Brazilnut

As some of you may already know, I will be spending one week in Paris on the 3rd week of January (can't wait!!!). I arrive and leave on a Friday, so if I purchase the "carte orange" it will be good for only 5 days instead of a week. Would that be a good deal, or should I go for the carnets instead? Thanks for your help!

Brazilnut

Maybe I should add that there will be 3 of us, and that we are coming from sunny, summery Salvador da Bahia - we will need to ride the metro, buses, RER, so that we won't freeze!

WillTravel

I'm pretty sure that the Carte Orange will be a good deal for you. I'm planning to get one for our stay which is also less than a week. I expect, based on past experience, to use some form of transport at least 4x per day (in addition to tons of walking).

WillTravel

For the Friday, Saturday and Sunday part of your stay, maybe one carnet might be sufficient.

WillTravel

Sorry - that would be more like one carnet per person.

TimS

As others have said, a Carte Orange can be a good deal, even for less than a full week. Although it won't be vaild until Monday, you can buy it when you arrive.

Sharing carnets will probably be good enough for Friday-Sunday. However, if you know you're going to take a lot of rides on a particular day, you could buy one-day Mobilis passes for zones 1-2 for E5.50. Unlike the Carte Orange, no photo is required for a Mobilis pass.

Christina

who knows -- it depends how much you use it. Also, if you are leaving on Friday, do you plan to use it at all that day? If not, that's only four days use, not 5. It really doesn't matter that much, it's only a few euro difference either way whatever you do. SO that's 16 euro for a week or maybe 4-5 days use. I probably would but I use public transportation a lot when I'm in Paris, and have an ID card and have for years. I don't think I would in your case if you have to pay for a photo.

Brazilnut

Thanks everybody for the info! I think I will go ahead and buy us the Carte Orange to use from Monday through Friday, and then carnets for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We will probably be riding a lot, it will be cheaper to buy the Carte than going in at every cafe to drink a little wine to warm up!
Christina, we will take the photos with us (my printer makes good photos!).

nbodyhome

I have found the Carte Orange a good deal even with less than a week. I like to walk a lot too, so that saves me money when my Carte Orange is no longer good.

Robespierre

Single <i>tickets 't'</i> cost &euro;1,09 when purchased in a <i>carnet</i> of 10. A <i>Mobilis</i> card is &euro;5,50. So if you use transport 5 or more times in a day (and since you're coming from someplace warm, you well might), the pass is more economical. It's more convenient in any case.

Brazilnut

Once again, thanks fodorites, I will definitely get the Carte!

mkdiebold

Beware: The metro tickets operate by magnetic strip. Tickets can become &quot;demagnitized&quot; and not work. This happened to my husband's ticket because he was carrying it in a little belt held pack that happened to have it's own magnetic clip-closure. It's not a big deal if you're at a station that is actually maned, but many stations are unattended. There's not always someone to solve the problem.

Gretchen

And for the buses, you need a new &quot;ticket&quot; from the carnet if you transfer buses--making the CO or the Mobilis a good deal for that mode of travel. As someone suggested, share a carnet for the week-end--buy another if you need it. If you have a ticket left over, leave it for your room attendant.

Robespierre

Another option would be to get a <i>Paris Visite</i> card for Friday through Sunday. It costs &euro;2.10 more than three <i>Mobilis</i> cards, but it offers three zones instead of two, and many discounts are included in a coupon book. If you were going to see the sights included on the coupons anyway, you might break even or better.

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