Hi, I ll be in Paris for 5 days. When i get to Charles De Gaulle I plan to take the RER B 3 to Pigalle. Should I get an unlimited one week pass or just buy the single fare and get the unlimited Metro pass later on (next morning)? Besides from the airport to Pigalle (9th Arr.) I plan on going to Versailles.

Thanks.

Hi there,

We found it was cheaper to buy the carnet (pass of 10 tix) rather than the pass. The visitor pass is quite expensive and not worth it. buy your tix to Versaille at the metro stop and you will get 11 Euro off and immediate access to certain sites...no standing in line!

Thanks! do you remember how much was that pass of 10? And how much was the unlimited pass?

hmm..not sure about the pass, depends on how long, ages etc, but I the prices are listed on http://www.ratp.com/ParisVisite/Eng/...arisvisite.htm
The carnet was I think 9.60 Euro ish....

Good info on this thread:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34421398

The Paris Visite card is not a particularly good buy but the Carte Orange IS a great buy. It may be better to just buy your RER ticket to Paris and Versailles rather than the pass for the outer areas. The Carte Orange is 13E for the week. A carnet is about 10E (obviously for 10 trips). The CO also is good for busses.

If your time in Paris falls *mostly* on the right days of the week, a Carte Orange metro & bus pass will be the cheapest way to have unlimited rides. If you will arrive and leave in the middle of the week, it won't be your best choice. The passes are good Monday-Sunday. A pass for zones 1-2 costs 13.75 euros. But if you take 15 rides, the pass will pay for itself so you don't have to use it for all seven days for it to be a bargain. Bring a passport-sized photo or cut the heads out of any existing "ordinary" photo you have.

A carnet of 10 tickets for zones 1-2 costs 9.60 euros. This may be your best choice if you're only going to take a couple of rides a day.

Except for getting to and from the airport and going to Versailles, I expect most of what you'll want to see lies within zones 1-2. If you're planning on hopping on and off the Metro and/or the bus several times a day, then buy the Carte Orange for zones 1-2 and buy carnets for any overlapping days for which you don't have a Carte Orange. And buy extensions for those trips that take you beyond zones 1-2. Why pay extra for more zones on days you won't be traveling that far?

you can buy the weekly pass but it starts at the beginning of the week and not when you purchase it on. the daily pass is good as well but the weekly is really the deal. i got the carnets and i wish i would have simply gotten the weekly regardless of the time of week you get there. it's so convinient to hope on and hop off the metro w/out having to worry about the use of single tickets. saving your legs from extra walking is well worth it.

I agree that the Carte Orange is a swell deal. The only problem is that they stop selling it on Wednesday, I believe. So if you arrive on Thursday, you're out of luck for the last four days of the week.