I have been web searching but cannot find the answer to this: If my pass is good for zones
1-3 - most but not all of central Paris - but take a trip outside the zones, then I assume I have to pay from this outside zone to go back into zones 1-3?

Depending on your length of stay and arrival day-of-the-week, the Navigo Découverte pass may be worthwhile. I found it a big money-saver because of the modes of transport it includes and distances one can travel, even out-of-town destinations, even when the timing isn't perfect and used for part of a week.

http://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-...go-decouverte/

yes, you would have to buy a ticket anywhere outside zone 3, whether to go there or whether to come back. FYI you don't really have an RER pass called "Paris Pass". That term is just a marketing term for a package of things it includes, one of which is the Paris Visite tourist metro/RER pass.

Making a pass for zones 1-3 is sort of dumb, although I know they've been selling it that way forever. The reason it is dumb is that there is hardly anything in zone 3, and nothing in zone 3 that a tourist would ever want to go to that I can think of. So logically you should buy a pass for zones 1-2, and then if you wanted more, it would be in zones 4-5 (ie, Versailles or the airports).

A Paris Visite for zones 1-3 is no different than if you had bought an all-day Mobilis pass for zones 1-3. No, you can't use it in zones 4-5 in either direction.

I can't imagine Paris Pass is really a good thing for you to buy, it is extremely expensive--but I don't know why you are buying it, or where you even heard of it. The thing that is really odd about it is that it is so expensive and one reason is that it includes both the Paris Visite for metro/RER AND the Hopon/off bus. this seems strange to me, I don't know why anyone would want that.

gee.. I thought the Paris museum pass was going to be a good deal since it covers so many thing sand I skip the lines and get transportation too.

Perhaps i was not clear about what i bought.

It always helps to mention in your post exactly what it is you want to do & how long you'll be in town. That way you'll get information based on that particular criteria. We still don't know any of that. But it appears moot if you've already bought it. You might post a link to what that is.

The museum pass is great deal if you plan to visit lots of museums like we did. There are transport passes like Navigo Découverte which is a transit-pnly pass that is a good deal for those who are using a lot of public transport. Then there is the Paris Pass, which is entirely different - expensive and doesn't really pay for itself for the vast majority of people.

So which pass did you buy?

The Paris MUSEUM Pass is worthwhile if you plan to visit a number of museums. The Paris Pass is a rip-off.

If you happened to have already purchased a Paris Pass, make every attempt to return it. Overall, I believe that there are few tourist traps when traveling France but the Paris Pass is without any doubt, a colossal waste of money.

The PP includes a zone 1-3 Paris Viste pass which is not of much value if you are traveling outside of Paris itself (even if you are only traveling within Paris, there are far better transportation solutions). It is possible to pay even more money for the zone 1-5 variety of the Paris Visite but a Navigo fare is a far better deal. The Navigo fares cost only 22.15€ for zone 1-5 travel during any Monday through the following Sunday period. The fares are loaded onto a card costing 5€ but the Navigo Découverte card is good for years of service.

The Paris Museum Pass can be a good value when purchased on its own but if you don´t plan on seeing a lot of museums and plan only on concentrating on a few, it might be better to purchase tickets in advance on the museum´s own website. Pre purchased ticket holders can use the same entrances as pass holders, skipping the ticket lines.