This will be our fourth time in Paris and we have taken the bus, metro and walked. It seems to me that the metro was the quickest way to get around if you are going any distance. Since we have not purchased any metro passes in the past, only the 10 tickets at a time, what do you suggest? We are a party of 4 adults and on the go a lot. I would appreciate any suggestions you have.
What days of the week will you be in Paris and where, outside of Paris, might you want to go? Are you traveling to/from an airport?
We will be in Paris July 22-30. We will only be staying in Paris as we are traveling before that time with a car. We would like to just get around sites and neighborhoods in Paris.
i would just buy a Navigo Easy card (sort of the electronic version of the 10 tickets) and load that up. For information on that card see https://parisbytrain.com/navigo-easy/. The Navigo Decouverte is another option but I do not think it works best for you because you arrive on a Thursday and leave 7 days later and the ND runs from Mondays to Sundays so you would still need to get tickets for your arrival day, your first Friday and the weekend of the 24th and 25th. For information on the ND see https://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/.
The Navigo Easy card costs 2€, each person will need their own card.
A “carnet” of 10 tickets to load onto the card is 14.90€.
(It's now €16.90 if you buy a carnet of 10 paper tickets.)
The Navigo Easy is transferrable, anyone can use it (unlike the Découverte card which is not transferrable), but you will need as many Easy cards as there are people traveling simultaneously.
None of the other pass/ticket options really works well for you.
Are unused paper tickets from 2018 still good on the metro or busses?
As of now, yes. However, the RATP is expected to halt sales of paper tickets t+ sometime this year. If you have any unused tickets t+, I would attempt to exchange them for the same number of ticket credits applied to a Navigo Easy card.
Tocard, thanks!
I'll put in my plug for the buses. They are plentiful, relatively easy, cheap and let you actually see Paris and the neighborhoods you are going through rather than tunneling underneath them. They are my preferred transportation when I am in Paris, unless I simply have to get across town at a specific time during rush hour.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to give me your suggestions; it is very helpful and much appreciated!