Hi, Has anyone had recent experience with a Navigo card? My french is a little rusty and the english information I can find is a little confusing.
Can you purchase the card at the airport?
Do you need a photo?
When does the weekly card start and end? What day of the week?
Does it cover travel to Reims?
Thanks in advance!
Yes, you can buy it at the airport train station.
Yes, you need to bring a passport type photo 25mm by 30mm (1" by 1 1/4"). It can be a photo copy of your passport photo sized properly.
Starts after midnight Sunday night until midnight the following Sunday.
No, it does not cover Reims. It covers Paris and suburbs, including Versailles, CDG airport, Disneyland.
As Sam mentioned, the weekly card is good from Monday to the following Sunday, no other combination of 7 days.
The current week's pass is sold up until midnight between Thursday and Friday; after that, only the next week's pass is sold. In other words, the pass for Mon 4 February to Sun 10 February is currently on sale and will be on sale until Thu 7 February at 11:59 pm. Starting Fri 8 February at 12:01 am, if you buy a weekly pass it will be the one for Mon 11 February to Sun 17 February.
This timing means that if you are arriving on a Saturday morning, which is common for those starting their trip on a Friday evening from North America, you'll need to figure out the best ticket options for the remainder of the weekend.
The pass allows you to travel anywhere on this map (PDF) out to zone 5, i.e. the white and gray zones, except for Orlyval (train shuttle from Orly airport), Optile special fare lines, and SNCF train lines with reserved seating (i.e. long distance SNCF train rides to other parts of France).
Thank you both for the quick CLEAR explanations!
I purchased mine at the airport. Just the RT to the airport makes it worthwhile with a couple other Metro trips. Next trip, I used the same card, and just paid for another week.
It covers the Ile de France region of France. So Reims is outside that region. Giverny and Rouen are in Normandy and outside the pass region etc etc. There are a lot of great day trips from Paris that are covered by the pass. Versailles, Vaux le Vicomte, Fontainebleau, Malmaison, Sceaux, Rambouillet, St Germain en Laye, Ecouen, Disneyland, Crecy la Chapelle etc etc etc
Paris by Train site: https://parisbytrain.com/paris-train-metro-week-pass-navigo-decouverte/, good source of information.
For my photo I just scanned my Passport, croped the photo & printed up on regular paper. Once I purcahsed the card & had the week charged on it, from the ticket window, I put the kit together and off I went. Will be recharging it again for my trip this coming May once I arrive.
Enjoy your trip.
Is one needed for young children (9 and 6), or do they ride free with a parent using this card, as with the Oyster in London?
mountainmama -- I don't believe your children can ride with an adult on a Navigo Découverte. The RATP webpage specifies the following:
The other option is the "weekend day pass" for young people under age 26. Valid on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays only, it provides 1 day of unlimited travel in zones 1-3 for €4.10 or zones 1-5 for €8.95.
Resident French children do have access to discounts, but I think for tourist these are your options.
This thread from yesterday is also helpful...
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/navigo-pass-paris
FYI a photocopy of your drivers license photo also works just fine. Purchase at the airport and then turn and go down the escalators straight onto the RER and into the city.
Many thanks, Andrew.
