Paris: Specific RER Question
 

I have been on the official Metro/RER website, but I can't seem to find the info I need. I need to know:

1. The RER fare from Les Halles/Chatalet to DeGaul airport (one way).

2. The round trip RER fare from Les Halles/Chatalet to Disneyland Paris.

I e-mailed the transit authority for the info about two weeks ago and got an automated reply but no answer. Merci!!!

According to the RATP site a single to CDG is €7.60 and a return to Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy for Disney is €12.00.

Thanks, Ron! If I'm reading the site (that's only in French)correctly, a Carte Orange for zones 1-5 costs 28.90. If we go to DLP 2 times and to the airport at the end of the trip, it would cost 31.60, so those trips alone would more than pay for the Carte Orange. Now if I can just get someone to sell them to us...

Although you might hear differently, it is not a problem to purchase a Carte Orange, just ask for it at the ticket booth. There are photo booths in some of the metro stations, but we found it easier to bring a small photo with us from home (you need to stick a photo onto the card that goes in the same case you will put the metro coupon in.) I have never been sneered at for purchasing a Carte Orange or made to feel like "you really shouldn't be buying this ..." If you are planning to return to Paris, keep the plastic case with your photo and next time all you need to do is purchase the coupon.

Do you just go to the ticket booth and ask for a Carte Orange ("Je voudrais un Carte Orange") and they give you the orange case and the coupon, or do you get the case and the coupon/ticket at two different places?

Carte orange goes 3 ways:
tourist -- avoid
weekly pass - starts on a Monday
monthly pass - starts 1st of the month.

You need to get a photo first (some métro stations have a photo booth but they are often broken);
then proceed to the guichet to buy your ticket they will also give you the case but you may have to ask for it: Est-ce je peux avoir une chemise aussi s'il vous plait?)

*caution you can buy the carte orange at any métro or RER station BUT you can only buy individual RER tickets at a RER station on that line!*

you say: Bonjour Monsieur (or Madame),
Je voudrais acheter un carte orange
hebomadaire (weekly) (or) menusuel (monthly) de six zones (to go to euro disney).

THe site is in English too http://www.ratp.com/
http://www.ratp.com/ParisVisite/Eng/index.htm

Have a great trip, I hope you are avoiding the French school holidays (16 feb - 1 march) or the lines will be awful at disney...

The clerk who sells them gives you the whole kit -- orange cover pass and the coupon. You must afix your photo to the front (they will do this for you), and you must write the ID number of the carte onto your coupon.

I'm not sure what Moxie means by avoid a tourist carte orange -- I suspect that is a reference to the tourist transportation pass but that is NOT called a carte orange, it's the Paris Visite (it isn't orange, either). FYI, if you do want to try using use some of those French words or phrases given (oral or written), these are the correct words/spellings:

hebdomadaire (weekly)
mensuel (monthly)
Est-ce QUE je ... (or just puis-je...)

It may not be that easy to pronounce a lot of these things correctly if you don't know French pronunciation, of course. You are correct that Disneyland is in zone 5 (not 6). I know that contrary to what Margie says, some people do have trouble buying it (some American tourists have personally me that) if they are obvious tourists and some clerks may not sell it to them, although there is no official regulation forbidding sale to nonresidents. If it happens, just go somewhere else and try again. If you really have problems getting one, you are probably less likely to have problems at a metro station that is not in the dead center where millions of tourists bug the clerks about stuff (I have seen that happen, tourists yelling and being obvious to the clerks).

Many thanks! The local high school French teacher is tutoring us, so I'll give her the phrases and she can teach us how to pronounce it all.

We're traveling in mid-March, which is during the US spring break.

Sorry that you have had trouble buying a Carte Orange Christina, I buy them every time we are in Paris and have never had an issue; perhaps it is all in the approach? Don't be put off by this missypie, the metro staff are not monsters and you will be able to buy your Carte Orange. Have a wonderful trip!

Does anyone know about what size photo the carte orange takes? I would like to bring some digital pics to use (convenience, #1, and #2, I won't look like I was awake all night on the plane!) We won't be in Paris until Wednesday morning, but I think it might still make more sense to get this than the books of ten (Carnet?).

Do be aware that the Carte Orange is from Monday to Monday. If you buy one on Wednesday, you lose two days. If that's okay with you, go ahead.

We decided last time we landed on Wednesday that the carnet would work best for us. The nice thing about them is that you can take them back with you when you return. It's a delightful excuse to return . . . if you need an excuse!

If your photo is approximately 1 inch wide by 1.25 inches high you'll be fine. The first time I bought a Carte Orange my photo was a little large - the metro attendant (nicely) laughed and trimmed it down for me.

Pretty sure it isn't the 'approach' with regards to Christina, since she has lived and studied in Paris numerous times... sometimes, clerks are just cantankerous. Besides, there have been other reports where the visitor was rebuffed at one place, but was sold the pass at another location. My experience is like yours, though, haven't had any problems...

Maybe the "approach" is Christina's know it all attitude? I realize that she is knowledgeable and has some excellent suggestions, but her post tend to lean toward "here is the correct way (my way) to do something". Many people live and study in Paris and it does not elevate them to Sainthood. If she had trouble buying a metro card it was probably because she was trying to pretend to be French and she insulted someone. I can hardly wait for her 5 paragraph dissertation on the correct size of the Carte Orange photo and how to cut it to the precise measurement! LOL Christy, I'm not being mean, just observant!

Note that the weekly Carte Orange is NOT sold for the current week after Wednesday.

In my observation, those who report that they were refused a Carte Orange may simply have not been able to communicate exactly what they wished to purchase to the clerk. I was in line behind someone once who simply was unable to tell the clerk the number of zones desired, when she kept asking and pointing to a zone map. Though, when I figured this out, I helped out. One time, the clerk did not want to sell us a weekly Carte Orange. I finally figured out that, because we were purchasing it on a Sunday (we use the buses) so as not to have to venture into the metro station before starting out the next day, he thought we were asking for the wrong tickets and planned to hop right on the metro with it.

So, it's probably best to write everything down, including the dates (so if you're buying it early or late they'll know you know what you're doing - and be sure to use the dd/mm format) and give it to the clerk, along with showing that you have photos. And, have your money or credit card out. We were sitting at a cafe one day just outside a metro entrance when a fellow tourist came stomping out carrying on about not getting a Carte Orange. I went down with him. Come to find out, the clerk kept asking how he wanted to pay for it and he didn't understand the question.

It's always a good idea to bring extra passport photos along anyway, so get an extra and trim it down.

djkbooks, excellent suggestions! Writing things down is a great idea - that way you can still try your French, but not have to worry about making a mistake with how you want to pay, what zones you would like etc.

Topping for lil_camper. Although directed towards RER there is a Carte Orange discussion that may be of help to you.