Per the post where someone mentioned purchasing a Navigo card for travel on the Metro system while in Paris but warned that the card is only good for a week - literally Monday to Monday - so if you purchased it on Wednesday you only get five days use.
BUT - for visitors you should purchase the Navigo Easy card. You initially purchase it with 10 rides (the card has a $2 fee but it is the least inexpensive per ride option) and you can easily add more rides as needed from automated machines. You must purchase the Navigo Easy card from a cashier at the station.
We found the metro system easy to navigate using Google Maps on our phones (we brought one old phone with us and purchased a new sim card, we also purchased a phone in Paris, and one person in our group had an international plan - 6 in our group). Our visit was two weeks Dec. 2021-Jan. 2022.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4828 posts
I'm sure one of our Paris residents will correct me if I'm wrong,but the Navigo Easy comes with its own restrictions. I don't believe you would be able to use it on the RER or local TERs? It is an alternative to the Navigo Decouverte, but the latter may still be less expensive overall even if using it for less than a full week, depending on your daily travel plans.
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6289 posts
Thank you, vjhoover5. The Navigo Easy sounds like just what we need, if it is indeed the least expensive option (your wording is ambiguous.) We're going to be in Paris for less than a week, arriving on a Monday and leaving on the Thursday of that week.
Posted by
Panguitch, Utah
2542 posts
There are many Navigo cards. They are advertised as usable for 10 years. Tourists typically use the Navigo Découverte (5€) which is non-transferrable and requires the holder's photo and name. The Navigo Easy (2€) is transferrable but may only be used by one person at a time.
Let's not confuse the cards withe various fares which may be loaded onto them. Passes are generally loaded onto the ND and may be purchased for one day (17.80€ for all zones), one week, (M-Sun at 22.80€ for all zones), or one calendar month (75.20€ for all zones). The NE is probably mostly used for single ride tickets t+ which are accepted on the métro, bus, tramway, funicular, and the RER within zone 1 only (the physical boundaries of Paris). It is possibly to load up to 30 tickets at once at the price of 14.90€ per ten. You can also load bus tickets to the airports or the day pass on the NE.
Jane: if you arrive Paris on Monday and depart on Thursday, the cheapest option for you may be the Navigo Découvert with a weekly zone 1-5 fare at 22.80€ which includes RER service to the airports. However, cheapest is a relative term and largely dependent upon where and how often you travel.
For the most comprehensive information about using the Parisian transportation network, I use Citymapper.
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6289 posts
Tocard, you may well be right. I just ran across something that said the Navigo Easy cannot be used to pay for the trip from CDG into Paris. If so, we'll be better off with the Découvert. We need photos for that one but that's not a problem.
Thank you.
Posted by
Panguitch, Utah
2542 posts
Jane: The NE may be loaded with OrlyBus or Roissybus tickets. The only tickets available for travel on the RER are the billet origine-destination which are paper tickets costing 10.30€. The Navigo passes, which are loaded onto the Navigo Découverte card, also include the RER B to Paris as long as zone 1-5 coverage is purchased. Note: the Navigo pass does not include travel on the OrlyVAL to Antony if you are using ORY.
The ND card with the Navigo pass may be the cheapest option if you take the RER B into Paris and back again to the airport. On the other hand, if you take a taxi into Paris and do not travel beyond the métro, the NE card loaded with tickets t+ may be cheaper for you.