Paris Visite Cards
 

I am wondering if we should get these? I hear it's easy to walk in Paris so I'm wondering if they are worth it? I do have a bum knee so I may need to use transportation more than usual. Also, do the days have to be used consecutively? We will be heading to out of the city twice but not in consecutive days so I wasn't sure if I could by a 2-day zone 1-6 or if I have two get 2 1-day passes.

yes, the days have to be used consecutively, but unless the regular transit passes, these can be started on any day you wish.

Don't buy one day Paris Visites. There is a regular all-day ticket called the Mobilis that is only 5,80 euro (versus the 1-day Paris Visite 8.80 euro).

Why would you buy a zone 6 pass? I mean maybe if you are going to zone 5, that might be a reason to do that as I don't think they sell 5 zones. Just don't buy the Paris Visites if you are only going to be there two days.

If you're going to be in Paris for a week, I'd get the Navigo pass. It's 16 euro for the week (unlimited usage in zone 1 and 2) plus a one time fee of 5 euro for the card. It's good Monday through Sunday (so if you buy it mid-week, it'll only be good thru Sunday). You also need to put a passport sized photo on it (in case the metro police want to see it). But, it makes $$ sense if you're planning to use the Metro for at least ten one way trips during the week.

Also, no one told me this but if you're American you pretty much need to buy all train tickets from a ticket window (as opposed to the machine) or have coins. The machines do not take bills or credit cards unless they have a chip on the front of them and a private pin number. American credit cards don't have the chip.

The Metro is great. It will quickly become your greatest friend.

We are in Paris for 5 days but 2 of those days we will be visiting out of town places (Versailles and Disney) which I believe would be zone 6 is it? The rest of the trip will be in main tourist areas of Paris. So what pass makes the most financial sense for us?

Round=trip tickets to Versailles are only about 6€ (zone 4) and Disney r/t is 13€ or less (zone 5).

Wow, that's pretty good. So for our other 3 days is a P.V. card for zone 1 a good idea or is there something else that's more cost effective?

As Christina says above, the Mobilis pass is more cost-effective.

You can buy as many as you need from the machines at the metro stations. Then you must write on it the date of use and your name. Each Mobilis ticket is valid for that day on buses and the metro.

nicbur-

Christina has already answered your question in the very first post:

<i>Don't buy one day Paris Visites. There is a regular all-day ticket called the Mobilis that is only 5,80 euro (versus the 1-day Paris Visite 8.80 euro).</i>

Thanks guys, I missed that part of Christina's post. The Mobilis pass. Do I buy it ahead of time or wait till we get there? We are arriving by Eurostar. Is the Mobilis pass good for all zones or just zone 1?

Re: Mobilis

http://www.ratp.info/informer/forfait1j.php

The Mobilis Pass is sold for a range of zones, starting with zone 1-2 (€5.80). For a list in English of all your transportation ticket and pass choices, with links to detailed explanations of each one, go here: http://tinyurl.com/let4xg.

Buy your Mobilis Pass--or any other pass--when you arrive at Gare du Nord.

I am in the same situation with a bum knee and on our recent trip to Paris I tried to avoid taking the metro too often as walking up and down those metro stairs can be quite painful so walking was better or the bus system if you can figure it out.

The buses in Paris are really good. You have to play around a bit with the website to find all the information, but you can click on a bus route on the map of all routes and get the individual route with all stops, and the timetable. I printed out several of these which were all running close to where I stayed, and found them most useful. I was also able to print out a map of the area where I stayed with all nearby bus and metro stops. This was useful too. Just be prepared to spend 20 minutes or so exploring the website...

www.ratp.fr

Julia that is great! I will definitely check that out. Did you find the bus or the metro is the quickest way to get around?

The metro is probably quicker but I like the buses as you can sightsee along the way!

Once you have printed out your route map from the Interactive Map, some of the main sites are marked on it by the relevant bus stop, but I also looked at a map of Paris, and worked out which bus routes passed where I wanted to go so I knew which bus to get on. I found them really easy to use and would definitely do so again.

Good luck and have fun.

Whether the bus or M&eacute;tro wins depends on a variety of factors. I have left the Paris Bus Rosetta Stone right here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nte-b-cest.cfm

I tried that website out and it's amazing! Does anyone know of a similar site for Rome and London?

www.tfl.gov.uk has a trip planner function. I like to take buses in London, and I always have a copy of this "bus map for dummies"
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...al_bus_map.pdf

Also highly recommended: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/centlond.pdf

Available free at Tube stations.

For 5 days in Paris, 3 of them we'll be in zone 1-2. The other two days we'll be in zone 5 and 6. Can I buy a 5-day Mobilis pass for zones 1-2 and then add on to it the 2 days we are going further than that?

Also, our first day we are only going to our hotel, then to Louvre, and then back to hotel. Is the Mobilis pass worth it for that short of use or should we just pay single tickets that first day?