Paris Metro Tickets-So confused...

A "carnet" is a little pack of 10 tickets, good on metro or bus. Start off buying 2 carnets, which may or may not be enough, but you can buy more. The website parisbytrain.com could be helpful to you. And consider the bus sometimes, in lieu of metro, for window views of Paris. You can get a bus/metro map when you buy your carnets.

Go with the carnet. They can be purchased at the metro station. Agree with previous post, start out with 2 carnets and purchase another if needed.

In addition, just get them at the ticket window. Start with Bonjour Madame/Monsieur. Hold up your thumb and first finger and say Deux carnet, s'il vous plait. If you get flustered they will often switch to English after you have greeted them in French, even if your French is awful as mine is.

I find the machines very busy with commuters and locals so it is less stressful for me to get them at the window.

Thank you for keeping it simple... We are trying to plan this trip for December and with all the planning and 2 young kids I just need things as simple as possible. Trying to purchase as much as possible ahead of time so it can be paid and done.

We were in Paris once before but I've slept since then and can't remember what I bought. We did not use the bus, just metro. We will try the bus this time. We were underground a lot!

Thanks again! Carnet it is!

JR. Buses no. 42 & 69 are not only excellent for getting you places (Google for routes) the routes of each take you buy many of the sites you would want to see.

Just remember that you need separate tickets for Versailles. Since it is outside of town, the tickets cost more than the standard Metro ticket. You will need them to exit the station at Versailles. Again, you can buy them at any Metro ticket window, indicate the ages of your kids. Not sure if there is any discount, also might as well buy return tickets at the same time. Be sure to keep them separate.

Yes, carnets are the way to go. Each ticket will get you anywhere by Metro, or in any direction by bus (with a transfer, which you request on boarding, if you need to change buses), in central Paris. Put it in the turnstile as others do, then keep it until you exit, then throw it away so you don't accidentally try to re-use it, which won't work. It's your fare receipt while in the Metro or on the bus.

Metro Ticket Prices (ticket t+)

1 ticket t+ 1,80 €
Carnet de 10 tickets t+ (tarif normal) 14,10 €
Carnet de 10 tickets t+ (tarif réduit) 7,05 €

Free travel for children under 4.
50% reduced tarif for children over 4, and under 10.

Paris By Train is helpful, with photo tours of bigger rail stations including Montparnasse. An essential tool for planning your rides on mass transit is http://www.ratp.fr/en/ratp/c_21879/visiting-paris/ Lots of info for tourists and interactive trip planners . It's intricate, so you and the kids can begin practice now on routes from your hotel to big attractions. If you are taking a travel computer or other smart Internet device, it's a lot easier to plan your day in your hotel room than standing in a clump in front of a wall map in the station while commuters rush past. A few FAQs: Metro and RER (commuter trains, some underground connecting to Metro) use the same tickets so you can transfer trains. The city is zoned and going to the airport is a higher fare. You need your ticket to get out of an RER station as well as in. On the Metro, there can be spot checks to see if you have entered with a legit ticket. However, bus and streetcar services require separate tickets. Search the Internet for suggestions for scenic bus routes. Work out a strategy with the kids for emergency separation (one gets left behind as a train pulls out, catches the next train and gets out at the next station where the rest of you will be waiting.) And you do have to be wary of pickpockets, as in any crowd. As well, buskers on the Metro will ask for tips but many riders ignore them.
One more tip, learned the hard way: Going to CdG you will probably have to get the RER at Gare du Nord, the biggest train station. The airport train leaves from platforms at the east side, on the lower level. There are two banks of these platforms with confusing numbers; you want the bank on the left-hand side.

I would not take the RER/metro in from CDG with two kids and luggage. Get a cab.

In Paris as others have noted you will probably do best just buying carnet of tickets. Get a carnet at half price for your older child; I assume the younger is 3 or less; half priced tickets are for 4-9 year olds. And get a couple of carnet for the adults at 14.10 each.

You will probably find the buses more congenial with small kids and if you are using a stroller for the smallest, there is space on the buses for the stroller. The metros involve lots of stairs and are difficult with strollers which have to be carried up and down stairs.

You can transfer on the buses as long as you are going basically in the same direction (i.e. no no hop on hop off the same line, or round trips); no transfers between metro and buses.

for trips out of Paris like Versailles, you buy specific point to point tickets from Paris/whateverdestination.

Make sense out of what? For savings, simplicity, and flexibility I suggest, as pointed out above, getting a carnet, much easier with ten tickets. Just keep track of them as you use them. The metro tickets in this carnet show which transportation means for which the ticket is valid.

Thank you all! Lots of great tips and advise. This should make planning for Paris much easier.

And the extra tickets for Versailles (and CDG if you decide to go by metro).

For Versailles, you buy tickets in your origin metro station all the way to Versailles (might as well buy round trip so you only have to visit the booth once). Keep the tickets ON YOU and handy, as you'll need them to transfer from metro system into the RER and TO GET OUT OF THE RER at Versailles.

If I buy carnets at the window, can I pay with my credit card?

Yes, you can pay at the window with your credit card and it works fine if it has a magnetic strip.

Do go to parisbytrain.com where all will be explained in detail. If this is your first time in Paris, tomsguidetoparis.com will also serve you well

And remember to hang on to everyone's ticket until you exit the system each time. The fines for not being able to produce a validated ticket are on the spot and high. You need the ticket to exit the RER but not the metro but you may be asked to show it to an inspector at any time and particularly at exits or platform changes. We average about one check a week when we are in Paris but on our last trip we were checked 3 times in one week and we don't use the metro all that much. With 3 of you using tickets, it isn't a bad idea for one adult to have a designated pocket just for the currently valid tickets and then throw them out when completely clear of the system so they don't get mixed up with unused tickets.

Writing from our studio in Paris. This is our third trip in three years and I was determined to get my head around the Navigo as we are here two weeks, travel here frequently and use public transport a lot.

For your dates, the carnet would make sense. For those who are here Starting at the beginning of the week and staying for at least five days, here is our experience.

Arrived at Gare de Lyon on Sunday night and found a Service desk. Handed over headshots I had at home - smaller than passport photos but they will trim - and €5 for each card. You then fill out the name and then peel the backing and put the clear plastic over the photo. Then you buy the rechargeable card.

It's available Thursday to Sunday for the following week starting Monday.

It then becomes a personal card that gives you unlimited travel in zones 1-5 for €21. Take more than 3 Métros or buses each day and you pay for it without fiddling with the carnet. It also gets you to Versailles and Disney. Zone 5 is way the heck out there.

Our trip three years ago when my daughter was four involved lots of Métro trips. It would have been great for me but there was little info in English.

As was mentioned before, with luggage and 2 kids don't attempt the RER after a long flight. Take a taxi into town. And just to reiterate what Dick said about using the metro keep the ticket you use until after you leave the metro.