Navigo cards--arriving Sunday

The easiest option probably is to purchase a one-way airport ticket on Sunday, which will get you from Orly to the Marais. Then on Monday, go to a metro station and purchase a Navigo Decouverte pass, which will give you unlimited Metro and RER trips for the rest of your time, as well as getting you to CDG on Friday morning. You won't have to worry about having the correct # of metro vs. bus tickets loaded, and your airport trip will be included.

You may also be able to buy the Decouverte pass at Orly on Sunday, but it won't be valid until Monday.

The Navigo Decouverte (Navigo Discovery in English) itself doesn’t allow you to ride on public transport. The Navigo Decouverte is a physical or virtual card with your personal details and a photo on it that you can load a public transport pass on. For instance a weekly or monthly pass. The weekly pass can only start on a Monday.
I was in Paris during the Olympic Games last year and I used a virtual Navigo Decouverte on my IPhone loaded with monthly passes for July and August. I was able to set it up at home already and it worked flawlessly during my entire stay and on all different modes of public transport.

There’s no reason to make separate purchases. You can purchase the Navigo Decouverte when you purchase your RER ticket into the city from Orly on Sunday. Put it together, load it and you’re ready to be off on Monday morning.

You probably already know that you need to buy your first Navigo Decouvertre pass from a ticket booth attendant. The first time you get one it will included the price for the week - Monday to Sunday. . If you needed another week, you could top it up through a machine. We remembered to say “Bonjour” before we asked for the pass and the attendant put the pass with our photo together for us.

The ND does not include a weekly pass unless you ask and pay for one. It is possible to buy the card, for example for people arriving later, and not put passes on it until later.

If the OP can buy an ND at Orly, that would be convenient. Get the single ride into Paris and then the ND loaded with a weekly pass. You can assemble it when you get to your lodging but it can be loaded with the pass before assembly. (it cannot be USED before assembly though without running a fine risk). Some posters have suggested that the ND card is not available at the metro station at Orly -- if not then just get it when you arrive to your stop in the Marais. You can do it Sunday on arrival.

The beauty of the ND is you can ride any public transport in the ile de France - trains, metro, trams, buses, funicular and not worry about having the right ticket. Definitely the right idea for your trip. Bring your own head shot 25/30mm which you can print from your computer at home.

I used a virtual Navigo Decouverte on my IPhone loaded with monthly passes for July and August. I was able to set it up at home already and it worked flawlessly

Does having a virtual Navigo Decouverte on an iPhone eliminate the need of obtaining a physical card and having a photo attached?

Yes, it does, JoJo.

I like the convenience of having the card. I guess I’m a dinosaur, but I don’t want to be fiddling with my phone in a busy metro station, with the added stress of wondering if someone will grab it and run.

I suppose young people are just so used to using their phone for everything.

The Navigo Decouverte is a physical or virtual card with your personal details and a photo on it that you can load a public transport pass on.

So I see on my iPhone, in the wallet, the transit passes. And I see the Navigo cards for the Paris Metro, but nothing about the Decouverte. I see the option of Paris Visite passes, and then individual rides for 2.50 euros. I don't see the weekly passes that start on a Monday...am I missing something? Do I need something else, like another app, to get the weekly pass? Or do I just have access through the Navigo pass on my iPhone to buy individual rides (multiple rides at no discount), similar to what I did before the new system started this year, with a physical card that I was able to add a carnet to?

Jojo you can top up your physical Navigo Easy card using the app on your phone in the privacy of wherever you are staying. We also prefer using transit cards versus our phones and have found the Navigo Easy and Decouverte cards easy to use and add to that way.

Jojo Rabbit It looks like you have to have the Ile de France Nobilities app to add the weekly pass.

Navigo on your phone

Jojo you can top up your physical Navigo Easy card using the app on your phone in the privacy of wherever you are staying. We also prefer using transit cards versus our phones and have found the Navigo Easy and Decouverte cards easy to use and add to that way.

So the Navigo Easy card(s) we have were last used in 2024, and still have several rides on them based on the old, lower pricing. If I top those cards up with the new priced rides, will it cause any conflicts with the old tickets?

Thanks, I would prefer to leave my phone in my pocket and just use the cards...and recharge or top up the cards in the privacy of my home or hotel room...

