at a time. If you plan to use more than 5 in a given day, then buy the <i>Mobilis</i> card for that day. If you need 3 <i>Mobilis</i> cards in a calendar week (Monday-Sunday) then buy a <i>Carte Orange</i>.

The day you go to Versailles, a <i>Mobilis</i> for Zone 4 might save you a couple of &euro;.

The &quot;Zone&quot; map is at

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/tourisme.php#</b>

cooncat

Thanks everyone....

euroenvy

you may not think you will need a carte orange but I suggest that one consider it if.....one makes mistakes in using the transportation (probable,we did),are running late to get to the museum (when it opens),need to get back to the hotel ,have tired legs, or encounter bad weather...with the card you don't have to worry .....they will tell you whch zones the center covers (two zones I think) and you can buy an extra ticket to get back from Versailles right there before you get on..
We also rode several buses which are included... from D'Orsay to the tower across the Ile, and down the St Germaine Blvd......It's good for a week a..the ticket is good for the RER also..you don't know how many tickets you might need and this way who cares!!
.It's so cheap ..we didn't use a taxi as we were never near the taxi stand it seemed...As long as the ticket opens the gate you can use the ticket....I say it saves loads of time that you can spend better in a cafe or museum. Just take the tiny little picture for it ...It makes a cute souvenier...can you buy one at the airport or do you have to get one at the station?? It's so easy..you don't pay until you get off or on again if it's outside the paid zone.( like the expressway)I was really getting the hang of it and we had to go...but you've been there done that....

cooncat

We'll be there from a Wed-Wed. Carte orange wouldn't even work, would it?

euroenvy

If it's sunday to sunday...then no not so much of a deal...if you use it for half time maybe. If the other half you are gone out of town some..it all depends on the what you plan to do..we were the types to go a few blocks at a time and travel all over the city.. we would go down to the tower or champ most nights and various places far a wide for dinner and to the grocery store and it was always raining..... but if you go to a museum and stay around your hotel for dinner just get a carnet at a time( or the moblis would be better for you) and don't sweat it....and buy the ones out of town as you make up your mind...that's what it seems most do..we had never been on subways except for Boston when we found how safe and convienient they could be. We did make many mistakes along the way...but then everything happens for a reason and we happened on some cool things in the metro, As I said earlier when we went to versailles we went all the way on our ticket and had to pay to come back...actually we didnt even pay as we jumped the turnstyle(dont ask long funny story) Cant think of a cheaper way and wouldnt worry about tthe cost it part of the experience

clevelandbrown

If this is your first visit, you can't know until you are there, as you don't have an idea of how close things are, nor how much you will enjoy walking. On our first visit, I didn't want to get a pass, because I didn't know those things. We ended up walking far more than riding, and the carnet's I bought were more tickets than we ended up using. Our non-metro trips included from and to CDG, Versailles, and Giverny, and I think it would not have made sense to buy a pass for so few trips. I have a few metro tickets left from the carnets.

We are seniors, and I don't consider us great hikers, but we found we could see almost everything in Paris by walking. On occasion, we would take the metro to a distant area to see something, and walk back, but we did enjoy good weather so we didn't have to deal with rain.

sandypaws3

If we were to arrive on Wednesday, we'd get the Carte Orange for that week and use it from Wednesday through Sunday. We used it for our first trip to Paris, which was only 4 days, and figured out that we, not only saved money over the Carnet, but it was a lot more convenient. The Carte Orange allows you to hop on for just a few blocks, and as others have mentioned, to get lost and get back on track. Then, on Monday and Tuesday -- if you're leaving on Wednesday -- you can buy a Mobilis Pass for those two days. That's essentially what we do, only backwards. We arrived in Paris on Saturday, bought Mobilis passes for Saturday and Sunday and Carte Orange to start on the following Monday. I hope this made sense By the way, I noticed, when we were shopping in Monoprix, that they sell Carte Orange there. There was a sign in the grocery area downstairs.

Sandy

cooncat

Hi - Just to clarify: I've been to Paris twice and used the metro quite a bit, although I enjoyed walking and will do a lot fo that as well. We will mainly be in Paris proper. A side trip, as I said, is not out for the question, but we aren't going to plan that in advance. My travel companion has never been to Europe so we want to play it by ear. The main reason I even posted this was because until I started reading these posts, I hadn't heard of Mobilis or Carte Orange. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the best thing.

cooncat

Sorry - but I'm more confudes than ever. What is the difference between the Carte Orange and the Mobilis? And if there is a thread here or a book or web site that explains these to me, let me know and I'll quit asking you all here! Thank you!

cooncat

make that confused...

Robespierre

<i>Mobilis</i> is valid for one day.

<i>Carte Orange</i> is valid for one week, Monday through Sunday. Sold from the preceding Friday through Wednesday. Passport-sized photo required.

I like to walk, but when I'm in a new city for the first time, I think it's a waste of my time. So I always buy at least a bus pass (the Paris RATP passes include all modes) and jump on and off a lot.

See my post of 04/07/2005, 03:34 pm for when to use what. Here is a little pamphlet you can print out and study:

<b>http://www.atkielski.com/PDF/data/ParMetro.pdf
</b>

Christina

Mobilis is a daily pass, Carte Orange is for a week (or you can buy a ticket for a month). YOu don't need a photo with the Mobilis, either.

Cooncat, you can find descriptions of these on the Paris Tourist Information website as well as a good overview of the public transportation system. Go to Transport, then Fares/passes. I believe this is the link

http://www.parisinfo.com/paris_map/r...d_article=6771