Updates In France

Thanks, Andrea. Timely as we are going to France again this year.

We did Bustronome a couple of years ago and the food was quite good! Far better than on any dinner cruise. It is a unique experience.

There’s a lot of good information here, thank you!
The new Navigo Easy Pass seems like it will be somewhat similar to the Oyster card. Among other things, replaces the T+ paper tickets (but the ones already sold will still be honored) Looking forward to reports from travelers who try it, starting in April.

For hotels and b&bs that list on third party sites, I never knew that these sites required that the individual properties not undercut them. Glad that’s been changed, particularly if it benefits the small b&bs.

Thanks Andrea! I hadn't heard about the Navigo Easy pass.

I looked on the RATP - English site and didn't find any information about it altho it certainly might be there on the French website. Does anyone have anymore information about this?

Really useful info, thanks Andrea!

Thanks, Andrea. Good to know about new changes to the Eiffel Tower. :)

Conde Naste article https://www.cntraveler.com/story/paris-metro-ditches-paper-tickets-moves-to-london-like-system

reads as follows

Paris's more-than-a-century-old, white paper Métro tickets are on their way out. Starting in 2019, entry to Paris's über-efficient public transport system—including buses and express RER trains—will be done through contactless Navigo cards. The city's transport agency, Ile-de-France Mobilités, announced Wednesday that it would be rolling out two different travel cards, in addition to the unlimited Navigo card for residents already available, over the next year for all sorts of travelers and commuters.

If you're visiting the city for a short time, you'll need the Navigo Easy pass, available starting in April 2019. Almost identical to London's Oyster card (which we love), the Easy pass costs €2 ($2.34) to buy. Then, you'll load up the card with T+ rides—what the paper tickets represent now—which will cost the same in 2019 as they do today: €1.90 ($2.22) per ride or €14.90 ($17.39) for a pack of 10 rides. That's a more than 20 percent discount, and will cover one-way Métro rides, RER trains in Zone 1 (central Paris), and bus trips. Much like the Oyster card in London, you can top the card up as needed at all transit stations so be sure not to throw yours away.

That Navigo easypass sounds great !

Will the RER train from CdG into the centre require a separate ticket or will the Easy Pass accommodate this multi-zone ride? Perhaps it's too early to know......

Looking at the link Greg shared it appears the Easy Pass is a replacement for the T+ ticket. Those tickets only covered zone 1. Going outside that zone would probably require an additional (including CDG) ticket. Everything is covered with the Navigo Découverte, including to Versailles. The ND gives you unlimited metro, RER and bus rides and it runs from Monday - Sunday.

But without paper Metro tickets, what will visitors leave at the grave of Serge Gainsburg?

They can leave wine bottles, as they do at the grave of Jimmy Hendrix.