To those that are afraid to use their phone to tap in and out of public transport in Paris, I can only say this; I was lucky enough to be in Paris during the entire Olympic Games. I had tickets for one or two events every day. These events were all over Paris and wider region. I used public transport exclusively to get to these events. I wore my IPhone like a purse, cross body on a lanyard. When I came to the entry of the metro or train station or when I boarded a bus or tram, I only had to tap my IPhone, which was right there already and I was on my way again. I didn’t need to fumble around in a purse or backpack looking for a plastic card and then putting it back. For me it worked perfectly and it felt perfectly safe. I understand it may not feel like that to others, but I can’t help but think there’s a bit too much scaremongering about pickpockets in Paris sometimes. I even wore a small backpack instead of a purse!
What I especially liked about the virtual Navigo Decouverte is that you can already set it up at home. You download the IDF Mobilite app and you can add a photo and your name etc. No need to take a passport photo to Paris, find scissors to cut it to size etc. For me it worked perfectly and flawlessly.
More info about the virtual Navigo Decouverte here; https://www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/supports/smartphone

Reading this thread is very confusing as people are mixing terms and are probably only clear on certain elements of how fares work, confusing other elements.

Briefly, Navigo is a term given to the whole of the electronic ticketing system. There are Navigo cards/apps and Navigo fares. The cards are the Navigo Easy (2€) and the Navigo Découverte (5€) which requires the user's name/photo. Rather than cards, passengers may use either the Ile de France Mobilités app or the Bonjour RATP app.

Any of these fare options may be loaded onto an Easy card:

• métro/RER/Transilien train tickets - 2.50€
• bus/tramway tickets - 2€
• day passes - 12€ (not valid to/from airports)
• airport tickets - 13€, may not be simultaneously loaded with métro/RER/Transilien tickets.

Weekly or monthly passes require either a Navigo Découverte card or an app setup with an account. Account setup on an app may be geoblocked in certain locations and should ideally be done when in France.

Arriving ORY on a Sunday, you can purchase the Navigo Décoverte card and load the weekly pass, which becomes usable the following day (Monday). However, to ride métro 14 into Paris, you will need: one of the apps, a Navigo Easy card, or a paper ticket (airport paper tickets are still sold). The only place at ORY to purchase Navigo cards/fares is at the bus station in terminal 4, bay 5. I believe this point of sale closes at 18h. Airport tickets are sold at the métro 14 departure point.

So the Navigo Easy card(s) we have were last used in 2024, and still have several rides on them based on the old, lower pricing. If I top those cards up with the new priced rides, will it cause any conflicts with the old tickets?

Existing tickets, purchased before 1 January 2025, will likely be tickets t+, and may be used through the end of 2025. The ticket t+ is valid anywhere on the métro, bus, tramway, but may only be used on the RER within the limits of Paris (zone 1). I would deplete these tickets before purchasing métro/RER/Transilien tickets as they will likely conflict with other RER fares, just as do the new airport tickets conflict with the new métro/RER tickets.

Existing tickets, purchased before 1 January 2025, will likely be tickets t+, and may be used through the end of 2025. The ticket t+ is valid anywhere on the métro, bus, tramway, but may only be used on the RER within the limits of Paris (zone 1). I would deplete these tickets before purchasing métro/RER/Transilien tickets as they will likely conflict with other RER fares, just as do the new airport tickets with the new métro/RER tickets.

Thank you for this info, exactly what I needed. I will use up the remaining tickets on my Navigo Easy cards in a trip later this year, and then reload those cards with the new tickets.

Wow, amazingly helpful info, thanks everyone! Just a few more questions.
For our single ticket, it looks like our quickest route from Orly to our loading is Metro Lines 14 and 8 to: Saint-Sébastien – Froissart station. So we would purchase this at one of the kiosks at the Metro 14 station in Terminal 3 and it loads on a Navigo card (or something else)? And is using the two lines (14 and 8) considered one ticket or two--or is it more about destination and I need to state the zone of our destination (is Marais is 1, correct)?

Then in purchasing the Navigo Decouverte pass (weekly), as @Tocard helpfully mentioned, I suspect we may be arriving Orly after 1800 on Sunday so we may not be able to purchase the ND pass from an attendant. What are the chances we can purchase it at our stop in Marais at a later hour? We want an early departure on Monday and would prefer not to wait until then, especially if we need to assemble the pass and want to use it immediately.

