kco530

Hello,

My husband and I have Navigo cards that we purchased and used in April 2011. We are returning to Paris again this month. Does anyone know if we can reload these cards for weekly use, or if they are outdated (as I suspect =) )

Thanks so much!

MmePerdu

I bought a Navigo Decouverte card on arrival in late April and was told it will be good for 10 years. That may be new but it's also possible that you can reload yours too. Just give it a try.

traveller1959

Use your smartphone.

"Here" is the best app for offline maps. It works beautifully even without internet connection. (The company is owned by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, so you can expect they produce a pretty good system.)

"Google Maps" also works pretty good.

"Siri" is okay, too, but the weakest system of the three mentioned.

Christina

This is an electronic card that is refillable, it doesn't get used up like a paper card. I'm not sure why you think it won't work, but all you have to do is try to find out.

kerouac

The "10 year" deal is because every single time you use any sort of chip card, a tiny (infinitesimal) bit of the chip is burned out forever. So the expiration depends on how much you use a card, not the actual date of issue. For most tourists who just come from time to time, the card would probably last at lest 50 years if the card system has not been completely changed before then (which of course it will).

MmePerdu

Great, I can use it while I celebrate my 120th birthday in Paris !!

MaineGG

We've been recharging our Navigo passes since 2009 with no problem. They are even more valuable now since they cover travel throughout zones 1-5 (€21,25 for a week).

More info here:

http://vianavigo.com/en/tickets-and-...avigo-semaine/

Sarastro

<i>I bought a Navigo Decouverte card on arrival in late April and was told it will be good for 10 years.</i>

Being good for 10 years, which is what the vendor promised, does not mean that the cards could not really last 20 years or longer.

<i>They are even more valuable now since they cover travel throughout zones 1-5</i>

Zone 1-5 fares have always been available for Navigo users. All that changed was the price.

f1racegirl

The expiration date prints on your receipt when you reload the card. according to my receipts my card is valid just shy of the 10 years.

MmePerdu

"They are even more valuable now since they cover travel throughout zones 1-5."

I knew what you meant, MaineGG, nitpicker above notwithstanding. Even though I was just there for 11 days, because of a trip in from CDG and another to & from Nemours in zone 5, buying 2 weeks was a bargain.

And f1racegirl, vindication. Thanks.

I'm sure now we'll hear again why we're all dim.

MaineGG

Merci MmePerdu. Glad you knew what I meant.

I certainly could have made my point more precisely by saying that the weekly Navigo pass is an even better value now since it covers travel throughout zones 1-5 at about the same price formerly charged for zones 1-2. If the calendar works for you, and if you use the pass to travel round trip on the RER from CDG to Paris, you are only paying a few more euro for unlimited travel around the city and outlying areas for a week.

f1racegirl - I'll pay more attention to my receipt next time.

kco530 - These are the most useful sites I know for using public transport in Paris:

http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/carteidf.php?lang=uk
http://www.ratp.fr/itineraires/en/ra...herche-avancee

kco530

Thanks all. That's great. One less thing to have to buy then; I'm glad I kept them. =) I knew they were reloadable, I just wasn't sure if the system had been changed at all since 2011. Kerouac--thanks for that explanation. Makes perfect sense.