We are going to be in Paris for 5 days. Will do most traveling in zones 1-2, but will take a trip to Versailles one day and Disney Paris another (Didn't realize that May 1st was a holiday until after we booked - Disney is open though). So what is the best way to go, Visite, Carnet? Visite 5 day for zones 1-3, then buy tickets for the RER separately? Or Visite for all Zones? Can you use the tickets from a Carnet of 10 to go to Versailles and Disney? Thanks!
Posted by
OP
Lynnwood, WA, USA
7 posts
Thanks for the web link and information.
Posted by
burlington
427 posts
3 day mobolis card which is cheaper. than a 2day paris visite card covering the zones required.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
No, you cannot use standard carnet tickets to go to either Versailles or Disney. They are good anywhere the Metro goes but only in zone one on the RER.
The Paris Visite is overpriced. What day of the week will you arrive and what day will you depart? Will you arrive and depart from CDG? A Carte Orange Hebdomadaire loaded on a passe Navigo Decouverte card will be a much better deal if the days you'll be in Paris mostly coincide with the days the CO is valid (Monday-Sunday). Otherwise it might be best to buy carnets and share the tickets for your rides in central Paris.
A zone 1-5 Mobilis pass to go to Disney and back could be a good choice. (Note: Mobilis passes are not good on the RER lines that go to either CDG or Orly.)
A Forfait Loisirs that combines tranportation and admittance to Versailles could be a good choice.
For all your transportation options, go here: http://tinyurl.com/3bwnp3.
Posted by
Rochester, NY
25 posts
Hello to all, I've just got a follow up to this question. I'm going to be arriving in Paris from Amsterdam to spend 4-5 days (arriving most likely on a Tuesday, our flight leaves Sunday at 9AM). We plan on taking one day to take a peek around Versailles, and we also have the need to get back to CDG for our flight out.
Wouldn't the Zone 1-5 Carte Orange make most sense, considering the normal price for the G du Nord to CDG ticket is 8 euros, plus the trip to Versailles (Zone 5), in addition to three or four days of general metro use. Do you think this would justify the 31 euro cost?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Your cheapest combination would be a zone 1-2 Carte Orange, a Forfait Loisirs for Versailles that includes transportation and admission (see http://tinyurl.com/y84c3o), and a single ticket to CDG. FYI, Versailles is in zone 4 and a single ticket to CDG costs 8.20€.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1 posts
I'm going to Paris in a week, and I just picked up the 2009 Fodor's on Paris. In that book, they say theat the Carte Orange was phased out in March 2008 (which I knew about), and that the replacement, the Carte Navigo, is only available to French residents or those who can prove that they work in France. Is Fodor's wrong on this? Can anyone buy the Carte Navigo?
Posted by
OP
Lynnwood, WA, USA
7 posts
We went to Paris at the first of May this year and I now have a Navigo card. So I think either their dates are off or the info is bad. We had to bring 1x1 size photos. Then you buy the Navigo card which they then load with the plan you select, such as zones 1-2 only for a specific number of days. The Carte Orange is just what they call one of the plans you can load onto the Navigo card.
Posted by
OP
Lynnwood, WA, USA
7 posts
Further - the Navigo card is good for 10 years, so you save it for the next trip and reload it with another travel plan. So the Carte Orange Plan may no longer be offered, but there must be another plan you can load onto your Navigo card. It's sort of like the Navigo card is just the tool you used to enter and exit the Metro. The plan you pay for and load onto it is scanned when you enter. If your plan ran out or isn't good for that location, it won't let you in the gate. You then have to go add more or a new plan.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
We purchased the 5 day Paris Visite Pass zones 1-6 and used it to travel from CDG on the RER to our hotel upon arrival. We traveled all over the Paris metro with it. On our last day we traveled from our hotel to Orly airport via the ORLYVAL which was also covered on the pass. Maybe it was overpriced, but we never had to stop and buy tickets which was nice. No fumbling at self-serve ticket machines that I've attempted to use in the past but never really figured out. It will also get you to Disney.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Vi,
Fodors is wrong--sort of. The old paper Carte Orange will be completely phased out by February. Between now and then, each month fewer and fewer stations will sell it.
The new Carte Orange is loaded on a plastic rechargeable card which costs €5 and is good for ten years. The version for residents is called a passe Navigo and the version for visitors is called a passe Navigo Decouverte. A small (about 1" x 1") headshot photo is required.
For a page listing all your ticket and transportation pass choices with links to detailed explanations of each one, go here.