Does anyone have a preference on which app to use: Ile de France Mobilités app or the Bonjour RATP? Both have some pretty deplorable reviews but I assume only the bad reviews get recorded and thousands of good reviews don't.

And finally, I know this takes me to another question topic, but we are planning to tour Palace of Versailles right before returning our car at Orly. Will our luggage be "safe enough" to leave at the palace parking or should we check to see if we can store it at the Versailles train station?

Thanks so much for the help!

Dutch-traveler, I am not ‘afraid’ to use my cell phone. I prefer not to as I choose not to have it hanging from me and I don’t use it constantly during the day. My transit cards, in any city where they are an option, are in an outside, easy to reach pocket, that I can quickly use and put back. I am not concerned about pickpockets and know how to keep important items safe. However, I don’t like to worry about dropping my phone in a crowded setting when I could be bumped and I have zero interest in a lanyard.

On some other travel forums, there are certainly folks who have found the app glitchy while using the Paris transit system and have not realized the tapping on did not work and they were subsequently fined.

Everyone has different approaches and I don’t think there is a correct or incorrect approach.

Nettie, I have successfully used the Bonjour RATP app several times to buy tickets on my Navigo Easy card and buy the one week pass for my Navigo Decouverte card.

Claire, I could have written your response word for word. There’s no “afraid” about it. I use my phone for lots of things, but have made a conscious decision to use the ND card instead.

Tickets are valid from any point A to any point B within the transportation network and respecting the type of ticket. For example, bus/tramway tickets allow you to start anywhere on a bus, connect as required, and finish at a tramway station. If you are using a paper ticket, you must keep it with you as proof of valid passage, until you exit the network. Controllers can be checking valid fares at any point within the transportation network, not just at entry.

Navigo cards and fares may be purchased at any métro/train station, or from any of the hundreds of resellers such as magazine stores or tabacs. Even the Inoui, Eurostar, or TGV trains sell Navigo Easy cards and tickets on trains to Paris.

The two apps, the IDF Mobilités or the Bonjour RATP app, function the same. I use the IDF Mobilités app but it doesn't matter which one you use. Parenthetically, I still use my Navigo card for access, the app only for planning.

In reference to leaving luggage in a rental car, I would never leave luggage in an unattended car, not anywhere in France. Leave your car in a monitored lot or leave it empty, placing contents elsewhere.

And finally, I know this takes me to another question topic, but we are planning to tour Palace of Versailles right before returning our car at Orly. Will our luggage be "safe enough" to leave at the palace parking or should we check to see if we can store it at the Versailles train station?

Read Tocard's post above mine and I agree 100 percent with him: do not leave luggage or belongings in a rental car in any parking lot at a tourist site, etc. You should plan your itinerary differently, never stopping off at a tourist site while enroute with all of your stuff in the car.

When you say you want to do this at Versailles "right before" dropping the car at Orly, are you then catching a flight from Orly? Or are you simply holding onto the car to give you transport to Versailles, dropping the car, and staying in or around Paris for more days? My advice: visit Versailles on another day, and get there by other means.

JOJO. You cannot put additional tickets on your NE while the old t+ ticket are on it. They function according to the old rules and must be used up before new ones are added. but just as airport tickets don't mix with metro tickets, T+ tickets won't mix with the new metro tickets.

I like the card which is in my cross body phone carrier/wallet and thus can be used by just touching the wallet to the stile. I rarely have to actually take it out of the purse. I have seen people holding up the lines fumbling with their phone trying to get it to work at turnstiles and don't want to do that. I personally have had difficulty using my phone for train tickets at automatic entries at train stations. I am not sure why but the device will sometimes grab my credit card even though I have the train ticket code up and ready to scan. I have had to have attendants scan it on some occasions as it wouldn't work directly. No idea why.

Thanks again for your advice. We'll purchase our one-way route to Marais when we get to Orly station and we'll just have to wait and see if there the ticket counter is still open for us to purchase the Navigo Decouverte card; if not, we'll do so at our destination or the next morning.

Normally I wouldn't leave luggage either, but in planning my three weeks in France, I forgot that we'd have the luggage in Versailles. As a result, I've done some searching and found that Radical Storage has very good reviews with a location right near the Chateau which also has good reviews. Let me know if any of you are familiar.