transportation

Do you have RS guide books for Paris and London yet? If so, great. If now you might want to get them both since they both are full of useful information that we used when we visited those two cities. Happy travels and do try to see the Eiffel Tower while you are there. I have been to the top of it twice and now have a large poster of it up in my den.

I don't have the rs guides but i will look into it.Thanks for your reply. Dave

Paris: If you are beginning your stay at the start of the week the best choice is the Navigo one-week card, but this is available only for a calendar week Mon-Sun, not for any other consecutive seven days. If you are arriving later in the week, the best choice is not to get passes but to get a "carnet" of ten single-journey tickets. (Each ticket can be used for a continuous journey with transfers on either metro/RER or bus, but you will need a new ticket if you change between rail and road transport.) Ordinary one-day passes in Paris are only cheaper than the carnet if you make more than five trips in one day, and most people find that the travel-plus-tourist-discounts Paris Visite passes are not worth it unless you are visiting multiple attractions at high speed. In London your best choice is usually to get an Oyster card, a credit-card type electronic ticket that you charge with money. There is a capping system so that you will not be charged more in one day than you would have paid for a Travelcard pass. If you are staying in London for five days or more it is worth getting a one-week Travelcard, which unlike in Paris can start on any day of the week, and also means that you don't have to pay higher fares for travel in the early-morning peak hours. This will also be on an Oyster card, and it is possible to have an Oyster card with a weekly Travelcard on it covering the central zones and some pay-as-you-go money to cover you if you travel outside the central zone. One additional wrinkle in London, however, is that it is possible to get two entries to some attractions for the price of one if you have a day Travelcard purchased from a RAILWAY station. This is only if you buy it from a railway ticket office, not from a tube station.

Have a look at the website parisbytrain.com. It might be helpful.