yk

chiarachiara-

< Could anybody please tell me what the Forfait Loisirs costs? >

If you actually read the very first post (by me) and/or clicked on the link that I provided, you would have been able to find your answer.

chiarachiara

Thanks yk. I apologise for a stupid question! I was a bit in a hurry.

balletgirl

The Forfait Loisirs is by far the way to go! The audio guide is included in the ticket. I liked the Forfait Loisirs over the museum pass b/c the Forfait Loisirs gives you options of what you want to see. You may think now that you don't want to see the Trianon but you may change your mind when you get to Versailles. We ended up not getting the museum pass at all but I think that even if we had, I still would have gotten the Forfait Loisirs b/c of all that is included.

Also, as of August 3, the RER C line was under construction at St. Michel.

blakejared

I ended up buying the Forfait Loisirs when I went in July as well, though it was hard to find where to buy it. I went to St. Michel station but it was being renovated as mentioned above. I also went to the FNAC store, but the salesperson said the pass they were selling did not include train tickets. I ended up going to the Invalides REr-C stop the morning of, and buying it there (but I had to use a Metro ticket to get to that station so I could have saved by buying it the day before).

A friend was asking me, how much does the audioguide cost separately if you only had the Paris Museum Pass? It looked like most people got an audio, so I mistakenly thought it was included with admission.

There seemed to be no audioguide for Marie Antoinette's estate and the Grand Trianon.

Another question, I got to Marie Antoinette's estate late in the afternoon, and I wasn't sure if the houses in the hamlet are ever open to the public. Are you supposed to only see the exterior?

balletgirl

If I remember correctly, the audio guide is 6 euros.

pooga

Is it possible to buy a day pass to versailles that includes a 1 way ticket to Paris?

We arrive in Versailles before arriving in Paris.
Thank you

blakejared

A one-way RER train ticket to Paris is only 2.80 euros. Just buy it when you get to the train station.

yk

<b>Robes or anybody-</b>

Looks like I'll be at Montparnasse station the day before we head out to Versailles, so I should get our Forfait tickets at Montparnasse.

Is there a &quot;Transilien ticket office&quot; for me to look for there?

Also, how does the actual ticket come in? Does it come with a ticket for metro and a ticket for RER?

Is the St Michel RER-C station still closed or has it reopened?

Christina

There is a Transilien ticket window at Montparnasse. It's on the second floor, as I recall. Just look for that name, the station is marked as to where you can buy certain kinds of tickets. It's just the windows near the automatic machines.

However, I do not believe you can buy a Forfait Loisirs in advance. I don't know why, but I just tried to do that exact thing (for Versailles, and at Montparnasse, actually) a couple months ago and it was impossibole to buy a ticket in advance. You have to buy it the day you go. I would be very cautious about doing otherwise, as the clerk insisted it was good for the weekend (I told him I planned to go on Sunday), even though he quoted a price that I thought was too low (20 compared to 25 euro). I asked him several times, but he insisted. So I bought it and sure enough, I read right on the folder or ticket that is was only good during the week, not on weekends. So I had to stand in line all over again, pointed this out to the clerk who re-checked his machine and admitted I was right. Then he had to refund my credit card and told me the problem was I couldn't buy one in advance.

If I hadn't known French very well, plus being able to read the directions, I would have had a ticket that wouldn't have worked on Sunday.

I just bought mine at the RER station at Champ de Mars when I went on SUnday.

scdreamer

bookmark

yk

Christian - According to Transilien's website, the pass can be purchased in advance. I guess the agents really don't know the rules too well. Since I'll be at Montparnasse anyway, I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip on where to find the ticket window.

Robespierre

Hmmm - good question about the tickets. When we went from Gare du Nord to Antony on the way to our hotel and the opposite route on the way out of Paris last month, the tickets were identical - each good for one ride in either direction.

So I think you will probably receive two train tickets - one for Paris to Versailles, another for the opposite. M&eacute;tro will be included in both.

Christina

I don't know if they know the rules or not, all I know is that the ticket he gave me clearly was marked that it could not be used on the weekend. So maybe he could have sold me one in advance if he'd punched the right buttons or something, but he told me I could not buy one in advance. So if you try it, as I said, you just have to be really sure the ticket is valid for when you plan to use it. So maybe that guy just didn't know how to get the right ticket. It wasn't the Versailles ticket that was the problem, it was the metro ticket.

I read the website and it does say, that, I see. Of course, I hope they aren't being too subtle and simply mean you can buy it the same day in advance, which is true.

I thought it was a weird rule and didn't see any reason why they wouldn't sell them in advance as they sell regular metro tickets in advance obviously, and it's the same kind of thing.

IN my case, it didn't really matter too much as it doesn't really take much time to buy one, anyway, although if you are trying to save regular metro tickets that day, it could make sense.

ruechapon

I bought passes for Versailles at Montparnasse in advance this past July. The guy working the window was extremely helpful and friendly. Even came out from behind the window to make sure I had everything I needed and knew where I was going.

Christina

Guess I got the one employee at Montparnasse who didn't know what he was doing -- he actually asked a supervisor, also. Although in a lot of cases, you wouldn't notice as it only mattered when the price switched from weekday to weekend.

I realized I made a mistake in my description -- it was the museum pass that was different, not the RER ticket, of course. The museum fare differs from weekday to weekend, and says which it refers to.

Of course, if you bought one on Sat for Sunday, it wouldn't matter as the same ticket is good on Sat and Sunday, and if you bought a ticket on Mon-Thurs for use the next day, or any weekday, it also wouldn't matter. So, the guy did sell me a ticket I could have used in the future, but only on a weekday because I bought it on a weekday. Seemed weird to me, also. He claimed I couldn't buy a weekend ticket on a weekday for future use.

That does seem kind of impossible as I imagine you can just buy the Versailles pass in advance at FNAC for any day you choose.

yk

Follow up to my original Qs:

We're back from our trip. Sadly, the French workers decided to go on strike the 2 days we were in Paris. Needless to say, we scraped our plan to go to Versailles.

ruechapon

yk, sorry to hear about that. this probably doesn't alleviate your bad feelings but having your plans trashed by a transportation strike is part of the french experience.

Connie

Could someone please compare what all is included at Versailles between the Paris Museum Pass and the Forfait Loisirs. I know the audioguide is not included in the Paris Museum Pass but what about buildings?

Also, will both passes keep me from having to stand in the line?

Thanks

luv2cthings

Connie -

The Paris Museum Pass does not include access to the gardens on fountain spectacle weekends and holidays. The Forfait Loisirs includes the audioguide as you mention, roundtrip metro/RER transportation from Paris, as well as access to the gardens for the fountain spectacle (that is why the forfait costs more on weekends and holidays. Both passes will let you skip the ticket lines, and both will include entrance to the Ch&acirc;teau and the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette.

Mark